Azimuth duels are an alternative to traditional mage combat, fought with focus weapons and intended to be nonlethal. Officially the Council frowns on traditional duels, though despite all their efforts traditional duels still carry a lot more prestige than azimuth ones. Annuller arches are focuses, designed to stop mages from entering duels with spells active. Activating one isn’t dangerous, but it’s demanding and requires absolute concentration. Any distraction can ruin the whole process and force you to start over.
Naturally, this was the point at which Lisa showed up again.
“You’re here,” she said, breathless. She was limping slightly; high heels aren’t made for running. “Um, could you—”
“Look, Lisa,” I said, not taking my eyes off the archway. “This is really not a good time for us.”
“Trust me,” Luna said, and I could tell from her voice that she was smiling. “You don’t want to get too close to me.”
“No, I—” Lisa took a deep breath. “I can’t.”
“Why not?” Luna asked. She didn’t sound sympathetic.
“My master wants to speak to him. He told me to invite him.”
“What master?”
“…Morden.”
The name sounded vaguely familiar, but I was concentrating on the annuller and couldn’t put a finger on it. I finished the spell and took a step back to look at the archway. It was humming softly, and I nodded. It would take a couple of minutes to charge. “Who?” Luna asked.
“You don’t know him?”
“No, I don’t. Why are you doing what he says?”
Lisa stared at her.
“It’s okay,” I said to Luna. “I already know what this guy wants.” I looked at Lisa. “The question is whether you do.”
“Uh…”
“She asked the right question. Why are you running errands for him?”
“I…” Lisa licked her lips. “Look, please, you have to come. He’ll be…”
“We don’t have to do anything,” Luna said in annoyance.
The hum from the archway stopped. I looked back and saw that a silvery mist was hanging inside it, glowing steadily. “Okay, we’re clear,” I said to Luna. “Step through.”
Luna gave the other girl a look, then walked to the arch. “Please, can you just come?” Lisa said in a low voice. She wasn’t trying to be seductive anymore; she just looked frightened. It actually made her a lot more convincing. “I’ve taken too long. He’ll be angry.”
I gave Luna a glance, then for the first time turned my full attention to the girl in front of me. “Look, Lisa. I don’t know who your master is, but I’ve got a pretty good idea what he is. If you really want my help, tell me what he’s planning.”
“I can’t do that!”
“Then I can’t help you.”
To one side, Luna stepped through the archway. There was a very brief flash, and then the archway was still again. Luna looked back at it curiously, then headed towards me.
“Please, can’t you come?” Lisa said. Her voice was pleading. “I’ll do anything. Just…”
I sighed slightly and looked her right in the eyes. “Okay. Leave him.”
“What?”
“I’ve been where you are.” I held Lisa’s gaze, holding her motionless, and spoke quietly. “I know why you’re doing this. I know why you think it makes sense. But trust me: you don’t want to stay there.” Luna approached and I turned away from Lisa, nodding to Luna. “Okay?”
“I think…” Luna said doubtfully. She looked at her hands. “I feel strange.”
“It’s a nullifier,” I said. Concentrating, I could see that the grey mist of Luna’s curse had briefly vanished. Now it was returning again, flowing out again and into my ribbon. “Grounds every magical connection on you, like earthing a power line. You’ll feel a bit out of place for a couple of days.”
“It’ll stop them from tracking me?”
I nodded and started walking, ignoring Lisa. “If we’re quick.”
Luna took one step, then halted, looking over my shoulder. “Um, Alex?” I felt her hand creep over and squeeze my forearm. I didn’t think she was aware of it; she was staring towards the centre of the hall. “Not quick enough.”
I knew what I was going to see before I turned to look. Cinder was striding across the floor towards us, a look of death on his face. The masked woman was at his side. They were fewer than twenty paces away.
You’re probably wondering by this point why I wasn’t shouting for help. Simple reason: if those three were willing to kill to get their hands on Luna, others would be too. Dealing with one team of wouldbe kidnappers was bad enough; I had absolutely no intention of adding to the number if I could possibly avoid it. The same went for them: I knew Cinder wouldn’t want to attract any attention either.
Unfortunately, depending on how pissed off Cinder was, there were plenty of ways he could ruin my day even in a crowd of people, and looking into the future, I could see that we’d succeeded in making him angry enough to use them. In one hand he was concealing a weapon that he was getting ready to use. He’d aim it at Luna the second she turned to run. I couldn’t see exactly what it would do, but I knew it would be bad…except that as I looked, I saw something else as well, something approaching steadily from the other side of the room. I straightened to face them. “Alex?” Luna whispered.
“Stall them,” I whispered back. “We need ninety seconds.”
“Verus,” Cinder growled as he came into range. “Should have kept running.”
“Who’s running?” I asked lightly. I stood slightly between Cinder and Luna. Lisa was off to one side, looking nervously between us, forgotten by everyone.
“No,” Cinder said. His voice was low and dangerous. “You won’t bluff me this time.” He opened one hand, half concealed down by his side, and dark fire flared up around his fingers, a red-black aura that caused the light to dim. “You twitch, I’ll burn you to ash. Let’s see you trick your way out of that.”
He wasn’t kidding; in dozens of the futures unfolding before us I could see Cinder lunging forward to do exactly that. But the very fact that he was willing to try something so crude was oddly reassuring—if he had anything else up his sleeve, he wouldn’t be making the threat. “You know, Cinder,” I said, “I hate to point it out, but there’s about a hundred people watching you.”
“No one’ll miss you,” Cinder growled.
“Wrong,” I said calmly. “Or haven’t you heard? I’m in demand these days.”
Uncertainty flickered in Cinder’s eyes, and he glanced quickly from side to side. People were watching; a lot of people. As Cinder saw that he was being watched, the future of his attacking faded. “You don’t want me as an enemy,” Cinder said, recovering.
“As a matter of fact, no, I don’t.” I crossed my arms, watching Cinder casually. “So make me an offer.”
The woman in the mask hadn’t spoken. She was standing a half step behind Cinder, letting him do the talking. But she was watching me, and through the eyeholes of the mask, her eyes were boring into me like needles. I had the uneasy feeling that she recognised me, and not in a good way. It felt as though she hated me and I didn’t know why. “Fine,” Cinder said, his voice dangerous. “I’ll buy the girl.”
I felt Luna stiffen. “Really?” I asked.
“Don’t,” Cinder growled. “You sell her. Usual price. Or we take her. And you.”
I looked at Cinder. Luna was still gripping my arm, and I could sense her nerves. I stood there, without answering, counting off the seconds. “Well?” Cinder said.
“She’s not for sale,” I said. “And actually, I’m not interested in any offer you could make.”
Cinder stared at me. “You said—”
“Oh, I was just wasting your time.”
Cinder just stood there for two seconds, and then his eyes flashed with insane fury as he finally lost his temper. Hellfire flared up inside his eyes, and his irises actually turned red. He took one step forward, his hand coming up.
The man approaching was dressed in a black suit and an open-necked shirt. He had dark hair and was good-looking in a smooth, polished sort of way, like a politician. At first glance he looked young, no older than thirty or so, but there was an assurance to his walk that made him seem older. A brunette in a red dress was following him two paces behind, her eyes lowered submissively.
As soon as Cinder saw him, the flame around him vanished as though it had been plunged into water. He and the woman stood a little straighter. “Master Morden,” the woman said. Again her voice sounded familiar, but I was taken aback by the sudden caution in it. Cinder even dipped his head in reflex before catching himself.
Ever since Lisa had mentioned the name Morden, it had been nagging at the back of my mind. As I saw Cinder’s reaction, I suddenly remembered. It was the name I’d come up with to scare him off yesterday. Just the suggestion that I might have been working for Morden had made Cinder back off, and that set off warning bells. The only people to whom Dark mages show that kind of respect are Dark mages of higher rank. Much higher.
“Cinder, Deleo,” Morden said. His voice was cultured, pleasant. “I see Khazad isn’t with you. Is there a problem?”
“No,” the woman he’d addressed as Deleo said carefully. She stood quite still. “No problem.”
“Good. I was just speaking to Councillor Travis about the membership proposal. Negotiations are advancing. It would be…inconvenient for there to be any public disruptions at this time.” His eyes rested on the two Dark mages.
After a long pause, Cinder nodded. “Got it,” he said, unable to quite keep the growl out of his voice.
“Excellent. I have some things to discuss with Verus. You may go.”
Cinder shot me and Luna a venomous glance, and then, amazingly, he obeyed, turning and disappearing with Deleo into the crowd. I felt Luna’s hand tighten slightly on my arm, then she seemed to realise what she was doing and let go.
Lisa had been hovering nearby; now Morden looked at her. “Lisa. I think I told you to extend Verus an invitation?”
Lisa licked her lips. “Um…”
Morden nodded once. “We’ll discuss this later.” Lisa’s face actually went white, the blood draining from it. She stared at Morden with terrified eyes, but he’d already turned to us. “Verus, I believe? My name is Morden. If you can spare the time, there are some things we should discuss.” He glanced over my shoulder at Luna. “In private.”
I still didn’t know who this man was, but every sign was pointing to his being really bad news. “While I…appreciate it, Mr. Morden, I don’t think that would be advisable for me just now.”
“And why is that?”
Because I’ve already had one private interview with a mage willing to kill me, and that’s enough for one night. “Given the circumstances, I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to be seen leaving with you at present.”
“Really.” Morden studied me with his head tilted slightly. Behind his back, Lisa and the other girl were watching him nervously. I could feel the futures shifting and spinning.
Then suddenly they settled. “Then we’ll save our discussion for a later time.” Morden smiled. “I’m sure we’ll meet again.” He gave me a nod, then turned and left, the brunette in tow. Lisa gave me a single frightened glance and scuttled after. I was left standing on my own, staring after him.
“Um…” Luna whispered. “What just happened?”
“I have no idea.” I shook myself awake. “Cinder and that woman are still out there. Let’s move.”
“Now where?” Luna asked as we set off again through the crowd.
“Out.”
“We’re leaving?”
“I think we’ve pushed our luck far enough.” I checked and looked down at Luna. “Wait, are you disappointed?”
“Um…” Luna looked away, and I shook my head.
The ball was in full swing, and the hall was filled with the chatter of voices. A match was being fought in the duelling arenas behind us, and I could hear shouts and cheers. I could sense that Cinder and Deleo were still looking for us, and I shifted direction towards the angle where it was least likely they’d spot us. Beyond was a short flight of stairs leading up to an exit directly opposite to the one by which we’d entered. I took Luna’s hand and led her up the stairs. “Quick,” I said. “If we can get outside without them spotting us—”
I felt the futures shift and looked over my shoulder. Deleo had climbed up onto the sill of one of the fountains and was scanning the floor, her masked face lifted above the crowd. We spotted each other at exactly the same time and our eyes made contact with a jolt before she spun and started shouting something, her voice lost in the noise.
“Oh, for crying out loud,” I muttered. “Can’t they just leave us alone?”
“Let me guess.” Luna sounded resigned. “They’re chasing us again.”
“Change of plans.” I led Luna at a run up the stairs and into the foyer beyond. I scanned ahead quickly. The corridors to the right led to a bank of lifts that would take us down to the lower floors, but looking ahead I could see that Cinder was already moving to block off that direction. He and Deleo had split up and were trying to pincer us. It might have worked if I hadn’t seen it coming. “This way.”
“Are your nights out always like this?” Luna asked as we hurried down the corridor.
“Later, all right?” The corridor opened up into a wide corner room. Ahead and to the left, windows looked down over the night city, and in the corner was a lift made of glass. I walked inside and hit the button. The doors hissed shut and the lift began to climb. Below, I could sense Cinder and Deleo, but they were going the wrong way. By the time they realised we were going up instead of down it would be too late. I leant against the corner with a sigh. “All right. We’re safe for a while.”
“Oh, that reminds me,” Luna said. “There was someone near the dance floor called Talisid. He seemed like he really wanted to speak to you.”
“Yeah, I met him. Those guys interrupted us.”
“Well, maybe we can find him later.”
I looked at Luna in disbelief. She had turned away to watch the view, and I had to admit it was worth watching. The top set of lifts in Canary Wharf run along the edge of the tower, and unlike the ones that serve the office complex below, they’re designed for sightseeing rather than speed. The lift was drifting upwards at a lazy pace, and from our position we could look down on all of London. The landmarks of the city glowed in the distance: the square shape of Centre Point, the double red lights of the BT Tower, the shifting wheel of coloured light that marked the London Eye. The other skyscrapers of the Docklands were falling away below us. The sounds of the ball had faded away, and we were alone in a silent world.
“Luna?” I said at last. “Why do you want to be here?”
I felt Luna go still. “Don’t get me wrong,” I said. “You’re handling this well. Maybe a bit too well. Why aren’t you scared?”
Luna stayed as she was for a long moment, looking out over the city. “What would I be scared of?” she said at last. Her voice was light, and there was something strange about it.
“From these people? You want a list?”
“Do you know why I came looking for your shop that first time?”
I frowned. Luna was turned away, her fingers resting lightly against the transparent wall. “Why?”
“It was a few weeks before.” Luna didn’t turn to face me. I could just make out the outline of her face in the reflection off the glass. “On a Saturday. I woke up late. I’d been sleeping longer and longer, then. I lay there and I listened to the birds singing and I couldn’t think of any reason to get up. There wasn’t anything I was looking forward to. That day, that month, ever.” Luna fell silent a moment, then went on, her voice absent. “That was when I realised that if I didn’t do something I was going to die. Just from not caring.”
Luna looked down at the floor, not meeting my gaze. “I don’t have anything else,” she said quietly. “Your world is all I have. If that doesn’t work, nothing else matters.”
I looked at Luna, and for once I couldn’t think of a single thing to say.
The silence dragged out for a long minute, then Luna seemed to shake herself, and when she looked at me her face was normal. “What was going on back there? With that girl?”
“I— What do you mean?”
“Was she a mage?”
I threw off the weight of what Luna had just told me, stored it away for another time. Somehow I knew that right now, sympathy was the last thing she needed. “No. Probably not.”
“But you knew who she was?”
“I didn’t know her.”
“But you knew something,” Luna persisted.
I looked away. “You don’t want to tell me?” Luna asked.
“It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s— Okay, it is that.” I looked away. “It’s something I haven’t had to think about for a long time.”
“That bad?” Luna asked in surprise. I didn’t answer, and she carried on. “Why was she acting like that? That girl, Lisa. She was acting like she was his…”
I was silent for a moment, looking out over London. We were above the highest skyscrapers now, but I didn’t see any of it. I was remembering a time long ago, the darkness in Richard’s mansion, Shireen and Tobruk, Rachel…
“Alex?”
“Remember how I said mages split everyone into other mages, and sheep?” I stared out over the lights of the city. “Well, there’s a thing about that. If everyone who isn’t a mage is a sheep, then the only kind of power worth having is over other mages.”
Luna was looking at me, and I could tell she didn’t understand. “Any mage can set himself up in the normal world. But he doesn’t get any respect. Status here is how much influence you have over other mages. Favours, position, contacts…other things.”
“Okay…” Luna said slowly. “That man, Cinder. Why was he talking about buying me?”
I knew Luna wasn’t going to stop until she got an answer or a flat no. I took a breath, then let it out, calming myself. “Dark mages like taking slaves,” I said at last. It was my turn not to meet Luna’s eyes now. I didn’t want to risk her seeing something in my face. “It’s like a currency for them. Even the ones who don’t use slaves keep them to sell to the ones who do. Any novice or adept without connections, anyone who isn’t powerful enough to look after herself…she’s got a good chance of ending up like that. Sometimes it’s even a choice. They serve one mage because if they don’t they’ll be taken by another. There are Dark mages who have dozens, like a business. They keep them in their mansions and bring one or two out for display.”
Alex Verus Novels, Books 1-4 (9780698175952) Page 14
