Fated

10

I was back home, standing on the balcony outside my bedroom window. Before me was Camden … or what looked like Camden. The street and the bridge and the houses were the same, but everything was brighter than it should be, the colours suffused with white. The air was still, without a breath of wind, and the canal reflected the sky like a mirror. There was no sun, but the whole sky seemed to glow. The city was so silent that you could have heard a car starting from miles away, except there weren’t any cars. This wasn’t London. This was Elsewhere.

Elsewhere is a world, but it’s not a place. It’s empty, yet you seem to meet someone no matter where you go. You can’t travel to it in the flesh, only in dreams, but the things that happen can be real, and the creatures you meet play by rules you can’t understand.

Even the most powerful mages are reluctant to travel to Elsewhere. Things live here, phantoms who can wear the faces of friends and enemies long dead, who try to trick travellers away from the paths home until they’re lost to wander for ever … or so the stories say. Others claim that Elsewhere is an illusion, a reflection of your own mind, and all you find here is what you bring with you. Still others say that Elsewhere is the place where the world of the living meets the world of the dead, and that from here you can cross from one to the other. I don’t know if any of the stories are true. What I do know is that there have been mages who’ve gone to sleep, intending to reach Elsewhere, and never woken up.

I turned and walked into my bedroom. The desk and wardrobe held items, glinting invitingly, but I didn’t stop to take them. I took the stairs down to the ground floor of my shop. By the time I reached my front door, the world outside had changed: instead of the Camden street, the door now opened onto a courtyard of cracked white flagstones. I stepped out and heard my footsteps echo around the walls. Windows looked down from balconies on all sides and an archway led off into what looked like another courtyard. I glanced back to see that my shop had disappeared. Behind was only a blank wall.

The courtyard led into a long arcade, open on both sides to what seemed like an endless expanse of paved stone. The light from the sky shone down brightly, making it hard to see. There were white birds scattered across the flagstones — doves. They cast no shadow and were difficult to make out in the dazzling light. The nearest must have been a hundred yards away, but the place was so silent I could clearly hear the scratch of their claws on the paving stones. I kept going along the arcade until I saw a wall ahead of me, and a door. The door was made of wood and was the only colour against the white stone.

Through Elsewhere you can touch other people’s minds, speak to them in their dreams and draw them into Elsewhere as well, though it’s safer for them than it is for you. This door would lead into Luna’s dreamscape. Whether to enter or not would be up to her.

The sound of chatter and voices washed over me as the door swung open, shockingly loud after the silence. Inside was a ballroom filled with people, mingling and talking. The room was lit by chandeliers, but it seemed dark after the blinding light of the courtyard outside. I had to shield my eyes, squinting, as I waited for my vision to adjust. The people inside wore evening dress and feathered masks that hid their eyes. All were in couples, one man to one woman, dancing, embracing, walking, their arms interlinked, leaning together to talk.

A moment later I saw Luna. In that whole vast room, filled with couples, she was the only one walking alone. She wore no mask, only a simple white dress, and no matter where she went, the couples around her pulled away without seeming to see her. All around her was a wide empty space and, as Luna walked slowly through the crowd, the space moved with her. ‘Luna,’ I called, then again more loudly, ‘Luna!’

Luna looked up, and all of a sudden the figures froze, falling silent. The only sound was Luna’s feet on the wooden floor. She blinked. ‘Alex?’

‘It’s me. Come here.’

Luna obeyed, wending her way through the statues. As she did the men and women seemed to fade and an instant later she was walking across an empty floor. Luna didn’t seem to notice. Her wavy hair was down instead of up in bunches, and as she stepped out into the courtyard and shielded her eyes, I saw she was barefoot. It gave her a lost, vulnerable look. ‘I thought this was a dream.’

‘This is Elsewhere,’ I said. The arcade had vanished, as had the door. We were alone in a vast, open arena. The birds had stayed, perched here and there amidst the flagstones. There was a bench of white stone nearby and I sat on it. Luna followed, looking around wonderingly.

‘If it’s a dream, I’m glad,’ Luna said as she sat. She stared out across the dazzling stone, squinting. ‘But this doesn’t feel like a dream any more.’ She held up a hand and stared at it, then touched it to the bench and looked at me. ‘Is it real?’

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘No. I’m real, you’re real. You’ll remember everything when you wake up.’

‘What about …?’ Luna made a movement towards herself.

It took me a moment to figure out what she was saying. I shook my head. ‘No. You don’t have to worry about hurting me, not here.’

‘Really?’

I nodded, and Luna sighed. She scooted across on the bench and leant against me with a contented noise. ‘Luna?’ I said in surprise.

‘Don’t go,’ Luna complained, closing her fingers drowsily on my coat. ‘Dreams are the only place I can do this.’ She let out a breath. ‘I had a horrible day.’

I hesitated, then put an arm around Luna and leant back. What the hell, it was just a dream. ‘What happened?’

‘They came after me,’ Luna said. ‘Deleo and Khazad.’

‘When?’

‘This morning. They nearly caught me. Then I saw Deleo get a phone call and they vanished.’

‘Was it about noon?’

Luna nodded, and I understood. That phone call had been Cinder telling them I’d left the museum. ‘You ran away?’

‘My phone said you’d called. I tried to call back and I couldn’t get through.’ Her hand tightened on my coat. ‘I didn’t know what had happened.’

I sighed. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to be worried.’

‘It’s okay,’ Luna said, her voice drowsy. ‘As long as you’re all right.’

‘What about that other man?’ I asked. ‘Talisid.’

‘Oh, him. He was trying to get in touch.’

‘Did you talk to him?’

Luna shook her head, her face still hidden against my coat. ‘I didn’t know if I could trust him.’

I smiled. ‘Good girl.’

‘I’m not a good girl,’ Luna said. From the sound of her voice I could tell she was smiling, and I smiled too.

We sat in silence for a little while. ‘Alex?’ Luna said eventually.

‘Hm?’

‘Do you ever wish you were little again? That you didn’t have to grow up?’

I thought of my years as a teenager, all the things I’d done wrong leading up to my fateful decision to sign up with Richard. ‘No,’ I said. ‘Never.’

‘I do,’ Luna said. ‘It wasn’t so bad when I was young. I could be with people. It was only later …’ Luna fell silent, leaning against me. I could feel her weight, see the wave in her hair. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet. ‘I nearly let them catch me.’

‘What?’

‘Deleo. Khazad.’

‘What?’

‘I just wanted it to stop.’ Luna let out a long, sighing breath. ‘I was thinking it wouldn’t be so … bad, being a slave. Then it wouldn’t be my fault any more. I wouldn’t have to worry. It made sense, then …’

‘No! Luna, listen to me.’ I took Luna’s arms and turned her around to stare into her eyes. ‘You don’t understand what you’re saying. You do not know the kind of things that Dark mages do to the people they get their hands on. You don’t want to be held by them, ever. Do you understand?’

Luna swallowed, took a breath. ‘It wouldn’t be my fault. I wouldn’t have to know it was because of me-’

‘No. You don’t know what you’re saying.’

Luna’s voice strengthened suddenly. ‘Yes, I do.’ She tilted her head up, staring at me. ‘I hurt everyone near me. Everyone. Even being close … It won’t stop, it’ll never stop. The longer I live, the more harm I’ll do. Wouldn’t it-’ She took a breath. ‘Wouldn’t it be better if I was gone? No one would miss me …’

I held Luna’s gaze for a long moment before speaking quietly. ‘I’d miss you.’

Luna kept staring at me, then her eyes filled with tears and she started to cry.

I sat there on the bench. Luna buried her face against me and kept sobbing, her shoulders shaking as she drew in shuddering breaths. I found myself stroking her hair, talking to her quietly, but that only made her cry harder. Somehow I understood that Luna needed to do this, that this must be the first time in years she’d been able to. I didn’t rush her, letting her cry herself out.

At last Luna’s tears ran dry. ‘Better?’ I asked as she sat up.

Luna nodded, sniffing. ‘I’m s-sorry I’m so useless.’

‘You’re not useless.’

‘Yes, I am. I’m not a mage like you are. I just keep myself safe and make everyone else worse.’ Luna looked up at me with reddened eyes. ‘Why do you even want me around?’

I let out a sigh. ‘Okay, Luna? Stop it. I need you for something. You’re not useless, and if you don’t show you’re not useless, I’ll be dead within the week.’

Luna stared up at me. ‘What?’

I told her, then, everything that had happened and everything I’d pieced together: how it had been Levistus and Morden all along, why Deleo and the others had been after the cube, how she was the only one who could open the relic, and where I was now. ‘And that’s how it is,’ I finished. ‘Morden’s going to make his move in a couple of days, and once he breaks through to that statue he’s going to find that it won’t open without you. If I don’t have something to pull out of my sleeve by then I’m sunk.’

Luna sat for a few seconds taking it all in. ‘But what are we going to do?’

‘That’s where you come in. You still have a way to get in touch with Talisid, right?’

‘Yes, but-’ Luna slumped. ‘Alex, I can’t do this. I can’t use magic, I don’t know anything. All I do is run away.’

‘You wanted to get involved before.’

‘I thought the one who was going to be in danger was me!’ Luna looked up at me in distress. ‘I’ve never done anything useful since I met you. I just get you into more trouble. What am I supposed to do against these people? I can’t …’

‘Okay,’ I said. ‘I’m going to tell you something important, so listen closely. It’s something most mages never learn at all. The most powerful weapon you have is your mind. Magic doesn’t mean anything unless you know the right way to use it. You’re already involved — you don’t have a choice about that any more. What you do have a choice about is whether you’ll help me. What’s it going to be?’

Luna looked back at me for a long second, then she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and seemed to straighten. When she opened her eyes again she looked more like the girl I remembered. ‘Tell me what to do,’ she said, and her voice was steady again.

I explained. It didn’t take long.

By the time I was done Luna’s eyebrows had climbed almost into her hair. ‘Are you sure this is a good plan?’

‘No, it’s a pretty crazy plan. But if we run they’ll just chase us. Levistus and Morden will want me to get them into the relic, and once they figure out that you’re the only way in — which they will, sooner or later — they’ll be after you too. This is the only way I can think of that gives us a chance to get them both off our backs.’

Luna was silent, and I could see her turning it over in her head. ‘What should I tell them?’ she asked. ‘The mages at the museum?’

‘Talisid should be there,’ I said. ‘Talk to him. He made it pretty clear he didn’t want anyone else getting hold of what’s behind that door. Tell him Morden’s planning an attack and you’ll have his attention. But there’s one thing you have to keep secret — that you’re the only one who can use the cube. That’s our ace in the hole. Don’t let it slip to anyone.’

Luna sat a little while longer. ‘What about you?’ she asked at last.

‘I’ve done this before. I’ll be fine.’

‘What if you’re not?’ Luna asked quietly.

‘Morden needs me to get through to the fateweaver. As long as he needs me, he’ll make sure I stay alive. It’s what happens when he stops needing me I’m worried about. That’s why-’

‘What if you’re wrong?’

I let out a breath. ‘Then it’s all going to come down to you after all.’

Luna met my gaze, and there was something painful in them. ‘Alex-’

And suddenly we weren’t alone any more. Elsewhere changes with who’s in it, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I felt the shift. I looked around to see that the plaza was empty and the birds were gone. ‘We’ve stayed too long.’ I got up, pulling Luna to her feet with me. ‘Back through that door.’

Luna hesitated, and I dragged her along, forcing her to hurry beside me. ‘Wait!’ she began.

‘You need to get back.’ We’d reached the door, and I pulled it open; beyond was the ballroom, dark and empty. ‘Remember: Talisid, the items, the plan. Don’t forget.’

‘Alex!’ Luna tried to pull back. ‘What’s coming? Let me-’

I pushed Luna through the door and slammed it before she could react. Instantly the courtyard was silent. Luna was safe now, back in her own dreams. I took a breath and turned.

The girl walking across the plaza towards me was nineteen years old, and she was dressed in the same clothes she’d been wearing when I’d last seen her. That had been almost ten years ago. She’d been nineteen years old then, too. Smaller than Luna, with short, dark red hair, she looked a bit like a small furry animal, full of energy and movement. I didn’t move as she approached and came to a stop a little way away. She watched me with a smile, one hand on her hip, waiting.

‘Shireen,’ I said at last, and let out a breath. The name sounded strange to my ears; it was the first I’d spoken it in a long time. ‘So you’re dead after all.’

‘C’mon, Alex,’ Shireen said with a grin. ‘When I didn’t call for nine years, that should have been a big clue.’

We stood looking at each other. When I’d known her, Shireen had so often been angry, except for that last time. She didn’t look angry now; she looked at ease. ‘What happens now?’ I asked after a moment.

‘Up to you.’

I paused, then shrugged and walked past her.

Shireen fell into step beside me. ‘What, you’re not going to ask me anything?’

‘I’m curious,’ I said. ‘I’m just not sure what you are.’

‘I thought diviners knew everything?’ Shireen laughed. ‘Okay, how about some proof? Let’s see … How about the time we met? Wait, I know. I could tell you the time you finally turned against Richard. I remember exactly when it happened.’

‘No thanks.’

Shireen sighed. ‘When did you get so serious?’

‘Right now, I want to leave.’

‘Then where are you going?’

I started to answer, then looked around and stopped. The arcade had ended, and the building Luna had vanished into was gone. Instead, we were on a walkway running above a deserted city. On either side, stairways led down to dusty streets, stretching off into the distance. Buildings with empty windows were below, silent and still.

I turned to Shireen. ‘Where’s the way out?’

‘Up to you.’

I hesitated. On either side, flights of stairs led down into the city, while ahead the walkway seemed to go on and on into nothingness. I didn’t like the look of the streets below. I kept walking forward.

Shireen kept pace beside me. ‘Why are you here?’ I said once it became obvious she wasn’t going to say anything.

‘I need to talk to you about Rachel.’

‘You’ve got to be kidding. She doesn’t even call herself that any more.’

Shireen shook her head. ‘You don’t understand. She’s what you could have been.’

‘Yeah, well, I paid the price for that.’

‘You paid the price once. She has to do it every day.’

I sighed. ‘What are you trying to say, Shireen? You want me to feel sorry for her?’

‘It’s not about feeling sorry for her.’

‘Then what is it?’ I came to a stop and rounded on Shireen. ‘In case you haven’t noticed, I’m prisoner of a Dark mage who’s basically Richard except not so nice. He wants me to play for his team, and my teammates are three Dark mages who each hate me for completely separate reasons. Even if I manage to keep all three of them happy — which I won’t — Levistus and that invisible assassin of his are going to want me dead for switching sides. Every one of those people I just listed could kill me if they tried, and every one of them has a reason to do it. All together, there is a really good chance I’m going to be dead within a couple of days. So I don’t have time for this, okay? I need to get out of here.’

Shireen had stood quietly. Now that I’d finished, she spoke again. ‘Why are you here?’

I turned away and started walking again. Shireen followed. ‘Because someone up there hates me,’ I told her. ‘How should I know?’

‘But it was your choice.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘You could have been safe,’ Shireen said. ‘Helikaon told you. Why did you stay?’

‘Because I’m an idiot. Leave me alone.’

‘You knew what you were doing.’

‘If you know so much, why do you keep asking me?’

Shireen didn’t answer, and I stopped and looked at her. ‘Fine. I stayed because of Luna.’

As I said the last word, I felt something shift. I looked around and realised that the walkway had been steadily descending until it was level with the city rooftops. Ahead, it sloped down to street level, ending in front of a mansion. A familiar one.

Shireen spoke into the silence. ‘It’s in there.’

Slowly, I walked towards Richard’s mansion. It was exactly as I remembered it, right down to the cracked stone at the doorway. I came to a stop in front of the double doors.

‘Why are you stopping?’ Shireen asked from behind me. ‘Are you afraid?’

I stood silently before answering. ‘Yes.’

We stood looking at the doors for a minute. The city was quiet, expectant, as though holding its breath. ‘I swore I’d never come back here,’ I said at last. ‘When I escaped.’

‘But you didn’t. Not really.’

I turned in surprise to see that Shireen was looking up at me seriously. ‘You never really got away. That’s why you have the dreams every night. You live alone, you don’t get close to anyone, the only human friend you make is a girl who can’t be touched. Morden was right, you know — you are still living like Richard taught you.’

I looked back at Shireen in silence. ‘What does that matter?’ I said at last.

‘Because Morden was wrong, too. You’ve protected yourself, but you’ve protected others as well. You risked your life to try and save Luna. You’re not a Dark mage. You shouldn’t live like one.’

‘Why are you telling me this?’

Shireen sighed and looked away. ‘Alex, I was nineteen when I died. I didn’t live very long and I made a lot of bad choices, and by the time I figured out which choices were the bad ones it was too late. I just want something good to come from it. I’ve tried with Rachel, but she won’t listen to me any more. There’s still a bit of what we had inside her, but it’s so … twisted now that when I try it just makes her angrier. You’re all that’s left. I don’t want everything I touched to be evil. Please.’

I looked down at Shireen. ‘What do you want me to do?’ I said at last.

I saw Shireen close her eyes for a second, her shoulders going limp with relief. ‘The way out is in the mansion. It’s in Richard’s study. Walk towards the door. Once you step into the room, don’t turn aside for anything, no matter what you see. If you take even one step to the side, you’ll never be able to leave. You’ll be trapped there for ever.’

I nodded.

‘There’s one last thing. It’s a message for you. I had to go to a dragon to learn it. You have to remember it word for word.’

I nodded again.

‘This was the message. “At the end, in the light of the stars, trust in your friends and forego the greater power for the lesser.”’

‘“Forego the greater power for the lesser …”’ I frowned. ‘That came from a dragon?’

Shireen nodded. ‘I don’t know what it means, but I know it’s important. It cost me a lot. Don’t forget.’

‘I’ll make sure.’ I looked at Shireen, and felt a tug of odd feelings. ‘It really is you, isn’t it?’

‘No.’

‘But you …’ I trailed off. Shireen was shaking her head, and there was something sad in her face.

‘I’m only a shadow,’ Shireen said. ‘I can look like her and I can feel like her and I can think like her, but she’s gone. Soon I will be, too. I’ve only lasted this long because of her.’

I looked at Shireen a moment longer. It was a strange feeling, looking at her through an adult’s eyes. I’d grown, but Shireen was still the same, frozen as she’d died. ‘I’m glad I could see you,’ I said at last.

Shireen smiled. ‘You’ll see her again. Sooner or later.’

And with that, she was gone. All of a sudden, Elsewhere felt much emptier. I was alone in the empty city but for the mansion brooding behind me.

I took a look around, then drew a breath. ‘All right,’ I said to no one in particular. I walked up the steps to the mansion doors and pushed. They opened at my touch. I stepped inside and they swung shut behind me.

Inside was utter blackness. Spots swam before my eyes after the brightness of the outside. I stood still for a long moment before lights started to appear, brightening ahead and above. As they grew stronger I saw I was in the entrance hall. Magelights hung from the walls and ceiling, but they seemed dimmer than they should be. Shadows clung to the corners and beneath the tables and chairs.

The mansion was silent, but it was a different silence than outside. Outside had felt empty; this was the silence of something watching and waiting. I wanted to freeze, stay still and hide. The first step was the hardest. The second was easier.

As I walked, I heard whispers at the edge of hearing. The house was the same, but different. Doors that should have been there were missing, walls were bare or blurred, tables the wrong shape or size. This was the mansion my mind had rebuilt in my dreams. One part, though, was perfect: the door at the end of the first-floor corridor, the entrance to Richard’s study.

I nearly stopped then. Even though I’d been awaiting it, that simple wooden door sent a stab of fear through me that made my limbs grow heavy, and I stumbled. Only the memories of Luna and Shireen kept me going. A little bit of me screamed and ran. The rest kept walking. I pushed the door open.

The room inside was different from the rest of the mansion — it was clear and detailed, a perfect replica. A fire burned low in the fireplace, merging with the dim lights to shroud the room in gloom. The floor was covered in a thick, soft carpet, muffling sound so that it took me a second to realise that the fire made no noise. Books on shelves lined the walls. To the left was an oaken desk, covered with papers. My eyes flicked to the armchair behind the desk, but it was empty. A pen was laid upon a scattering of papers, its cap still off. Although the room was silent, it didn’t feel empty. It felt as though something was waiting for me.

On the opposite wall, ten paces away, was another door. It was ajar just a crack, and a sliver of light spilled through. It was swallowed quickly in the gloom, but that patch before the door was the only light in the darkness. The sense of something watching was stronger, but the door was right there in front of me.

I stepped forward, and-

The schoolyard was damp and cold, grey skies a reminder of the rain already fallen and a sign of more to come. Despite the damp a scattering of teenagers were in the yard, boys bragging and laughing while girls looked on and giggled. One boy was standing apart, leaning against the wall, arms folded as he stared. He was in his mid-teens, with spiky black hair … and he was familiar, too familiar. Looking at him made me pause, confused. I knew him, but-

Then all of a sudden it clicked into place. I was looking at myself, eleven years ago. The boy leaning against the wall was me, and the building looming into the grey sky was my last school. With a rush the memory came back. I remembered this day.

Muffled footsteps on the concrete made my younger self look up. A man was approaching, an ordinary-looking man with an ordinary, forgettable face. The kind of man your eyes flick over without ever really noticing. ‘Hello, Alex.’

‘What do you want?’ my younger self said.

‘What do you want?’

‘I want to be somewhere else instead of in a school I hate with a bunch of bastards like them.’ The younger me jerked his head towards the children in the yard.

‘Is that all?’

‘It’s a start.’

‘And then?’ The man tilted his head slightly. ‘What if you could have anything at all? What do you really want?’

My younger self looked up in surprise. He’d been play-acting, not expecting to be taken seriously. ‘Okay,’ he said, and I knew he was paying attention. ‘What I really want? I want to be so powerful that I don’t have to care about idiots like them. I want to be so far above them they can’t even touch me. Can you get me that?’

The man looked back at him, and then suddenly smiled, an amused smile that didn’t touch his eyes. ‘Yes, I can.’

The younger Alex stared at him. ‘Who are you?’

‘My name is Richard Drakh.’ He kept smiling as he looked down. ‘But you can call me master.’

— my foot sank into the carpet. I looked from side to side, confused. The room was empty, quiet. But I hadn’t imagined it. That had been the day I’d met Richard for the first time, as real as when I’d been there. To one side, the fire burned; to the other, the chair sat empty. Cautiously, I took another step-

The living room was warm and still. Richard was sitting in an armchair by the fire, and around him four children made a semicircle. The two girls were on the sofa, side by side. Shireen had been braiding Rachel’s hair and now was watching with a frown, while Rachel was wide-eyed and curious. The younger me was in a smaller armchair to one side. It was only a few weeks after that first meeting with Richard and I looked much the same. I was sitting with my feet curled up underneath me, and the position gave me an oddly child-like look that was out of place with my sharp eyes. And leaning against the mantlepiece, slightly apart from the others, was Tobruk, the firelight catching his whimsical smile.

‘The True Path is power,’ Richard was saying. His voice was deep and magnetic, powerful; no one who heard him speak would ever think him ordinary again. All four of us were staring as though hypnotised, caught up in his words. ‘Power to build and power to destroy. You have your magic, but true power does not come merely from being born with the gift. True power comes from one place only: your inner self. Strength, determination, force of will: these are what distinguish a Dark mage, a True mage, from a dabbler. To be willing to rise higher or sink lower than your enemy, to know that no one is above you … that is the True Way. Your greatest enemies are fear and compassion. Both are weakness, and weakness is death.’ Richard’s eyes swept slowly across the four of us, from Rachel to Shireen to Tobruk to me. ‘I do not expect all of you to succeed. Some will prove weak, in body or mind or will, and if you have a weakness I will find it. But those of you who earn the right to call yourself Dark mages, who become disciples of the True Way, will be power incarnate. Lessers will speak of you in fear and envy. No one will be able to stand against you, and your words will be as the voice of God.’

The room was silent. Then Tobruk stirred. ‘When do we start?’

‘Now.’

I was back in the study. Looking around, I saw I’d taken only two steps across the floor. I was seeing my life as Richard’s apprentice, a step at a time. I didn’t know how long had passed, but I knew I needed to keep moving. I stepped forward again-

This time I was ready for the shift. I was looking at myself, Tobruk, Shireen and Rachel a few months later, back in the living room but without Richard this time, talking and planning. It was our first assignment and we were working together, but I didn’t listen to the voices this time; I made my body take another step forward.

The scene blurred and steadied. Now we were outside, the setting sun painting the red rocks of a sandstone canyon. ‘This was your idea,’ Tobruk was saying, bored.

‘But …’ My face was uncertain, frowning. ‘We don’t need to do this.’

‘So?’

My stomach twisted as I remembered what was about to happen. I didn’t want to watch this. Another step-

The living room with the four of us again, but this time the cooperation was gone. Tobruk and I were arguing, Shireen chipping in. Tobruk’s dark eyes flashed as he talked over me, and Rachel watched doubtfully, looking between us. The door opened, cutting us all off, and-

The visions came faster, blending into each other. Dissent and suspicion. Shireen and Rachel shifting step by step. Shireen angrier, Rachel desperate. My encounters with Lyle and the Council. Richard above it all, seemingly oblivious. Plots in the darkness. Deception, fear. Discovery.

And then, suddenly, everything was steady. A younger me, maybe a year older than the first time, was standing in a corridor of dry, cold stone. Next to me was a girl, thin and barely able to stand, leaning on me with bloodstains on her tattered clothes. Both of us were staring at Richard, who was standing just a little way ahead, Shireen, Rachel and Tobruk behind. ‘You knew?’ I was saying, and I sounded stunned.

‘Oh, Alex,’ Richard said. ‘Don’t confuse not knowing with not caring. I was willing to let you lie to me right up to the point where you disobeyed a direct order.’

I saw my younger self lick his lips. ‘You don’t need her. There’s a way-’

‘It’s not about her. It’s about you.’ Richard held out his hand and beckoned. ‘Give her to me.’

The girl looked from Richard to me, eyes wide in fright. I hesitated.

Richard sighed. ‘That, unfortunately, was your last chance.’ He shook his head. ‘I warned you not all of you would make it. Tobruk?’

Tobruk stepped forward with a grin. ‘Hey, Alex. Guess you’re not top of the class any longer.’ He snapped his fingers and black fire ignited, leaping forward-

I came down with a gasp. I was back in the study, but I’d crossed the floor. The door was in front of me, within touching distance. One more step and I’d be through.

A voice spoke from my left. ‘Long time no see.’

I knew who it was before I looked. Tobruk was leaning back in Richard’s chair, his feet propped up on the desk. He looked exactly as he’d been when I’d last seen him, a good-looking teenager with dark skin and a mobile, mischievous face. His mouth was smiling, like always. His eyes weren’t.

‘That’s not your seat,’ I said at last.

Tobruk grinned. ‘Richard’s through that door. Don’t worry; you’ll find him. All you have to do is step through.’

I looked back for a second, then nodded. ‘Okay.’ I started forward.

‘Oh look, what have we got here?’ Tobruk pulled his feet off the table and reached down to drag a girl up by her hair. It was Shireen. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing shallowly, cuts and scratches criss-crossed her face. Tobruk held her up long enough for me to see her, his fingers tangled in her hair, then he tossed her forward to slump across the desk, her head hitting the wood with a thunk. ‘So what do you think I should do with her?’

I stood still. ‘What if I burn some of her fingers off?’ Tobruk asked. He shook his head. ‘Nah, that’d be a waste. I think I should screw her first. She always was a good lay.’

‘Stop it,’ I said, my mouth dry.

Tobruk grinned. He settled back into his chair and spread his arms wide, inviting. ‘Make me.’

I wanted to dive for him. Instead I took a deep breath and fought the anger, controlling it. When I spoke at last, my voice was steady. ‘The only place I’m going is through this door.’

‘You think I care?’ Tobruk shrugged. ‘You’re coming back sooner or later. Matter of fact, I kind of want you to run into Richard again.’ He grinned again. ‘Course, if you want to speed things up …’

I looked down at Shireen’s unconscious body. ‘What did she do to you?’ I asked.

‘She didn’t do anything.’ The grin vanished from Tobruk’s face and he leant forward over the desk at me, his eyes suddenly filled with hate. ‘I was going to be Richard’s Chosen. Two years of clawing to be better than the rest of you, and all for what? So you could stab me in the back like a coward. My whole life was a waste because of you! My whole life!’ Suddenly Tobruk flashed into flame, becoming a skeleton wreathed in dark fire. It only lasted a second, then he was human again. Smoke curled from the chair. Where his hands had been splayed on the desk, charred handprints were burnt into the wood.

The two of us stared at each other. ‘I did a lot of things I shouldn’t have while I was here,’ I said at last. ‘A lot of them I don’t like to think about. But you know what?’ I held Tobruk’s gaze, dropping my mask, letting him see I was telling the truth. ‘Killing you was the only thing I ever did from that time that I don’t regret at all.’

Tobruk glared at me a second longer, then snorted and dropped back into the chair. ‘Yeah, whatever.’

I turned to leave.

‘Oh, Alex?’

I paused for a moment, then looked back.

‘Richard’s going to find you,’ Tobruk said. He was smiling again. ‘When he wakes up he’s going to go looking for you. Then he’s going to find you and then he’s going to hurt you and then you’re going to die. And when you do, I’ll be waiting for you. Make sure you stay alive till then, Alex. I’ll be really disappointed if you let any of those guys kill you instead. I want to see your face when you meet him.’ He gave a mocking wave. ‘Be seeing you.’ He turned towards Shireen.

I didn’t wait to see what he was going to do with her. I stepped through the door, pushing it open. There was a moment of blinding, unbearable light, then-

My eyes snapped open into darkness. It was warm, and I was back on the bed in the room in Morden’s mansion. I looked quickly through the futures just to make sure that I was really back, then I got up. The lights in the room had gone out, and the fire was cold. Outside, starlight glinted off the leaves. I stood by the window for a while, looking out into the night, before I turned and returned to bed.