Fallen, p.26
Fallen, page 26
part #10 of Alex Verus Series
“The ground floor of the War Rooms?” I said. “What were they going for?”
“Fighting was around the security checkpoints, I think?”
I frowned. “But all the important places in the War Rooms are below ground. Taking the security checkpoints doesn’t get you anywhere.”
“The way Vari talked about it, they seemed to think it was the first stage of an actual attack and they aborted midway through.”
“Mm. You said there were two attacks.”
“Other one was on someplace called the Eyrie,” Luna said. “I’ve never heard of it, but Vari seemed to know what it was.”
“It’s the Council’s main monitoring centre,” I said. “Tracks calls and video feeds, runs surveillance, sends dispatch requests to Keeper HQ. Back when I was in the Keepers, most of our coms were routed through there.”
“Well, it’s not going to be doing that anymore. According to Vari, they wiped the place clean. Killed all the staff, then set off an EMP that fried every computer in a city block.”
I stared down at the grass, then turned away from Luna and began pacing. “What are they doing now?”
“The Council? Figuring out what happened and calling up their reserves. All the Keepers are on standby right now, waiting while Council intelligence tries to track down Richard’s forces for a counterstrike. As soon as they find something, Vari says they’re going all in.”
I thought for a moment. “Was there any connection between the two attacks?”
“They think hitting the Eyrie was meant to cut the War Rooms off from reinforcements.”
“The War Rooms are too well guarded for that. All it’d do would be slow down the Keeper response teams. And it wouldn’t even do that very well.”
Luna shrugged. “Can only tell you what I heard. What do you think’s going on?”
“I’m not sure,” I said slowly. “Something feels off.”
“You don’t think it was Richard?”
“Oh, it was Richard all right. But attacking two targets at the same time doesn’t make sense. Even with the jinn, Anne can’t be in two places at once.”
“You think one was a fake?”
I nodded. “He’s done it before. In which case, the real target must be the attack that succeeded, on the Eyrie. Question is what he was trying to do. Wiping the computers makes it sound as though he was trying to take out their records, but it’s hard to see what they could have on there that would be worth that much.”
“Something they didn’t know they had?”
“Or he could be setting up for a different attack. With the Eyrie gone, the Council’s response time’s going to be lengthened.”
“The War Rooms again?”
“Maybe,” I said dubiously. Taking out the War Rooms would end the war, full stop. But for that exact reason it was the most heavily defended fortress in Britain. Even with Anne, I didn’t think Richard had the firepower to break it.
“Well, Vari thinks we should get ready to move,” Luna said. “They’re going after Richard as soon as they manage to follow the attacker’s trail. Vari says he’ll tell us as soon as they have a lead.”
I hesitated, then shook my head. “No.”
“You know they’re not just after Richard, right?” Luna said. “Anne’s right at the top of their list, too. Vari says their orders are to kill her on sight.”
“I can believe it, but I don’t think they’re going to find her,” I said. “Not unless Richard wants her found.” I thought for moment. “We’re going to have to split up. Go out of the Hollow and stay in contact with Vari.”
“I thought you just said you didn’t think they were going to find her?”
“I might be wrong.”
“What are you going to do, then?”
“I’m waiting to hear back from Chalice,” I said. “She’s got one last piece of the puzzle that I need before I can move.”
* * *
Luna disappeared, and I waited in the Hollow, checking every ten minutes to see if Chalice would be in contact. I was tense now—I didn’t know how much longer I had before Richard would strike.
But luck was with me. After less than an hour, my search through the futures found what I was looking for, and I gated out of the Hollow to find a text message on my phone. It contained an address and nothing more. Chalice hadn’t added a signature; she didn’t need to.
Buenos Aires, I thought. Feels right. I sent a message out through the dreamstone, calling Starbreeze. I didn’t have much time.
* * *
Starbreeze set me down in an out-of-the-way street in one of Buenos Aires’s suburbs before darting off. White-painted houses were nestled behind walls and gardens, and in the distance, down the slope of the hill, I could see the blue sparkle of the river. I checked my phone for the address Chalice had given me, and started walking.
It was winter here, but to me, the Buenos Aires winter felt more like spring. The neighbourhood was pretty but not hospitable—trees lined the road and climbing plants bloomed red and violet on the walls, but the gates were made of thick metal bars and more than one wall was topped with razor wire.
I stopped in front of a house that looked much the same as all the others, two storeys high and painted white, with a black iron fence blocking off access to the garden. There was nothing from outside that marked it out, but with my magesight I could feel the faint signature of wards. The rectangular box of an alarm system was mounted on the outside wall.
I glanced around, scaled the fence at the corner, and dropped down on the other side. You really don’t appreciate having two working hands until you’ve had to do without for a while. On the other side was a path of paving stones that led me into a back garden. A stone fountain bubbled away in the middle of a well-tended lawn, with a pagoda on the far side of a goldfish pond. The back of the house held a veranda, French windows leading into a living room. A minute’s work got the French windows unlocked and I stepped inside. An alarm panel to my left blinked red; I typed in the code and the light settled obediently on green.
The inside of the house smelt of woodwork and expensive carpets. A grandfather clock ticked, the sound echoing in the quiet. In the kitchen, a light lunch and a jug of orange juice had been laid out on the counter. I climbed the stairs, checking for traps and telltales and finding nothing. The bedroom was light and airy, with a balcony overlooking the garden. A double bed held rumpled sheets, as well as two or three outfits lying in roughly the place someone would have tossed them after trying them on in front of the mirror.
I path-walked through the futures in which I hung around, and got a hit between thirty minutes and an hour. I settled down to wait.
The futures narrowed as I waited, focusing until I knew precisely who would be arriving and when. When the sound of the front door opening drifted up from down below, I was ready. Voices echoed from the hallway, a man and a woman. The language was Spanish, but I could recognise the tones of voice. The man was pushing, entreating; the woman wasn’t quite saying yes, but wasn’t turning him away. A last exchange of words, then the man’s footsteps were moving towards the kitchen, while the woman’s shoes clattered on the wooden steps as she headed upstairs.
I moved out onto the balcony, letting the blinds shield me from view. Footsteps sounded from the landing, then the woman was walking into the bedroom. I stayed out of view, studying her through the futures.
Meredith is small and delicate, only a little over five feet tall, with long flowing dark hair. She wore a black blouse and skirt with brown-and-gold highlights, and moved with the confidence of someone who knew that people would find her attractive. And if they didn’t, well, she could change that. Meredith is an enchantress, able to manipulate emotions, and she’s good at it. She’s less skilled when it comes to politics. In the time I’d known her, she’d worked for both the Council and for Richard, without siding with either, and had ended up giving them both good reason to distrust her. Apparently she’d decided to hide out here while things calmed down.
The man called up something from downstairs: I caught the word noche. Meredith glanced down in annoyance, but her tone as she called back to him was sweet and welcoming. She dropped her handbag onto the bed and was just starting to open it when she paused, frowning. She looked up towards the balcony.
Looks like we’re done hiding. I’d been using the fateweaver to push away the futures in which Meredith detected me, but you can’t keep people careless forever. I strode into the bedroom. “Meredith,” I said. “We need to talk.”
Meredith’s eyes went as big as dinner plates. “Mateo!” she screamed.
I heard the clatter of something falling followed by footsteps racing up the stairs. The door slammed open and a young man burst in. He was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit of black, decorated in silver thread, and he had a long knife drawn in one hand. With two strides he put himself between me and Meredith.
“Tell your boy toy to wait outside,” I told Meredith.
Mateo said something in Spanish, not taking his eyes off me. The knife stayed pointed towards my chest.
“No,” Meredith said. “He’s one of the ones—from before, the ones I was telling you about. Mateo, be careful, he’s been hunting for me.”
Mateo replied confidently, then switched to accented English, addressing me. “Leave now, Dark mage. While you still can.”
“Mateo, or whatever your name is, right now I have no particular intention of hurting either you or your mistress. Keep pointing that knife at me and that’s going to change. Now, I’m not going to ask again. Go wait outside.”
“I don’t know who you are or where you came from,” Mateo said, “but I’m sure of one thing. No man of honour would enter a lady’s bedchamber and threaten her like this.” He drew back his knife in a combat stance, flourishing his free hand: blue energy glowed at his fingertips. “Come dance with me, if you dare.”
I looked at Meredith in annoyance. “Where did you find this clown?”
“Catalina, stay behind me,” Mateo announced, glancing back towards Meredith. “I’ll handle—”
I strode towards Mateo. He stepped forward to meet me, light flashing on the blade.
There was a flurry of movement.
The hilt of the knife slammed into Mateo’s chin with a solid thud. Mateo’s eyes rolled back into his skull and he collapsed to the floor. I flipped the knife in my hand and thrust it towards Meredith. “Stay!”
Meredith froze. She’d started to back towards the door when the fighting had started, but had only made it two steps before it was over. “Now,” I said. “You owe me. I’m here to collect.”
“Owe you?” Meredith’s eyes flickered down to Mateo, lying unconscious, then from side to side. I knew she was sizing up escape routes. “What do you—?”
“Six years ago, you sold me and Luna out,” I said. “I haven’t come after you because quite frankly I’ve had better things to do. But right now, I’ve got a job that needs doing, and I need a charm mage. You’re it.”
“I don’t—I can’t do anything like that.”
“Oh yes, you can.”
“I can’t go back to Britain. The Council will kill me!”
“I’m a member of the Council, and I’ve seen their most-wanted list. You’re not on it.”
“They’ll still pull me in for questioning.”
“Right now, they’ve got bigger things to worry about. And even if they didn’t, it wouldn’t matter, because you don’t get a vote.”
Meredith looked at me nervously. Her attention was all on me: besides an initial glance when he fell, she hadn’t looked at Mateo at all. “This thing you want to do. It’s dangerous, isn’t it?”
“Depends on how well you can do your job.”
“How dangerous?”
“A lot less dangerous than turning me down.”
Meredith took a breath; the possibilities of her turning and fleeing flickered, then vanished as the futures bent towards a different path. “You have to understand,” she said. Her dark eyes rested on me, imploring. “What happened in the Tiger’s Palace . . . it changed things. Those people dying . . .” She took a shaky breath. “I ran away. I couldn’t go back, not after . . . It was too horrible.” There was open fear on her face, and I could feel her terror. “I can’t be a part of something like that. Not again.” Her words vibrated with emotion. I could sense she was on the verge of tears, and I felt a wave of sympathy. It would be too cruel to force her to—
The knife flew past Meredith’s hair to sink into the doorframe with a solid tchunk. Meredith screamed and the emotions rolling over me suddenly vanished. I was on her in two strides; Meredith flinched, shielding her head, and I slammed my hand into the doorframe behind her, leaning in so that our faces were close. “Rule number one,” I said clearly. “Use your magic on me again and I will make you regret it.”
“What do you even need me for?” Meredith cried. “What do you want?”
“I need you to make someone do something stupid and impulsive that goes against their self-interest. And that is something I know from personal experience that you are very good at.”
“Someone? Who?”
I told her. As I kept talking, Meredith’s face grew pale.
* * *
I told Meredith that I’d be back later that evening. Reluctantly, she promised to be there and not to try to run away.
As soon as I was out of sight, Meredith tried to run away. I intervened and gave her a reason not to do it again. Once we were done, I gated back to the Hollow.
I’d already checked in with Luna and my other contacts and come up dry. There were reports of skirmishes between Council forces and adepts, but neither the Council nor Richard had made their move. In the meantime, there was one more person I needed to talk to. I went back to my bed, lay down, and closed my eyes. It took me longer than it should have to fall asleep.
I walked through Elsewhere, landscapes shifting and changing around me. Once upon a time, just visiting this place would have been dangerous. Now it felt like a refuge before the battle ahead. My progress slowed as I drew closer to my destination, and when the city came to an end, the buildings falling away to be replaced with towering trees, I came to a halt. I stood between the pillars at the end of a colonnade, looking at the forest ahead. Dark green leaves rose up into an overcast sky, the wind hissing through the branches and making the tree trunks creak and sway. I couldn’t see the tower in the middle of the forest, but I knew it was there.
I was on the border between my Elsewhere and Anne’s. I could cross into her realm, but as soon as I did, she’d know I was there. And then she’d come to meet me, and that was something I didn’t want. Not yet.
Ever since taking up the fateweaver, I’d felt strong, powerful. I hadn’t been worried when facing Rachel or Meredith. Onyx and Pyre had been a threat, but one I’d approached coolly and calmly. Even when I’d been pressured during the battle, I’d never felt afraid.
But I was afraid of facing Anne. Deep down, I still wanted to plead with her, tell her how sorry I was in the hope that things could go back to how they once were . . . and I knew it was a terrible idea. All my instincts told me that Anne’s dark side would react to that very badly. I had to meet her from a position of strength.
I didn’t feel like I was in a position of strength. I felt horribly vulnerable.
I sensed movement, a presence. Dark Anne had detected me, and she was coming. I fought back the impulse to run away, took a deep breath, and stood with my arms folded.
Dark Anne came walking out from between the trees, the undergrowth rustling beneath her feet. She was dressed in grey this time, a drably coloured dress that matched the muted tones of the sky above. “Well, well,” she called out as she approached. “Look who’s back.”
She doesn’t sound angry. I felt a flash of hope, and squashed it; it was more than I could afford. I tried to sound confident. “Long time no see.”
Dark Anne stopped at the edge of the tree cover, the leaves at the tips of the branches just barely overhanging her head. I stayed where I was at the edge of the colonnade, yellow-grey stone darkened with age. Between us was the border between the two realms, cracked paving stones giving way to tufts of grass.
“I’m sorry about what happened.” I managed to keep my voice steady, but only just. “It wasn’t my choice.”
“Yeah, I know, it was Crystal,” Dark Anne said. “I figured it out as soon as she and Richard came through that door.”
“Would have been nice if you’d figured it out before killing my right hand.”
“So don’t get possessed next time.”
We stood looking at each other for a minute. “Let’s take a walk,” I suggested.
Dark Anne considered for a moment, then shrugged. “Why not?”
I began walking to the right, and Dark Anne paced me, the two of us following the border of the two realms. To my right were the buildings of my cityscape, to the left Anne’s forest. “Where’s your other half?” I asked.
“Somewhere safe,” Dark Anne said. “For me, that is. And no, before you ask, you don’t get to see her. I learned my lesson last time, thank you very much.”
“How is she?”
“No worse off than she treated me. Is she all you wanted to talk about?”
“No, right now I’m more interested in you. How’s Richard treating you?”
“I suppose it could be worse,” Dark Anne said. “At least I get a better room than I had with Sagash.”
“I meant more as in whether he’s having Crystal mind-control you.”
