Burned (5 page)

‘All right! Jesus, it was Symmaris, okay? It was Symmaris!’

‘And what did Symmaris tell you to do?’

‘Just to … just to rough you up a bit, okay? Nothing serious, we weren’t going to hurt you or anything.’

‘Uh-huh. And what were you supposed to tell me afterwards?’

‘To stay away from Drakh.’

I paused. ‘What?’

‘From Drakh. For the job. You know?’

‘What job?’

‘I don’t fucking know. They—’

I lifted the stick.

‘No! Jesus, I’m telling you the truth, I swear! There was some thing, some, some job you were supposed to be doing, working with Drakh, I don’t know, something important, and Symmaris, she wanted to warn you to back off, right? That was all she told us. That was it!’

I stared down at James, searching through the futures. It sounded flimsy, but as I explored different interrogation options, I realised to my surprise that he was actually telling the truth. I shook my head. ‘You really came to the wrong neighbourhood.’

‘Look, please, just let me go. I didn’t know. I’ll tell Symmaris whatever you like, I swear—’

‘I don’t work for Drakh,’ I said.

James paused. ‘Huh?’

‘I don’t work for Richard Drakh,’ I said again. ‘Your boss got the wrong guy. If you’d done your homework and asked around instead of coming here, you and your boys could be back at home having a pint right now.’ I gestured back towards the two adepts. The one I’d hit with the stun focus was stirring and moaning. The other had rolled over on to his side and was throwing up. ‘Get your mates and gate. If you pull anything like this on me a second time, you won’t be around for a third. Understand?’

James nodded quickly. ‘Yeah. Okay.’

‘Get lost.’

James stumbled to his feet and hurried over to the two adepts. I watched patiently as he started opening a gate. ‘James?’ I said when he was a minute into the spell.

I saw the muscles in James’s back tense. The blue light around his hand flickered and he nearly dropped the spell. Slowly he turned, shoulders hunched, the whites of his eyes showing.

I flicked the beam of the torch down where the two adepts had fallen. ‘They dropped their clubs.’

James stared at me, then down at the shadowy outlines of the clubs where they lay on the ground.

‘Pick them up, please,’ I said. ‘I’m not cleaning up after you.’

Slowly James obeyed, holding the wooden cudgels awkwardly in his injured hand, then went back to opening the gate. By the time he was done both adepts were on their feet, one supporting the other. The three of them shot scared looks at me as they shuffled through the gate and out of sight. I watched it close behind them. The blue light faded and I was alone in the darkness.

‘Idiots,’ I said into the night. I checked to make sure no one else was coming, then walked to the edge of the ravine. Hermes blinked into position behind me, trotting at my heels. I pressed two fingers to one of the roots beneath the oak tree, waited for the signature of the open connection and spoke. ‘Arachne? It’s Alex. We need to talk.’

Usually Arachne’s lair is one of the few places I can relax. Its wards and defences are extensive, and I know that Arachne’s been steadily improving them over the last few years. It’s not just paranoia: magical creatures like Arachne have no protection under the Concord, and if any mages decide to pick a fight with her, no one on the Council is going to do anything about it. Arachne’s only defences are those she creates herself, and though she never talks about it, I know she takes it seriously. Sitting here in the cavern, I was almost certainly safer than I was in my own shop.

Except that for the first time in years, being here wasn’t making me feel safe. Sure, I could hide here – for a while. But not for ever.

‘That’s the story,’ I said. I was sitting on one of the sofas, next to some bolts of red and blue silk. Hermes had hopped up on to another sofa and was watching with ears pricked.

‘I see,’ Arachne said. Arachne is a spider the size of an SUV, black-haired with highlights of cobalt-blue; she’s probably my oldest friend and one of the very few people I really trust. She’d been working on a dress when I’d arrived, but as soon as I’d started to give her the news she’d put it down and moved in close. Now she was resting in such a position that her front legs were only a couple of feet away, near enough that I could smell the herbal scent of her body. She’d been listening for twenty minutes, speaking only to ask for clarification. ‘Do you know anything further about your three attackers?’

‘Honestly?’ I said. ‘Right now I don’t much care. They’re small fry. I’ve got bigger problems.’

‘Small problems that aren’t dealt with can become larger problems,’ Arachne said. ‘Besides, I suspect the two may be related.’

I shrugged.

‘It concerns me that they knew to stage an ambush here,’ Arachne said.

‘Yeah, they knew where to find me,’ I said. ‘But if I don’t deal with this Council proposal, then it won’t
matter
that they knew where to find me, because inside of a week I won’t be here, or anywhere else in the country, or maybe not even alive. I do not have much room to manoeuvre here!’

Arachne looked at me patiently. ‘There’s no need to be snappish.’

I sighed, passing a hand in front of my face. ‘I’m sorry. I’m just off-balance.’ I looked up at Arachne. ‘Any good ideas? Because I could really use some.’

‘Moving Variam and Anne to Landis’s sponsorship is an obvious decision,’ Arachne said. ‘Pushing Luna through her journeyman tests is more risky, but seems to be the best of the possible alternatives. Though you’ll need help from Chalice.’

‘We’re meeting her tomorrow morning. I still hadn’t completely made up my mind on whether to trust her.’ I shrugged again. ‘Guess now I’ve got no choice.’

‘But that still leaves the question of your sentence,’ Arachne said. She studied me, eight eyes unblinking. ‘You understand why this is happening.’

‘Yeah. It’s the bill coming due for pissing off Levistus.’

‘No,’ Arachne said. ‘Levistus is the short-term manifestation of a long-term problem. If it hadn’t been Levistus, it would have been someone else.’

‘What long-term problem?’

‘Your independence,’ Arachne said. ‘Over the past few years, you have been offered numerous chances to side with those more powerful than yourself. Levistus tried to recruit you, as did Morden. Richard offered you your old place at his side. Talisid wanted you to become his spy. You turned them all down. Instead you have opted to remain separate and apart, beholden to no one.’

‘You know why we did that,’ I said. ‘I know our group’s not powerful, not compared to the real players. We can’t do much to change things. But at least we don’t have to make things worse.’

‘And that would be viable, were you only involved in small things,’ Arachne said. ‘But Levistus’s plans are not small things. Richard’s return is not a small thing. There are storms coming, and you will be caught in them.’

‘Then what are my options?’

‘Align yourself with one of the greater powers,’ Arachne said. ‘Or
become
a greater power. Or die.’ She paused. ‘I’m sorry, Alex. I wish I had better news.’

I sat in silence. ‘What if there’s another way?’ I said at last. ‘Find something to trade to one of the Council mages. Play them off against one another. I’ve done it before.’

‘Perhaps,’ Arachne said. ‘For a little while. But understand that to take this road – to make your own choices – is to walk the most difficult path. There will be sacrifices.’

I felt a chill go through me. It wasn’t physical cold – Arachne’s cave is warm. ‘Will I have you with me?’

‘I do not know how long I can stay,’ Arachne said. ‘But as long as I can help you, I will.’

I reached out and rested a hand on one of Arachne’s forelegs. Arachne reached up with her other foreleg to stroke my hair, her movements gentle. I closed my eyes and let myself relax, taking comfort in her presence. We stayed like that for a long time, silent in the lair.

Sunday morning dawned bright and clear. The sun was shining down out of a cold blue sky, and puffy white clouds drifted high above. There were six days until my execution order went through.

Luna and I sat at a back table in one of the cafés along Upper Street in Islington. Despite the time of day, there was a good scattering of people. Islington is an odd, mixed sort of place: from walking the streets you’d get the feeling that it’s middle class and rich, yet if you look at the numbers, it’s got one of the highest poverty rates in the country. The other people in the café didn’t seem to have much to worry about: they looked like affluent young urban professionals, chatting and laughing over their morning coffees. But maybe there was more to them than met the eye. Just like us.

‘Do you guys usually have your lessons in here?’ I asked Luna. I didn’t need to keep my voice down; Luna had picked us a table against the far wall, a good distance from the other customers.

‘Sort of,’ Luna said. ‘We switch around.’

‘I still can’t believe that you have magic lessons in a café,’ I said. It wasn’t news; I’d kept close tabs on Chalice and Luna during the early stages of their relationship, and I still went out of my way to check in with Luna after lessons even now. But it felt weird all the same.

‘It’s not as though our magic’s visible.’

‘What if something weird happens?’

‘Doesn’t seem to.’

I sighed. ‘Must be nice being so lucky that you don’t have to worry about consequences.’

Movement in the futures caught my eye and I looked up. Chalice was about to walk in. ‘How much have you told her?’ I asked Luna.

‘Just that there was a problem and that you’d be coming,’ Luna said. ‘I figured we shouldn’t really be discussing it over the phone.’

‘Good.’

Chalice came walking through the door, saw us and turned in our direction. She blended in with the morning crowd; a professional-looking Indian woman dressed neatly in dark winter clothes. ‘Hello, Luna,’ she said with a smile as she reached our table. She pulled out a chair and sat down. ‘Verus, it’s been a while.’

‘I know,’ I said with a nod. ‘Everything work out with Yarris?’

‘Yes,’ Chalice said. ‘Thank you for your help with that.’

Chalice is a new addition to my and Luna’s social circle. Earlier in the year, after months of searching for a reputable Light or independent chance mage to act as Luna’s teacher, I’d finally given in to Luna’s requests to try something riskier. Chalice was a Dark mage who had approached Luna on her own initiative. I hadn’t trusted her then and I didn’t fully trust her now, but she’d kept up her end of the deal – she’d started teaching Luna twice a week, and the results had been impressive.

But the relationship was a two-way street. In exchange for her lessons, Chalice had asked that I help her out when she needed it. In a funny way, the fact that Chalice had demanded that had actually made me feel better – I wouldn’t have trusted her if she’d claimed to be doing it for free. Equivalent exchange, on the other hand … that I could believe. The favours she’d been asking had mostly been investigations, digging up information on other mages. Most seemed to relate to Chalice’s past in India, but I hadn’t yet been able to ferret out what her long-term goals were. Maybe I’d learn something more today.

A waiter approached. Chalice ordered masala chai, while Luna asked for a pot of red tea. The waiter turned to me; I shook my head and he withdrew. ‘The tea here is quite good,’ Chalice said.

‘Maybe another time.’

Chalice glanced sideways at Luna, then turned back to me. ‘So I understand there’s a problem.’

‘I’ll get to the point,’ I said. ‘You’ve been teaching Luna for nearly a year now.’

Chalice nodded.

‘Do you think she’s ready to take her journeyman tests?’

Chalice considered very briefly. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I think so.’

I sat back slightly, glancing through the futures in which I interrogated Chalice more closely. I couldn’t see any futures in which I reacted to signs of deception. Chalice looked back at me with her dark eyes. As far as I could tell, she was telling the truth.
Well, that’s it
, I decided.
We’re doing this.

‘I can give you the breakdown,’ Chalice offered.

I shook my head. ‘If you say she’s ready, she’s ready.’

Luna was looking between us, eyes bright. ‘Okay, Luna,’ I said to Luna. ‘You win.’

‘So this is something you’ve decided to move forward with?’ Chalice asked.

‘Looks like,’ I said. ‘You free to give Luna some coaching?’

‘That should be possible,’ Chalice said. ‘When are you hoping to schedule the tests for? Next summer?’

‘More like the end of this week,’ Luna said.

Chalice paused. ‘I’m sorry?’

The waiter reappeared with a tray. Chalice fell quiet as cups and teapots were offloaded, but I could feel her eyes on me, questioning. The waiter gave us a chirpy ‘Let me know if there’s anything else you need!’ and disappeared.

‘There’s been a bit of a change in schedule,’ I said once the waiter was out of earshot. ‘When we said “Are you free for coaching?” we meant now. As in, right now.’

Chalice gave me a thoughtful look. ‘Perhaps you should explain.’

I filled Chalice in, leaving out the parts that didn’t directly relate to me or to Luna. Chalice listened silently, taking an occasional sip from her cup. The scents of the chai and Luna’s own tea mixed together, warm and pleasant. ‘So, like I said,’ I finished, ‘time’s an issue.’

Chalice was silent, and I had the feeling that she was calculating just how dangerous this would be. ‘Can you help?’ Luna asked. ‘I could really use the practice.’

I felt the futures settle as Chalice made her decision. ‘Yes,’ Chalice said. ‘That should be possible.’ She looked at Luna. ‘Are you sure about the five-day rule?’

Luna nodded.

‘Then we don’t have much time.’ Chalice tapped her nails on the table, then gave a nod. ‘All right. I’ll clear my next few days. I’ve a prior engagement tonight, but starting tomorrow, we’ll train full-time.’

I saw Luna relax a little. ‘Thanks.’

‘Which leaves the question of my payment.’