Vigil: Verity Fassbinder Book 1 (25 page)

‘My baggage is a little more bitey than most.’ I pushed him away. ‘I spent part of the day at a house when an entire family
was eaten – I
was almost eaten myself. And remember what happened to Lizzie? Because of me?’

‘It wasn’t
because
of you – that old bat would have taken any child. She could have seen you talking to a kid at the shops and decided to take
that one.’ He brushed the hair back from my face. ‘Lizzie was endangered by someone else’s crazy, but she’s
alive
because of you.’

I didn’t think his logic would stand up to scrutiny but I kept my mouth shut. The truth was, I really didn’t want to be without
him. When I’d walked away from Bela it was because that was what I wanted to do more than anything. This time, leaving was
the last thing on my wish list. Besides, he was right, both about the suckiness of being single and the incompetence of my
break-up, and at this point, knowing that I was loved and loving, that my life wasn’t one great gaping hole, was very,
very
important.

As I set the table, I couldn’t remember the last time it had been used for actual dining rather than book storage. It felt
weird. But good weird.

Later that night, after David had gone to sleep, I tried Eurycleia, but the number rang out. Then I called Bela to tell him
about Raidne. He was curt when I asked how he was, more like himself; it sounded like he was rapidly rebuilding his walls.
There was a lot of put-upon sighing at my failure to make at least one dilemma go away, and I felt like a kid pulling at his
coat for attention. Zvezdomir Tepes, Patron Saint of the Mortally Inconvenienced.

‘V, I’m not saying the sirens aren’t an issue, but I’ve –
we’ve
– got bigger problems. Another of the councillors was targeted this evening. Mercado Wright? Lives in one of those big old
Art Deco apartment blocks in Spring Hill? Luckily, he owns the building, so he’s the only tenant.’

‘Dead?’ I asked, hoping there was no hint of longing in my voice. Wright was one of
those
Weyrd: on the single occasion I’d met him, he had looked through me as if I wasn’t there. Not that I wished him ill; I just
didn’t like him.

‘No – he was woken by the motion sensors going off, then he heard his bodyguards being eaten and ran while the golem was distracted.’
I could hear Bela tapping on something at his end. ‘I’ve stashed him and the other councillors in a safe house.’

‘Is his place near a stormwater drain or sewer?’ I asked, and waited
for an answer. If I’d held my breath I’d have passed out. I tried again, ‘Did the wards go off at Wright’s?’

‘He didn’t say.’ His tone told me he was annoyed at himself for not asking.

‘I’m willing to bet they didn’t. Ziggi and I walked straight in at the Greenills’ place – am I right in thinking you’d disarmed
the protections over the front door when you arrived?’ He grunted, which I took as an affirmative. ‘If they’d remembered to
set the Normal security system, they might have had a chance.’

‘Your point?’ he asked sharply, and I realised a reminder that something so mundane might have saved his friends was probably
not what he needed at that moment.

‘Wright didn’t say he was woken by his wards doing whatever they were meant to do, did he? He said it was the motion sensors.
Remember what Ursa said? The golem has a Normal core. So the Weyrd stuff around it is just a wrapping, not strong enough to
set off magical barriers – but the mortal part, its
essence
, still affects Normal things. Let’s face it, a lot of apotropaic power doesn’t work on me either.’

There was a lengthy pause, then, ‘You’ve been working on your vocabulary.’

‘Sometimes I’m not as stupid as I appear.’

‘Ziggi told me about the tunnels,’ he said obliquely. ‘Are you okay?’

‘I’m alive, but I fear I’ll never get the smell out of my nostrils and a very expensive dress will never be the same again.’
From the bedroom came the sounds of David’s contented snoring and I wanted nothing more than to join him. ‘You know you might
have to go underground?’

‘By
you
, you mean
you
, correct?’

I realised he was right, and sighed. We’d both have given our right arms for a team of dumb, gun-toting Normals willing to
go beneath the city and flush out the golem for us. Alas, all we had was me.

‘Do you think you can get me back into the Archives tomorrow?’

‘Is that a good idea?’

‘Hey, I remained polite with Anders Baker
and
his surly security guard. Mostly. I’m growing as a person. Ask Ziggi.’

‘He mentioned it already – he seemed to think you might have been on drugs. Why do you want to see Ursa again?’

‘Location scouting,’ I hedged. ‘I thought I might see if she has more detailed maps of the tunnels than those available through
Normal channels. It might give me some hints about something,
anything
.’ It sounded convincing. After a few moments I said, ‘So, can you get me back in? I promise I’ll be good.’

His groan told me that he really didn’t want to but had no choice. Life had taught me a lot about doing things we didn’t want
to do, but I didn’t think he’d appreciate my insights just now.

*

I headed over to Little Venice bright and early, preparing myself for the taste of crow. The bar area was deserted, but the
Sisters had unearthed winter braziers, which were now dotted around the courtyard so those patrons who felt the cold could
still sit outside comfortably. One of the Norns was moving between tables, putting candles into Moroccan tea glasses of yellow,
orange and purple etched glass. At night they would be lovely.

The long fall of auburn corkscrew curls dropping to a slim waist dissipated some of my tension: it wasn’t Aspasia. Boyish
hips were encased in skinny jeans and a black skivvy covered barely-there breasts. I called, ‘Hey, Theo.’

She swung around, the cataract of hair moving like a velvet curtain. Her free hand made its way to one hip as she assumed
her best you’ve-got-a-lot-of-nerve pose.

‘You bruised Aspasia’s wrist.’

‘I really don’t know my own strength,’ I offered, and considered walking with a limp I no longer had in hope of sympathy.
Deciding against it, I went with the truth. ‘And I have come to apologise.’

Above me there was a displeased chorus and looking up, I saw three small serpents, one red, one blue, one green, entwined
in the canopy of vines. They didn’t look happy. I pointed. ‘You wanna call them off?’

‘Aspasia’s babies. Don’t worry, they’re not so poisonous. And you’re doubly in luck: she’s not here.’ She grinned, sat at
one of the tables and gestured for me to join her. Theodosia didn’t make me too nervous; she thought I was cute. ‘You want
your fortune told? I think I’ve got my cards around here somewhere.’

‘No thanks, but I admire that you Norns never give up.’ I sat. ‘I’m after information.’

‘This got to do with the sirens?’

‘Why am I not surprised that you know about that?’ I asked. ‘But no – unless you know something, of course.’

She shook her head. ‘Other than they’re turning up dead with startling regularity? No, I know nothing.’

‘One of them, the first one to die, had a baby. Said baby is missing, and I have to admit I’m not holding out much hope at
this point,’ I admitted.

She threw her hands in the air. ‘What is it with you and children?’ She
tsk’d
.

‘Used to be one myself. If you hear anything—’

‘Unlikely. You know the birds like to keep to themselves . . .’ My
pitiful expression must have had some effect because she said, ‘But I’ll ask around . . . if that wasn’t what you came for,
what is?’

‘Years ago a Normal named Anders Baker married a Weyrd woman, Dusana Nadasy.’

She looked at me as if to say,
And
?

‘She and her house blew up. The hired help too.’

Her face lightened. ‘Oh,
that
Dusana Nadasy.’

‘The very same. Her son’s gone missing and I’m trying to find him.’

‘Wouldn’t he be an adult now? A bit old for your super-nanny attentions?’

‘You know, it hurts me when you’re sarcastic like that.’ I crossed my arms.

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Anyway, he is indeed all grown up, but his daddy wants him home.’ I rubbed at the back of my neck where the headache was
starting. ‘Before Donovan disappeared he might have been looking for his grandparents on the Nadasy side. Don’t suppose the
kid ever came in here, asking questions?’

She tilted her head and studied the photo I held out. ‘Never seen him. You think maybe he found them?’

‘His father seems to think they’re dead, or should be, anyway.’

‘But you’re naturally suspicious.’

‘Comes with the territory.’

‘Vadim and Magda Nadasy were very traditional; if there was such a thing as Old High Weyrd, they were it. Not necessarily
well-liked; but then people who insist on rigorously maintaining standards seldom are. Don’t know why they came to Oz; maybe
the Motherland got a little too dangerous. Here, no one believes in the old monsters so it’s easier for us to hide in this
godless modern society, bless it.’

‘So where could I find them, if they’re alive?’

‘Don’t know.’ She frowned. ‘They’ve been gone a long time, Fassbinder. Maybe once the daughter went pop they dropped out of
sight. Or maybe they’d already decamped. Did Magda die? I think she might have – oh, don’t look at me like that, Fassbinder,
it was a
long
time ago.’

‘Sorry, sorry. Can you remember anything else?’

‘They apparently used to hold court, the full deal, quite grand. I’m repeating gossip, of course:
we’ve
never been good enough to score invitations to that sort of event. Whispers had it that your father supplied their table.’

‘My father supplied a lot of tables, Theo. I guess if they were gone it would explain why Baker got away with killing Dusana,’
I mused, storing the other information away. The Winemaker had said she’d known Grigor – so had she known Vadim and Magda
too?

Theo’s mouth dropped open. ‘Really? He
murdered
her?’

‘I don’t know for sure, but it was strangely convenient timing. Anders Baker doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who’ll take
an infinite amount of humiliation. But if the Nadasys are still around, why is Baker still alive?’

‘What if Baker had something they wanted more than revenge?’ That hung in the air.

‘Like what?’

‘How should I know? You’re the investigator.’ She rubbed at a mark on her skin. ‘If they’re alive and if the kid found them—?’

‘You know how popular mixed marriages are – I’m not sure how warm his welcome would have been.
If
he found them.’ I cleared my throat. ‘I am, of course, clutching at straws. It appears to be my specialty.’

She grinned and tapped a long nail against the tabletop. It sounded
like glass hitting tile. ‘The great thing about rumours is that they never quite go away, and at the heart of every rumour—’

‘—is a kernel of truth.’

‘I’ll see what I can find.’

‘There’s something else.’

‘Isn’t there always?’ She pouted.

‘Well, this is more of a public service announcement. There’s a golem roaming the streets – and not a helpful one.’

She looked away. ‘I heard about the Greenills. Shame. Adriana was nice.’

News travelled fast. ‘It went after Mercado Wright last night.’

‘He’s no loss.’

‘Sorry to say he survived. Wagons have been drawn into a circle, and the Council is in lockdown. I don’t want to panic peeps,
but forewarned is forearmed – put the word about, hey?’

‘Wasn’t a problem when it was taking Normals,’ she grumbled, and I shook a finger at her.

‘Look, thinking it’s all fine and dandy as long as the bad things are happening to Normals is not okay. Consider this: eventually
they’ll be gone and the bad things will look for new targets – as evidenced by the Greenills’ extinction.’ She gave me a flat
stare and I resisted the urge to grab her hand and squeeze. ‘And what happens when the sirens’ nest is cleared out? There’s
no guarantee whatever’s doing that will leave town. Then the rest of us are in the firing line.’

‘Shit.’

‘Not to mention that if this golem keeps going, keeps feeding, we won’t be able to keep it quiet: if what’s happening spills
into the open, we’ll be in real trouble, Theo. A bunch of panicking Normals looking for scapegoats is not a pretty future.’

‘Double shit. I really don’t want to have to move again.’

‘Then
help
me. Keep an ear to the ground, and if you hear anything, let me know.’

‘In everyone’s interest, isn’t it?’ She grinned. ‘Aspasia’s going to be pissed off when they tell her you were in here.’ Theo’s
eyes rolled upwards to the serpents, who’d subsided and were listening carefully. ‘She’ll be even more pissed off when I tell
her she missed your apology.’

‘I’ll be back – but you might want remind her that the last person who aggravated me got shoved into an oven. Tell her not
to give my address to strays.’ I hadn’t forgotten she’d told Sally Crown where I lived, and I hadn’t forgotten that was how
Sally had found Lizzie. Theo’s cheeks flushed, and I knew she hadn’t forgotten either. ‘I’ll come back to apologise in person,
if she promises not to spit in my food.’