Burned

13

Once we were done at Keeper HQ, I went back to Anne’s. My burns weren’t serious, but they did need attention – I asked Anne if she was still too badly hurt to do any healing, but she was insistent on helping. She was as good as her word, and by the time she was done, I was too tired to want to leave. Luna and Variam arrived shortly afterwards, and of course, all of them wanted to hear the story. It took a long time, especially with the interruptions.

‘I can’t believe you did that,’ Luna said once I was finally done. ‘I wish I’d been there.’

‘I don’t,’ I said. ‘I want you alive and in one piece for your journeyman test.’

‘Is he okay?’ Luna asked Anne.

‘Hey,’ I said. ‘I’m right here.’

‘You’d just say you were fine.’

‘He is fine,’ Anne said with a smile. ‘All he needs is a little rest.’

‘So what about the arsehole that tried to burn your face off?’ Variam said. ‘What are we going to do about him?’

‘Nothing.’

‘He fried Anne and burned down your house and you’re doing nothing?’

‘Correct,’ I said. ‘Because right now, he’s not a threat. He was acting on orders. Now that the Council have got their gizmo, Sal Sarque and Maradok haven’t got a reason to try any more assassination attempts. Especially given how their last ones turned out.’

Variam gave Anne a disbelieving look. ‘You’re actually okay with this?’

‘I’m more than okay with it,’ Anne said in her quiet voice. ‘I don’t care if he burned me. I’ve had worse.’

‘But what if he comes after us again?’ Luna said. ‘He already tried to kill you twice.’

‘With a reason, and with orders,’ I said. ‘Ares isn’t Deleo. He’s not going to try to kill me just for the hell of it. Anyway, what’s the alternative? Go to war with Maradok’s faction? We’ve got enough enemies already.’ I shook my head. ‘No. I can get a new home, and Anne can heal anything that can be healed. What I can’t replace are the three of you. I’m not putting you at risk for some payback.’

‘I hate letting people like him get away with this shit,’ Variam said.

‘At some point a conflict has to stop,’ I said. ‘This is an opportunity for this particular one to stop. I don’t want to keep it going unless we have to.’

Neither Luna nor Variam looked happy, but they didn’t argue. ‘Okay, more cheerful stuff,’ I said. ‘How’d the training go?’

Luna and Variam looked at each other. ‘Good,’ Luna said after a slight pause.

‘No problems?’

Luna shook her head. ‘Not really.’

‘So I guess tomorrow’s your last training day before the test,’ I said. ‘You going to be practising all the way through?’

‘No,’ Variam said. ‘Chalice said she’d train Luna up until early afternoon. After that she’s supposed to go relax.’

‘She said I could go do what I want,’ Luna said. ‘That’s not the same thing.’

‘She told you to go take a break.’

Luna didn’t answer. There was an awkward silence. I looked between Luna and Variam.

‘Okay,’ Anne said when nobody spoke. ‘I need to go and get some food for dinner. Vari, could you come along?’

Vari looked up. ‘You’ve seen anyone watching?’

Anne shook her head. ‘No, but better safe than sorry.’

Variam nodded. ‘I’m ready to go.’

Variam waited by the door as Anne put on a cardigan and a coat. Anne was moving comfortably again, and the skin on her hands was smooth and unbroken – as far as I could tell, she was back to perfect health. It was hard to believe that only yesterday she’d been so hideously burned. The door clicked shut behind the two of them and Luna and I were left alone.

‘So did you ask her to get Vari out of the way, or what?’ Luna asked.

‘You really think Anne needed me to tell her?’ I said. ‘Luna, there are a lot of things you’re good at. Hiding your feelings is not one of them.’

Luna didn’t meet my eyes.

‘Okay,’ I said. ‘It’s been obvious for a while that something’s on with you and Vari. I haven’t been saying anything, but if there’s a problem, it might be a good idea to talk about it.’

‘There isn’t a problem.’

I didn’t say anything.

‘Fine, I’m lying.’ Luna sighed. ‘Why does this stuff have to be so complicated?’

‘What’s wrong?’

‘There’s nothing wrong,’ Luna said. ‘It’s like Vari said. Chalice told me to train tomorrow morning, then take the rest of the day off. She says I’ll perform better if I relax for the last half-day.’

‘Makes sense. So …?’

‘So tomorrow’s Christmas Day.’

‘Okay.’

‘Vari invited me to his family’s place.’

‘Okay…’

‘His mother’s going to be there. And his cousins.’

‘So what’s the problem?’

Luna slumped back in her chair. ‘I don’t know. Vari wanted to know if I could come and we had this stupid fight. He asked if I was busy with anything else and I had to say no, and then he asked why I didn’t want to come and I couldn’t come up with a reason.’

‘Hmm,’ I said. There had been something between Luna and Variam for a while. I’d never pressed her on it, but I’d been wondering if things were ever going to come to a head. ‘Sounds like there was a reason, just not one you wanted to tell him.’

Luna didn’t answer.

‘You should probably at least be straight about it with yourself.’

‘It’s going to sound stupid.’

‘Doesn’t matter if you sound stupid, so long as you don’t do something that is stupid.’

‘All right,’ Luna said. ‘It’s like … Okay. Say I go along. Then what?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘As in, what’s it going to turn into? He’s going to be a Keeper some day. He probably could take the tests any time he wanted to. And there’s no way in hell I’d ever fit in with his family. I don’t fit in with his magical life or with his family life. It’s just setting myself up for trouble. Isn’t it?’

‘Which bit are you worried about?’ I said. ‘You think his family is going to have an issue with you not being Sikh?’

‘Well, they will, won’t they?’

‘Don’t really know,’ I said. ‘I’ve never met them. But I’ve seen what Vari’s like. It’s hard for me to believe he could be as close as he is to Anne and to you if he came from a family with really serious issues that way. Anyway, won’t know unless you try.’

‘It’s still horrible timing,’ Luna said. ‘That was one of the reasons I was pissed off with him. We shouldn’t be doing this stuff now. I mean, it already slowed us down: we could have been there to help you and Anne on Monday night if we hadn’t…’ She trailed off.

I waited for Luna to carry on but she didn’t. I didn’t ask exactly what she was referring to – it was their business, and besides, I had a pretty good idea. ‘Look, don’t get me wrong. It really does mean a lot to me that you wanted to be there to help. But you aren’t responsible for protecting me every minute of the day.’

‘But it’s not even over! We still don’t know if this thing with Levistus is going to work out. And I have to worry about my tests on Friday. This is like, the worst possible time to be getting distracted with this stuff.’

‘Maybe that’s why he’s doing it now.’

‘That doesn’t make sense.’

‘Think of it this way. If this thing with Levistus and your tests doesn’t work out, one or all of us could be dead by next week. In which case this is all the time you’re going to get.’

‘Great,’ Luna said, rolling her eyes. ‘I feel so much better.’

‘We aren’t exactly living normal lives,’ I said. ‘Regular people get to say things like, “Oh, I’ll finish university and then get a job and then in a few years I’ll start thinking about stuff like that.” They don’t have to worry about getting assassinated in their sleep. But for us … let’s just say that I doubt anyone who knows my history is going to be selling me life insurance. And you don’t exactly go out of your way to be safe.’

Luna shrugged. ‘I’d rather run the risks.’

‘So why don’t you want to run this one?’

Luna was silent. ‘I don’t know,’ she said at last.

I looked at Luna. ‘Do you want my advice?’

‘I guess.’

‘You said you’re worried about getting distracted,’ I said. ‘Seems to me as though you’re already distracted. Yes, if you go meet Vari’s family and things go badly, then it’ll throw you off your game. But going into your journeyman tests with it hanging over your head is probably going to be just as bad. I don’t know exactly what the state of play is between you and Vari, but I do know you. You always feel better when you face something head-on than when you put it off.’

‘Mm.’

‘One other thing,’ I said. ‘These things have their own momentum. If you put them on pause for long enough, it can be hard to get them back. You might be willing to put things off for weeks or months or years, but I don’t think Vari would be. He’s kind of the type who likes straight answers. And he’s got his pride. I don’t think he’ll put up with being left hanging for ever.’

‘He’s a pain in the arse,’ Luna muttered.

‘He can be,’ I said with a grin, then looked at Luna seriously. ‘But you could do a lot worse. And you have, in the past.’

‘Don’t remind me.’ Luna buried her head in her arms. ‘Ugh. Why is this stuff so difficult? It was so much easier when all I had to worry about was getting to classes on time.’

‘You might have to get used to that,’ I said with a smile. ‘Once you pass those tests, you’ll be a full mage. You won’t have me telling you what to do any more. All the decisions are going to be up to you.’

‘I’m not sure I want to make all the decisions.’

‘Can’t stay an apprentice for ever,’ I said. ‘You’re going to be a pretty powerful mage someday. When that happens, people are going to be looking to you to lead them.’

Luna made a face and I had to laugh. ‘Okay,’ I said. ‘For now? Just talk to Vari. Let him know what you’re worried about, and listen to what he has to say. Then see how things go from there.’

‘Yeah, okay.’ Luna paused. ‘Thanks.’

Anne and Variam came back shortly afterwards, carrying shopping bags. Anne made a late dinner, and we relaxed as we ate. By the time we were done it was midnight and everyone was yawning. Luna and Vari left; I was about to head back to Wales but somehow or other Anne persuaded me to stay over. I used a sleeping bag and was out like a light within minutes of lying down.

Christmas Day dawned bright and clear. Two days left.

Noon found me in Islington outside the gym, where I’d found a place with a view of the front and side entrances. I watched the cars go by, soaked up what I could of the weak sunlight and walked up and down periodically to try to stop myself from freezing. Eventually I saw Luna appear from the side doors. Variam was with her, and the two of them were talking to each other as they came out on to the street and turned towards the station. Maybe it was my imagination, but Luna’s body language looked a little more relaxed than yesterday. I watched them go, smiled slightly, then headed into the gym.

Chalice was on the upper floor, packing away her gear. ‘Oh, hello, Verus,’ she said. ‘I was wondering if you’d show up.’

‘I did promise. Want some lunch?’

‘That’d be lovely.’

We walked to the same café where Luna and I had spoken to Chalice on Sunday, and ordered. Chalice had the sports bag that she’d used to pack away her training gear under the table, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the other customers would think about the contents. Knowing Chalice, she could probably arrange it so that no one would happen to look.

‘Well, the test’s tomorrow,’ I said once the waiter had gone. ‘Are you going to go see the results of your handiwork?’

‘Tempting, but I’ll pass,’ Chalice said. ‘I don’t think it would do Luna any favours to have a Dark mage as her guest.’

‘Same could be said for me,’ I said dryly. ‘But I think that ship’s sailed. Thank you for doing this on such short notice, by the way.’

‘These inconveniences happen,’ Chalice said. ‘Besides, I’ve become fond of the girl. I’d like to see her succeed.’

I glanced at Chalice.

Chalice gave me an amused look. ‘Dark mages do have feelings, you know.’

‘Well,’ I said, ‘you’ve held up your part of the deal. Ready to hear what I’ve learned?’

‘That would be nice.’

I told Chalice the story. I left out some of the more personal details – I didn’t really see the need to give Chalice a rundown on exactly which groups were trying to kill me, and why – but I did tell her what I knew and suspected about that relic. It took a while.

‘Do you have any definite proof that the item inside that box held a bound jinn?’ Chalice asked when I was done. ‘Or any other kind of magical creature?’

‘No,’ I said. ‘It’s speculation only. Though it does fit with what else we’ve learned.’

‘What about the motive?’

‘That’s the weak link,’ I said. ‘I know you asked about that specifically. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what we want to know, too, and without that, it’s pretty hard to make sense of what he’s after.’

Chalice stared down at the table, obviously thinking. The waiter had brought our order while I’d been talking, but the cup of tea in front of Chalice was untouched. ‘Do you think Richard was hoping to make use of that thing?’ I asked.

‘Yes,’ Chalice said. ‘Morden wouldn’t have been there if it wasn’t critical in some way. The question is how.’

‘One of the questions. Okay, Chalice, cards on the table. You probably now know as much about that operation as anyone on the Council. I think it’s time you told me why you’re so interested.’

‘Fair enough,’ Chalice said. ‘How familiar are you with the Dark factions?’

‘Calling them factions is a bit of an overstatement,’ I said. ‘If you mean the beliefs they subscribe to, then yes, I know the basics.’

‘Which one was your old master a member of?’

‘None, really. Or all of them, depending on how you saw it. He believed in what you’d call the pure Dark credo. Power over all, no matter where it came from. But he didn’t follow anyone else.’

Chalice nodded. ‘There have always been some Dark mages who favour the idea of joining with the Council. You could call them the Dark equivalent of your Unity Bloc. In this country, Morden is their most well-known face, but it’s not an idea limited to Britain. There are similar movements in many places.’

‘They’re not “my” Unity Bloc,’ I said. ‘But yes, I’m familiar with some of the groups. Do you lean that way?’

Chalice raised an eyebrow. ‘You think that because I’m a Dark mage and not a crazed psychopath, that means I must be one of the “civilised” ones? Wanting to join with the Light mages?’

‘Just asking.’

‘In my experience, most British mages don’t really appreciate how much freedom they have,’ Chalice said. ‘You live under a set of laws in which Light, Dark and independent mages are – in theory, at least – equal. Yes, I know that they’re very much imperfect, and unevenly enforced. But that doesn’t change the fact that you have far more independence here than would be possible in most other countries. Take that shop of yours. One mage, unaffiliated with any major faction, running a business where magical items sit openly on the shelves. That would be an impossibility in India. Without the support of one of the major parties, you wouldn’t last a year.’

‘Ended up being pretty dangerous here too,’ I said. ‘Okay, I get your point. How do you fit in to that?’

‘The reason for the relative freedom you mages have here is because of the balance of power,’ Chalice said. ‘The Council can’t fully enforce their laws against the Dark mages because they don’t want to risk starting a war. The Dark mages can’t openly attack the Council because they know that if they push the Light mages too far, they risk retaliation. What Morden is doing will change all that. He’s trying to bring the Dark mages – or a majority of them at least – into the Council under his command. If he succeeds, he’ll turn this country into a one-party state. There’ll be no room for independent Dark mages. Or independent mages at all, for that matter. With the Council and the most active Dark mages forming one power bloc, everyone else will be forced to fall in line.’

‘And you want to avoid that?’

‘I rather like the way things are in Britain now,’ Chalice said. ‘For the most part, Dark mages like me are left in peace. Morden and Drakh have gathered a group who think that by joining the Council, they’ll come to rule the country. What those mages don’t seem to understand is that what will actually happen is that they’ll end up ruled by Drakh. I’ve had to leave one country. I don’t want to have to do the same thing again.’

‘Huh,’ I said, leaning back in my chair. I’d ordered tea as well, but like Chalice’s, it was sitting untouched in front of me. What Chalice was saying sounded a little odd, but it had the ring of truth to it. The more anti-Dark factions within the Council had been making a lot of noise about the Council being ‘invaded’ by Dark mages. For the most part, the debate had been dominated by them and by the Unity Bloc, one side wanting to keep the Dark mages out, the other trying to welcome them in. Neither of them had spent much time considering whether the Dark mages wanted to come in. Sure, there are some Dark mages like Morden, who get involved with Council politics and build their empires. But most don’t. They don’t want any masters, be they Light or Dark.

‘So,’ Chalice said. ‘Now you know where I stand. Do you wish to maintain our alliance?’

I looked at Chalice thoughtfully. ‘You want to stop Morden and Richard.’

‘Say rather that I want to limit them.’ Chalice looked back at me with her dark eyes. ‘I don’t expect you to share my beliefs. But as I understand it, you have your own disagreements with Morden and with Richard Drakh. They’re somewhat more personal than mine, but as I see it, our goals are essentially the same.’

I thought about it for a moment. ‘I suppose they are,’ I said after a pause. I might not have the same mindset as Chalice, but nothing she’d said really put her in opposition to what I wanted, or the people I cared about. And given my position, I needed all the allies I could get. ‘It’s a deal.’ I held out my hand.

Chalice smiled and reached across the table, her smaller hand disappearing into mine.

‘… so with any luck, that should be that,’ Landis said.

I was back in Anne’s flat, on the phone to Landis. Anne was sitting quietly in the armchair, working away on something in a notebook, while I wandered up and down the living room. Outside, the winter day was grey and cold.

‘Have you heard anything about Maradok and Ares?’ I asked.

‘Ah, yes! I think I’ve got some good news for you on that front. Did a touch of digging around and the word on the heights is that the contract on you is off. The Crusaders aren’t hiring anyone new and the one member I managed to talk to implied that things are on hold. Looks like you’re off their priority list.’

‘Should bloody well hope so, after what I did for them.’

‘Yes, well, you know what they say about the gratitude of kings. Could be worse. They don’t seem to want you dead badly enough to do it themselves any more.’

‘It’s sad that that’s actually an improvement. Have you heard anything about the sponsorship change for Anne and Vari?’

Anne stopped what she was doing and looked up. ‘No,’ Landis said. ‘It’s supposed to be going through tomorrow morning.’

That would put it around the time of Luna’s test. Something about Landis’s tone of voice suggested that there was more to the story, though. ‘But?’

‘But I have to confess to feeling a mite uneasy. Fingers to the wind and all that. Tell that charming friend of yours to watch herself, will you? Would hate for something to happen to her right before the sponsorship goes through.’

‘I’ll tell her. Having a good Christmas?’

‘Just off to a family event as a matter of fact. Season’s greetings and all that. I’ll be in touch.’

‘Talk to you then.’

I hung up. ‘Tell me what?’ Anne asked.

‘Landis is jumpy,’ I said. ‘He seems to think you and Vari might be in danger.’

‘Why?’

I shrugged. ‘Not a clue. But Landis isn’t the sort to jump at shadows.’ I looked at Anne. ‘Your wards up to date?’

‘I’ve still got those ones that you helped with,’ Anne said. ‘It should be okay. Though … I suppose they could just do what they did to your shop.’

I nodded. ‘I’ll stay over tonight. I should be able to see a night raid coming if I look for it. Anyway, we just need to hold out a couple more days. What are you smiling for?’

‘Nothing. Oh!’ Anne jumped up. ‘That reminds me. Stay here for a second.’

I watched curiously as Anne disappeared out of the door and came back a second later holding something long and black. ‘Here.’ She handed it to me. ‘Happy Christmas.’

I took the thing, caught by surprise. It was a long coat with a leather collar, made of some black, slightly rough material with a softer lining. ‘Is that for me?’

‘You were complaining about being cold since all of your warm coats got burned up in the fire,’ Anne said. She watched as I tried it on. ‘Does it fit?’

I stretched my arms through the sleeves. ‘Pretty much perfectly. How did you match the size?’

Anne shrugged. ‘Do you like it?’

I smiled at Anne. ‘Very much. Thank you.’

I saw Anne relax. All of a sudden, she looked happy.

We ended up spending the day together. I checked in with Luna and Variam; the responses were brief but I got the impression things were going well. I called Caldera to learn that she was being forced to stay in the office and work on Christmas Day, cleaning up the after-effects of yesterday’s operation, a duty that she complained about at length. Sonder, like Landis, was off on holiday celebrations, as presumably were most of the mages of Britain. Mages are pretty divorced from mundane society but they do still have families, and even they usually take Christmas off. Tomorrow everyone would be back to work, but for now everything was quiet.

‘So you never do anything for Christmas at all?’ Anne asked.

‘Well, it’s not like I do nothing,’ I said. Outside, the sun was setting; we were in the living room, listening to the quiet sounds of Honor Oak. Anne still had that little notebook in her lap, and she was doing something with it, either writing or drawing. My guess was drawing, but in each future where I moved to get a closer look, she hid it too quickly for me to see. I was curious but didn’t press her. ‘The last couple of years, I’ve spent it with Luna.’

‘But you don’t see your family or anything like that?’

‘Only family I’ve got in the UK is my father. And going to his house for Christmas … God. That would set a world record for most uncomfortable dinner conversation ever.’

‘Why?’

I sighed. ‘Let’s just say that he and I have some major philosophical differences. I find my life’s a lot less stressful when we stay as far apart as possible.’

‘So you don’t have any family you see at all?’

‘Not by choice.’

‘That sounds lonely.’

‘I’m used to it.’ I looked at Anne. ‘What about you?’

Anne twisted her mouth. ‘I suppose I’m not one to talk.’

‘You have a foster family, don’t you?’

‘I usually go each Christmas,’ Anne said. ‘I don’t think any of us enjoy it very much. To be honest, I always used to dread it. It was a relief to be able to tell them this year that I wasn’t going to be able to make it.’

‘Why is it so awkward?’

‘Old memories,’ Anne said. ‘I remember how things used to be. So do they.’

Anne looked down at the carpet. All of a sudden things felt awkward. I cast around for some way to change the subject. ‘How are things going with that air apprentice?’

Anne looked up in surprise. ‘Who?’

‘Wasn’t there some guy who’d asked you out? Carl something?’

‘Luna told you, didn’t she?’

‘It’s not like she’s trying to pry,’ I said. ‘I think she was just happy for you.’

‘Well, she shouldn’t have been.’

‘Why?’

‘Because the same thing happened that always happens. We went out once, he said he’d call back and didn’t.’

‘That’s weird.’

‘No, it’s not,’ Anne said. ‘The first time he didn’t know who I was. He’d just arrived from Germany; he didn’t know all the gossip the way the apprentices from here do. Afterwards, he found out.’

‘Oh.’ I paused. ‘Do you mind if I ask you something personal?’

‘No, go ahead.’

I chose my words carefully, trying to work out how to say this without giving offence. ‘So I’ve known you about three years. For most of that time, you’ve been single, right? There was that guy a couple of years ago, but since then, from what Luna’s told me, there hasn’t been anything that’s lasted.’

Anne nodded.

‘So … why is that? Given what you’ve got going for you.’ I didn’t come right out and say what I was implying. Anne is beautiful, kind and nice to pretty much everyone. I’m not that knowledgeable when it comes to the dating world, but I was pretty sure that she ought to have guys hanging off her. ‘Are you just not interested?’

‘It’s not that.’ Anne sighed. ‘Do you really want to hear about my not-very-important problems?’

I shrugged. ‘We’ve got the time.’

‘It’s not that I’m not interested. It just never turns into anything.’

I tilted my head.

‘I mean, there are the usual things,’ Anne said. ‘Guys who just want to sleep with me, and they lose interest when they find out that that’s not going to happen quickly enough. But all girls have to deal with that. It’s what I am that’s the problem.’

‘You mean being a life mage?’ I said curiously. ‘I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t appreciate that. You’ve saved my life more than once.’

‘It’s not that simple. Forget about magic for a second. Imagine you’re holding a woman who’s smaller and lighter than you are. If it came down to a fight, who’s going to win?’

I shrugged. ‘Probably me.’

‘With me it’s the other way around. If I can touch someone, it doesn’t matter who they are or what they can do. I can do whatever I like to them.’

‘Sure. You can knock them out or paralyse them or just puppet their nervous system. But you don’t.’

‘It doesn’t matter,’ Anne said. ‘Men are used to being in control. Especially mages. When they’re with me, then all of a sudden they’re not. It scares them. They’ll say they aren’t, but you can see it.’

‘It’s not that hard to find guys who don’t want to be in control.’

‘I know.’ Anne sighed again. ‘This is why I don’t like complaining about this stuff. It makes me sound incredibly picky. For a while, when I was with guys, I’d try not to overshadow them. Hold myself back, that sort of thing. But it didn’t work. It made me feel like I was making myself smaller. So then I tried going out with guys who didn’t mind being overshadowed, you know, the ones who’ll tell you how much they like strong women. And that didn’t work either. For one thing I just couldn’t take them seriously, and for another … I think I’ve spent too long in danger. What happened back in our school, then Sagash, then Jagadev. I’d be out with those guys, and I’d look across the table at them, and I couldn’t help thinking: if something like that happens again – when something like that happens again – is this guy going to protect me? And the only answer I could come up with was no.’

I managed not to raise my eyebrows. Anne wanted someone to protect her? ‘Seems more likely you’d be doing the protecting.’

‘I don’t want to do the protecting.’ The sudden heat in Anne’s voice made me draw back. ‘I already have to take care of everyone else.’

I looked at Anne, startled. For a moment I wondered where that had come from, then an uncomfortable thought occurred. ‘I know we rely on you a lot for healing—’

‘Not that. I like helping you and Vari and Luna. Because I know I can count on you too. But when I’m with most people … It’s like being the only grown-up in a crowd of children. I’m the powerful one, so I’m responsible for everyone else.’

‘I know a lot of girls who’d give a lot to be as powerful as you.’

‘That’s because they’ve never lived with it,’ Anne said. ‘I know the ones you’re talking about. Those apprentices all say how awesome it would be to be as strong as me, and they’re all so bright-eyed. They think it’s like … like some pretty necklace. Something they can put on, and everyone will cheer them and clap for them, until they take it off. They don’t understand that you can’t take it off. Once people know what you are, what you can do, then when they look at you, that’s what they see. They don’t see you as a girl. They don’t even really see you as a person.’ Anne paused. ‘Luna understands. I think that’s why we’re friends.’

I grimaced. That sounded familiar. ‘I guess I do know what you mean.’ Diviners aren’t popular either, for reasons which aren’t really all that different when you come down to it. Maybe that’s why Anne, Luna and I get on – we know what it’s like to be set apart. Still, though … ‘Anne, I know you don’t want to hear this, but I’m not sure there is anyone out there who’s capable of taking care of you. Not in the way you mean, anyway. You are way into the ninety-ninth percentile of personal power. For someone to be a threat to you, they’d have to be a threat to just about everyone else.’

‘I know,’ Anne said. ‘But you see where that leaves me? Even if I did find someone, it’d just be a matter of time until one of my enemies showed up. And then he’d be dead, or worse. And it’d be my fault.’ Anne looked away, making a face. ‘And that’s why I’m single, I suppose.’

I looked at Anne thoughtfully.

‘I did tell you that they weren’t very important,’ Anne said. ‘Not by the standards of all our other stuff.’

‘Eh,’ I said. ‘Dealing with the other stuff just keeps us from dying. Still have to figure out how to live afterwards.’

Anne looked out the window. Night had fallen, and the lights of London sparkled in the darkness. ‘I wonder how Luna and Vari are doing.’

I laughed. ‘I’m not going to call them and ask how things are going.’

Anne smiled slightly. ‘So has it been a good Christmas?’

I thought about it for a second. ‘You know, it’s weird to say it after everything that’s gone wrong this week, but … yeah, it has. I just hope the worst is over.’

‘I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.’