“Oh, that. No. I mean, she could—probably—but it wouldn’t be much good for combat. No, it’s that dreamstone. He can’t use it to control me, but apparently he can use it to control the jinn. Which really sucks, by the way. I spent so long working out an arrangement with that thing, and then Richard comes along and surprise! Turns out he’s been studying jinn for like, his entire life, and he knows literally everything there is to know about them. He’s figured out some way to use that dreamstone of his to shut down that jinn completely, at least when it comes to using its powers. So I can do what I want, except if I don’t do what Richard says, then he snaps his fingers and suddenly I have to deal with a pissed-off jinn and all of Richard’s gang as well. So yeah, I’m pretty much stuck.”

  “Were you expecting working for Richard to go any other way?”

  “So are you going to do anything to help?”

  “What, I’m supposed to sort out your problems now? You wanted this. Don’t come crying now that it turns out Richard’s keeping you on a short leash.”

  “It would have worked out just fine if you hadn’t messed it up.” Dark Anne waved a hand. “Fine, whatever, mistakes were made. Water under the bridge and all that. What are you going to do about it?”

  We’d drawn closer as we walked, until now we were pacing side by side, almost within arm’s reach. “If I wanted to break you free,” I said, “what’s the best way to do it?”

  “Destroy that dreamstone,” Dark Anne said. “It’s messing everything up. And I do mean destroy it, just in case you’re getting any cute ideas about taking it for yourself. Richard’s bonded to it, and as long as it’s there, he can call the shots. If I’d know the trouble that stupid thing would cause, I’d have thrown it away back in that shadow realm.”

  “Even if the dreamstone’s gone, there’s still Crystal. She can use that imbued item and dominate you the old-fashioned way.”

  “She can’t dominate anyone if she’s dead,” Dark Anne said flatly. “I’ve been wanting to settle the score with that bitch for a long time. Trust me, you get rid of the dreamstone, and Crystal will stop being a problem really fast.”

  “All right,” I said. “So the next question is how to find him.”

  “Yeah, somehow I don’t think that’s the biggest thing you have to worry about.”

  “Richard keeps the dreamstone on him. If I want to get rid of it, I have to catch him first.”

  “You are going to catch him?” Dark Anne looked at me with raised eyebrows. “Someone got two spoonfulls of self-esteem in their cornflakes this morning. I hope you’re bringing a lot of friends.”

  “Just me.”

  “Were you not listening or something?” Dark Anne stopped, turning to face me. “I can not pull your feet out of the fire on this one. I can stop Richard from just wishing you out of existence, but when it comes to you and him, you’ll be on your own. And it won’t be just you and him, because Richard doesn’t go out on his own these days. There’s Morden, Vihaela, Deleo, Crystal, some air mage assassin guy who never talks, a radiation mage called Tenebrous . . . you’re going to be dealing with at least two or three out of those guys, plus however many he decides to bring along from his adept army. Did I mention the adept army? Morden’s been training them up in some shadow realm he calls Arcadia. You want to stand a chance, you’re going to need firepower and lots of it.”

  “Not really an option.”

  “Argh.” Dark Anne covered her eyes. “Look, it’s cute that you’re trying to impress me here, but in case you haven’t noticed, all of those mages I just listed are ones who either can mop the floor with you, or already have. You are not winning this on your own, so either call in some favours or find some people who hate Richard badly enough and point them at him.”

  “I’ve gone through some changes since we last met.”

  “What, you’re missing a hand?”

  I just looked at her.

  “Say you find him,” Dark Anne said. “What are you going to do, talk him to death?”

  “No, I have a plan,” I told her. “I just don’t trust you enough to tell it to you. You went behind my back to make a deal with Morden and Richard once. I don’t feel like giving you the ammo to do it again.”

  “Well, look who’s acting alpha male all of a sudden.” Dark Anne folded her arms and studied me, tapping one finger on her upper arm, then shrugged. “Fine, it’s not like I’m swimming in options. Shoot.”

  “I need to know where and when Richard’s going to be next.”

  “He doesn’t brief me,” Dark Anne said. “I get told when he’s launching an attack, and that’s it.”

  “What about if I spoke to you through the dreamstone the next time you move out?”

  “They watch me too closely for that. I try to talk to you like this and Crystal will know. It’ll be hard enough stopping her from seeing these memories.”

  “He has to talk to Morden and Vihaela at least.”

  “Not while I’m around. They discuss the current mission and that’s it.” Dark Anne paused. “There’s one thing, though. I think Richard’s tracking the Senior Council.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “All through the attack, Deleo was giving Richard updates,” Dark Anne said. “Saying ‘they’ve moved,’ or ‘they haven’t moved,’ stuff like that. No names, but right at the end, Richard asked her about something, and she dropped Bahamus’s name. Richard gave her a look and she shut up.” Dark Anne shrugged. “That’s all I’ve got.”

  “I guess it’ll have to do.”

  Dark Anne glanced back towards the forest. “Time for me to go.”

  “All right.”

  But she didn’t move, and neither did I. We stood within arm’s reach, looking at each other. “I miss you,” I said.

  Dark Anne grinned. “Come see me once that dreamstone’s gone. I’ll be waiting.” She turned and walked away.

  I watched Dark Anne go. She disappeared into the trees without looking back, the winds swaying the branches above. Only when I was sure that she was gone did I step out of Elsewhere and wake, opening my eyes to see the ceiling of my cottage in the Hollow. Anne’s side of the bed was empty and I was alone once more.

  * * *

  It was just after eleven when Luna found me. “It’s on,” she said simply.

  I was ready and waiting. I was thin on gear—my armour was still repairing itself, and I hadn’t had a chance to restock my one-shots—but I had my dreamstone and the fateweaver. “Where?” I asked, buckling on my webbing belt.

  “The Council’s got a lead on Richard’s shadow realm,” Luna said. “Vari says they’re gearing up to move right now.”

  I holstered my gun. “Let’s go.”

  We stepped out from the gate and onto the roof of the Arcana Emporium. Luna had some extensions done to the chimney when she’d had the place rebuilt, and I had to step around the brickwork to get a view of the street.

  Luna had one hand to her ear and was talking into her communicator. “Yeah,” she was saying. “You sure? . . . Okay.” She turned to me. “Okay, it might not be Richard’s home base. New intel is that it’s the adept training camp. They’re trying to force entry right now.”

  “Okay.”

  Luna waited for me to go on. When I didn’t, she looked at me. “So?” she said.

  “Give me a second,” I said absently. I walked to the edge of the roof, looking out over the Camden rooftops. The sounds and smells of the city drifted up from the street below: shouts and yells from a party somewhere nearby, the scent of Indian food from the restaurant opposite, a siren rising and falling in the far distance, fading away. I’d often come up here to think, back in the old days.

  “Are we going?” Luna asked.

  “No.”

  “Vari says there’s one hundred percent going to be a fight.”

  “I don’t care if there’s a fight. I care about Richard and Anne.”

  Minutes ticked by. I path-walked, searching the futures for any trace of Richard and not finding one. I was certain I’d be able to find one if I waited long enough—the further things developed, the easier it would be to find his trace—but that would take time I didn’t have.

  Luna put a hand to her ear, listening, then looked at me. “They’re trying to break in through combat gates.”

  I nodded.

  “You still might be able to make it if you go now.”

  I tapped a knuckle to my lips, then shook my head. “Wait.”

  “This is going to be the biggest fight in this war so far,” Luna said.

  “I’m not buying it,” I said. “So far, every time Richard’s engaged the Council, he’s done it on his own terms.”

  “Okay, look,” Luna said. “You haven’t told me much about what you’re planning here. From what you’ve been saying, I’m guessing it has something to do with Deleo. But once you find Richard, you do actually have a plan, right? You’re not trying to go out in a blaze of glory?”

  “No, both of us are going to be walking away from this one.”

  “How?”

  “The times you’ve gone out gambling, did you ever try poker?”

  Luna looked at me in surprise, her face faintly illuminated in the orange of the streetlights below. “Not much. Too little luck once the cards are dealt. Why?”

  “Your play style in poker falls on a scale,” I said. “Tight versus loose. No one’s a hundred percent one or the other, but the longer you play, the more you find the point on the scale where you’re most comfortable. So most of the time, when you first sit down at a table, you want to play your natural style because it’s what you’re best at. But once someone gets to know you? Then you’ll usually find you make the most money when you take your natural style and play the opposite.”

  Luna frowned. “I don’t get it.”

  “I’ve tried talking to Rachel a lot of times the past few years,” I said. “I’ve tried persuading her, tried probing for a weakness, but I’ve never pretended to be anything I’m not.”

  “How’s that going to—” Luna paused, as if listening to something. “They’ve broken in. Keeper teams are entering the shadow realm. Vari says the fighting’s already started.”

  “All right,” I said. If Richard was going to make a move, this was when he’d do it.

  Seconds ticked by. I searched through futures, picking through possibilities of me making calls, checking on contacts, scouting in person. It was slow going; too much variation between the futures.

  Maybe I should play a hunch. Assume I was right and Richard was going after one of the Council. Who would he pick? No, that was the wrong question. If I were Richard, and I wanted to weaken the Council’s resolve, make it more willing to come to terms, who would I want removed?

  I’d go after Levistus or Sal Sarque. I narrowed my focus to those two but widened the trace. Nothing, nothing . . . wait.

  There.

  “It’s Sal Sarque,” I said. “Richard’s going to make a move on him while the Council forces attack Arcadia.”

  Luna frowned. “Are you sure? If you wait, we can—”

  “Can’t,” I called over my shoulder. I was already sending out a call to Starbreeze. “Keep in touch with Vari. I’ll call you with the dreamstone.”

  chapter 14

  Two minutes later, I was in the air and soaring. The lights of London had disappeared behind us, and the English countryside was opening up ahead, glowing lines marking the roads and sparkling orange webs the towns. Starbreeze rode the winds at lightning speed, spiralling as she went for the sheer fun of it.

  So wait, Luna said. Sal Sarque isn’t in the War Rooms?

  He’s got a command centre in that island fortress of his, I said. Whenever there’s a major op, he runs it from there. Means he can funnel all the intel through him and choose what does and doesn’t get reported to the Council.

  Island fortress. Sounds great.

  The Midlands were racing below us; a city swept past to our left that might have been Leeds. We passed an airliner, its lights blinking white-red-green, there and gone in a flash. I’m not storming it single-handed, I said. I’m going to slip in while the two groups are busy fighting. This is the biggest and most important attack that Richard’s launched, which means Anne’s going to be at the spearhead. I just need to catch up.

  Don’t you want to take someone?

  I am. Just not someone I care about.

  While I’d been talking, we’d passed over the coastline and swept out over the sea. Starbreeze veered from side to side, dodging clouds before zipping right through a big one. My vision greyed out; when we emerged on the other side, I could make out a few black spots in the distance, visible against the moonlit waters.

  I checked the futures quickly, remembering my mental map. Sal Sarque’s island was at the south end of a small chain. There, I said to Starbreeze. Angle that way.

  Starbreeze came down in a shallow dive, losing height until she was skimming the waves. The smell of salt water surrounded me, the moonlight a bright reflection off to the right and its light casting a white glow over each wave. Up ahead the island was getting bigger fast. Very fast. Not too close, I said to Starbreeze. We need to circle around, find a safe place to set—

  Boring. I want to see!

  No, wait, don’t—

  We pulled up just in front of the cliffs and sped upwards at lightning speed, shooting out past the cliff edge and up into the sky right above the south end of the island.

  It gave us a great view of the battle.

  Sal Sarque’s fortress was built on and around a rock outcropping at the island’s southern end, and it was under attack. Flashes of coloured light sparkled on the fortress walls and roof and in the rocks nearby. The fortress itself was squat and massive, the walls thick and heavy with covered guard towers, and emplacements on the top were hurling fire into the darkness below.

  Ooh, Starbreeze said in fascination. Pretty. She angled in for a closer look.

  Pull back! Starbreeze! Back!

  Why? Starbreeze asked. She’d drifted close enough that I could pick out movement on the roof.

  They have anti-air, that’s why!

  What’s anti-air?

  A bolt of energy lit the night, joining the rooftop with Starbreeze’s position. I shoved frantically at the futures and made it miss by a hair, the heat scorching my airborne body as Starbreeze veered away. That!

  Oh, okay. Starbreeze didn’t seem particularly worried. She swept down and right, putting a ridgeline between us and the fortress. Didn’t look scary.

  Maybe not to you! Held aloft by Starbreeze, I had no way of dodging. It would have vaporised me.

  Well, you’re going to die really soon anyway.

  Which was jarring to hear. I think of Starbreeze as my friend, and she is my friend, as much as she can be. But she’s also very far away from being human. Right now she was helping me, and as far as I could tell, she was going to keep helping me—right up until I died, at which point she’d promptly forget me the same way she’s forgotten the countless other mortals she’s known. When she said I was going to die “really soon,” she could mean tomorrow or in fifty years. To Starbreeze, there’s not much difference.

  Starbreeze dived into a small ravine and turned me solid again. My shoes scraped on rock and I shifted to keep my balance. I could hear the sounds of battle from over the ridge, the stammer of machine gun fire mixing with the whoom of fire spells. “Can you wait here? A lift would—”

  “Boring,” Starbreeze announced. “Want to see the lights.” She sped up into the night sky and was gone.

  “Or I could walk,” I said to the rocks. I took out the gate stone that I’d taken from Meredith’s house, and channelled. From over the ridge, I could hear the sounds of battle. The gate opened and I stepped through.

  Meredith’s street in Buenos Aires felt weirdly quiet and calm. The gate stone came out into her back garden; night had fallen here as well, and the lights were on in her windows. I took out my phone and dialled her number.

  No answer.

  I frowned, took out the focus I’d picked up yesterday—a small rod of black metal—and channelled through it.

  Magic sparked, and I heard a faint clatter from inside the house. A minute later, Meredith appeared at the back doorway, looking rattled. “You didn’t have to do that!”

  “Yes, I did. Get moving, we’re on a schedule.”

  Meredith approached the gate uncertainly. She’d changed her outfit, though it still didn’t look particularly practical. “Where is that?”

  “British Isles.” I stepped through and beckoned.

  Meredith hesitated. “I’m not sure . . .”

  “You’ll be in and out in less than an hour.”

  “You’re not going to ask for anything else?”

  “Do this and I’ll be out of your life forever.” I smiled slightly. “Unless you’d rather I stuck around.”

  Meredith didn’t look convinced, but she stepped through the gate. I let it close behind her and started up the rocks towards the ridgeline.

  “I can’t see,” Meredith complained.

  I sighed inwardly. This would have been so much easier if I could have brought Luna instead. I took Meredith’s hand and started leading her. “Follow in my footsteps,” I told her. “The ground’s solid, so just concentrate on keeping your balance.”

  “What’s that noise from over that mountain?”

  “That’s not a mountain. That’s a ridge.”

  “You know what I mean. It sounds like a battle.”

  “That’s because it is.”

  “Alex!” Meredith tried to stop; I kept my grip on her hand and she was dragged along. “You didn’t say anything about a battle!”

  “Yeah, well, they didn’t ask my permission. Relax, I’m not expecting you to win it.”