Serena leafed through them, maintaining an expression of vacuous, vague enthusiasm upon her face even as her brain whirred rapidly through the implications of Wrob’s choices. The locations he had marked were all in the midst of mountain ranges, and she knew that at least one of them — the mountains that divided the empty realm of Orlind from Irbel — were virtually inaccessible on foot, and known for the constant cloud cover that shrouded the tallest peaks. She nodded her approval, flashing the good cartographer a beaming smile. Anything could be hiding in those clouds!
‘Wonderful!’ she gushed. ‘What a clever, clever man you are.’ She handed back the maps, noting in passing the way his lip curled derisively before he recollected himself and smoothed out his expression. She spared an instant to regret that she was forced to play her most vapid character for the entire voyage, and cursed the Baron all over again. She could no longer remember why she had ever found Fenella amusing to play.
Their navigator was a woman of similar age to Wrob, and Serena wondered if they might be colleagues. They certainly seemed familiar with one another. Her skin and hair were much darker than Wrob’s, almost black, and she eyed Lady Fenella out of mildly sardonic black eyes. She was introduced as Ayra Delune.
‘These places couldn’t be a little easier to reach, could they?’ she sighed.
Wrob rolled his eyes. ‘Complaints, complaints. If they were easy to find, someone would’ve found them already.’
Ayra rewarded that comment with a withering look. ‘Easy for you to say, Mister. You just have to point at the map and say, “Destination confirmed!” The hard stuff is up to the rest of us.’
‘Wishing you hadn’t agreed?’ said Wrob, with a knowing smile.
‘Not even for a second.’ She grinned, and Wrob grinned back.
The pilot, a middle-aged woman with the friendliest demeanour Serena had ever seen, approached at that moment to receive instruction. Serena stood silent and a little way back, until she realised that the pilot was looking at her.
‘Where are we headed, ma’am?’ she said.
Ah, yes. As the ostensible leader of this little party, Lady Fenella would have to give instruction.
‘I believe our good cartographer has all the answers!’ she said airily, earning herself a wry look from Wrob. He went off, however, to give instructions as to their first destination, and Serena could relax. She was happy to do whatever she could on this expedition, but deciding where to go was not something she was qualified for.
The Baron joined them soon afterwards, and Serena was obliged to bear another lengthy lecture on the workings of airships, mixed together with lists of the other rare, wondrous and expensive things the Baron was fortunate enough to own. Serena bore it with as much fortitude as she was able, all the while enviously eyeing Fabian, who had wandered to the rail and leaned upon it with every appearance of ease.
At last, the ship was ready to fly. Serena ran to join Fabian, abandoning the Baron mid-sentence, and proceeded to ignore everything that was going on around her in favour of the view that promised ahead. She watched, breathless with anticipation, as the airship’s engines started with a roar and a rattle and the craft began to rise. The ground dropped away much faster than she had expected, and she gasped in delight. She and Fabian gazed in silence as fields, woodlands and streams fell away before them and the world expanded into a vast horizon of green and brown, beneath infinite sky.
Finally, Fabian said: ‘I suppose I would have missed this, if you hadn’t forced me to come.’
Serena permitted herself a smug smile. ‘Still angry with me?’
‘Yes,’ said Fabian, with a dark, sideways look at her. ‘But maybe a bit less.’
Chapter Eleven
Teyo folded his arms and stared at Egg and Iya. Iyamar wore a belligerent expression, while Egg looked amused. Annoyingly amused.
‘We aren’t going anywhere until you two sort this out,’ he said firmly.
‘We aren’t going anywhere anyway,’ Egg pointed out, hurling herself into a chair and putting her booted feet up on the table.
Teyo sighed. ‘That’s not the point.’ They were stuck at the apartment with not enough to do. Teyo welcomed the opportunity to continue training Iyamar, but her lessons with Egg had ground to a halt since their altercation of a few days ago.
‘I don’t see what Fabe and Serena have to do on this voyage that we couldn’t,’ Egg added.
Teyo said nothing. Privately, he agreed with Egg; he’d been disappointed not to be taken along on the airship when some of his team were going. Serena had left him in charge, though, and he had to be professional.
Besides, the job they’d been given was important too, whenever it finally got started. Lady Glostrum had said, About half the world’s out looking for these Dreams, and it won’t take long before somebody finds one, and a key along with it. When that happens, I need you to go get it back.
Teyo made a few trips out to the city boards every day to keep an eye on the news. That way, when the next site was discovered, he’d know about it within a few hours.
Egg had declined the honour of participating in this duty, deeming it a boring run-around, and had instead devoted herself to the completion of a couple of new wigs for their collection. Not a wholly unproductive activity, as it went, but not quite what he’d had in mind either.
Under normal circumstances, Iyamar could be even more taciturn than he. She was voluble when she grew excited about something, but otherwise her young mind appeared to be too busy with her own thoughts to bother much with talking. The recent drama had been an exception, to say the least. She had nothing to say now, apparently. She merely stood, watching Egg with a wary expression and a posture that said she had no intention of apologising. She had apologised to Serena and Teyo days since, but she would not forgive Egg’s behaviour.
Teyo decided to appeal to their better sides, supposing either of them had one. ‘Please,’ he said, lowering his arms. ‘We’ve got a job to do, and it’s important, and we’ll mess it up if we can’t work together properly.’ That elicited zero response, so he continued, ‘Anyway, do you have any idea what Serena will do to me if we don’t get those keys when they turn up? She left me in charge, so it’s going to be my guts on the line.’
Egg smirked.
Iya glowered.
Teyo sighed and threw up his hands. ‘I have no idea how Serena puts up with any of us,’ he muttered, and walked out.
He also had no idea how Serena ever got anybody to mind her. Somehow, she did. She had talked Iyamar into accepting shapeshifter training with a mere few, clever, well-timed words — drawn, he thought, from a clearer understanding of her character than any of the rest of them had yet achieved. She was perceptive.
Egg she managed through a mixture of bribery, cajoling, crisp commands and wry jokes. Somehow she always knew which ones to apply and when. Apparently she understood Egg pretty well, but he couldn’t say the same for himself.
He just didn’t have the knack of it. He wasn’t given to fretting, but he was beginning to worry just a little bit today. What could he do if his team wouldn’t obey him and wouldn’t listen to each other? How could they expect to accomplish anything useful if two-thirds of their vestigial team weren’t even speaking to one another?
It would take a while yet before anybody found another Dream, he consoled himself. They were incredibly well-hidden. They had to be, or they would’ve been found long ago. And nobody had any clues, save for the riddle that still hung eerily in the skies. Nothing much would happen for a few days, at least. Time enough for him to figure out what to do with his frustrating colleagues.
Even as he formed this thought, the voice box he carried in his pocket buzzed violently, and he jumped. He always had the thing on him at the moment, but this was the first time it had done anything.
He scrambled to retrieve it and switched it to transmit, then announced his name.
‘You’re up,’ said Oliver’s voice, and the box went dark.
/> Teyo stuffed it back in his pocket, grabbing for his coat with his other hand. He charged down to the bulletin boards at a run, and ruthlessly shoved his way through the crowds of people already gathered around them.
He swore a little under his breath when he saw the headlines. SECOND DREAM FOUND, proclaimed the board. Teyo watched in silence as pictures of the site scrolled past. This one was under water, apparently, and constructed entirely from eerily pale crystal. It looked cold and ethereal and strange, and he shivered involuntarily.
After the images of the site came a short article describing the circumstances of the discovery. It was situated at the bottom of an isolated, very deep river which wound through the highlands of Orstwych. The article noted that eight people had drowned while exploring the river and a ninth had died trying to access the site, which made him blink. No one had any idea what the keys were for or where the supposed door might lead, yet they were taking life-threatening risks over it? He felt simultaneously saddened and befuddled, and slowly shook his head.
And then, froze. The LHB were on site, he read, and had already secured what they considered might be the key the riddle spoke of. The next image confirmed that: a woman held a black stone streaked with violet. It bore the same shape as the others, and the same inscription, though it had not yet been translated.
He did not have time to feel relieved that it had fallen to the LHB, however, because the woman depicted was Halavere Morann. An LHB official she surely was, but what else was she? Teyo had no doubt at all that the key was destined to end up, one way or another, in the hands of the Yllandu — and Ylona Duna.
He returned to the apartment at a run.
Egg still sat with her enormous boots propped up on the table. She was nonchalantly eating some kind of nuts out of a tiny paper bag. There was no sign of Iyamar.
‘Everything all right?’ she said, eyeing his hastily-donned coat and his air of urgency with interest.
‘Maybe,’ he returned. ‘We’ve got about six hours to get the next key off Halavere Morann before it’s absorbed by the Unspeakables.’
Egg stared at him. ‘Right,’ she said at last, and took her feet off the table. ‘Okay then.’ She swallowed the contents of her snack bag in one mouthful and chucked the paper aside. ‘Where’d Iyamar go?’
Teyo blinked. ‘I don’t know. Isn’t she here?’
‘She left, right after you.’
‘As in, left the building?’
‘Yeah.’
Teyo felt a headache coming on.
But the door slammed an instant later, and Iyamar came whirling in. She held in her hand a paper bag like Egg’s. Actually, she held three. She tossed one to Egg, who caught it with an air of surprise, and offered the second to Teyo. Peace offerings?
‘Where have you—’ began Teyo, but then shook his head. ‘Never mind. Thank you. Are you ready to head out? Job’s starting.’
Iyamar flashed him a smile of such dazzling brilliance she could only have learned it from Serena — or, perhaps, Lady Fenella. ‘Yes, please. Can we go right away?’
Egg was already on her feet and heading for the door. ‘I’ll pack,’ she called back over her shoulder. The animosity that had choked the room half an hour before had dissipated completely, and Teyo heaved an inward sigh of relief. Perhaps all any of them really needed was something difficult and potentially life-threatening to do.
‘Leaving in thirty minutes,’ he told Iyamar, and she saluted.
‘Right you are, boss!’
The downside to the job, Teyo reflected en route, was that they would be obliged to access the LHB office in Iving. That the key was there, he did not much doubt. Halavere Morann had been pictured standing outside the building with the key in her hand, and it was an obvious repository for it for the time being. He suspected that a break-in was likely to be staged by the Unspeakables that night, after which Halavere — unaware that her connections with the underworld were known to her superiors — would deny all knowledge, and declare the key sadly lost. They’d have to get their hands on the key before then.
Fortunately, Lady Glostrum had anticipated problems of this nature. She herself expected to be out of reach for the next while, but she had given him the name and contact details for a trusted subordinate in the Bureau. Teyo took out his voice-box. It was the work of a few moments to adjust its designated contact, and then he depressed the authorisation tab. The box buzzed promisingly.
The response came quickly. ‘Devary Kant,’ announced a male voice.
‘Teyo Bambre,’ Teyo replied. ‘I’m—’
‘I know,’ Devary cut in. ‘What can I do for you?’
‘I need access to the Iving HQ.’ Teyo rapidly explained. He was prepared for opposition, but Kant merely said, ‘Right,’ in a reassuringly crisp tone. ‘I’ll set you up with access to the necessary stuff,’ continued Devary, ‘but I can’t make it easy for you. Halavere’s got allies at the HQ but we aren’t sure who they are yet, and she knows we haven’t taken on any new recruits lately. It would be better if you weren’t seen.’
Teyo understood the unspoken subtext well enough. Kant could get him through the weird Lokant security, but they’d have to sneak in and out. Ah well. They were well practiced at that.
The building wasn’t especially large nor, he estimated, all that difficult to get into. He’d been there once before, and remembered it as an unprepossessing stone construction, a former townhouse pressed into duty as an office. Its doors and windows were standard, and external security wasn’t all that high; it wasn’t a safehouse or (usually) a repository for anything valuable.
He, Egg and Iya would have to get the job done quickly. The hour was already advanced. He estimated they had about two hours of natural daylight left before the Day Cloak came in, and it wouldn’t be long after that before they could expect a visit from the Unspeakables.
In spite of Devary’s words, they dressed and wigged as LHB agents. If anyone did see them, he hoped their costumes would prove passable enough to fool anyone who wasn’t looking too closely. Their attire lacked Serena’s or Fabian’s special skills and eye for detail, and they had no badge for Iyamar, who looked awfully young to be an officer of the LHB, besides. Perhaps she might pass for a trainee? The lack of finesse was regrettable, but they hadn’t the time for an elaborate masquerade.
The nearest railcar station was a few minutes’ walk from the LHB HQ. Unable to shake his feeling of urgency, Teyo pushed the pace, leading Egg and Iya at a half-trot. They slowed to a more relaxed walk once the building came within sight, and Teyo took a few moments to examine it closely.
It was a plain, unprepossessing structure of drab grey brick. It had originally contained two semi-detached houses, he guessed, though it had probably been combined into one when the LHB took it over. A quick survey revealed at least five possible ways of getting in; that wouldn’t be the problem.
No problem at all, in fact. Office hours were just about over. As Teyo watched, an LHB officer in a long coat came out of the front door and stepped briskly down the short path to the street, setting a neat black hat upon his head as he went. He didn’t lock the door.
Promising, but Teyo didn’t dare dash heedlessly across the road and shove his way inside. What if there were other agents on their way home for the day? But if there was a front door left unsecured, Teyo reflected, there was probably a back door as well. Or a side door. Something.
They circled around again and came at the building from the rear. The back door was swiftly eliminated, as a kitchen lay directly beyond, within which a pair of agents stood lingering over some kind of beverage. It came down at last to a tiny side-door which was, typically, locked fast.
‘Allow me,’ said Egg with a smug little smile, and bent to the job, picks in hand. Teyo looked at his watch.
‘Twenty-two seconds,’ he reported when the lock gave that promising click. ‘Not your best.’
Egg merely grinned at him. She opened the door barely an inch and peeked into the gap
. ‘All clear,’ she whispered, and they slipped inside.
They room beyond appeared to be a storage room, as it was piled high with crates and boxes. They were lucky there was a route to the side door at all, Teyo thought, until he saw a large sign proclaiming the presence of a fire exit. Ah, safety considerations could be so convenient sometimes.
It was perfect for the next part of his plan, Teyo reflected with satisfaction. Egg sat cross-legged atop a stack of crates out of sight of the doors, while Teyo drew Iya aside.
‘Are you sure you’re all right with this?’ he whispered.
Iyamar’s eyes held a scared child look that gave him grave doubts, but she lifted her chin and nodded. ‘I can do it.’
‘Sure, now? No shame in letting it go. Better not to risk it, if you aren’t certain.’
Iyamar developed a grim look which told him she would do it or die, and she nodded. ‘I can do it. It’s been better since Lady Glostrum.’
He nodded. ‘Right. You first, then.’
Iya took a deep breath and closed her eyes. For a while nothing happened, though Teyo could see her hands beginning to shake with effort. Then her human form vanished all in a rush, and seconds later a tiny Jisp-like creature sat on the ground. She’d matched her colouring to the floor, he noticed with approval, and she’d done an excellent job of it too. He felt a brief flash of pride; she was a fast learner, and for someone who’d howled with agony at the prospect of shapeshifting only a week or so ago, she was doing well.
Good, he told her the silent way, and felt a glow of satisfaction from her in reply. He took Jisp out of his pocket and set her down next to Iyamar, then shifted his own form. Iya’s and Jisp’s miniscule bodies swelled in his vision as his own stature shrank, and then three little Jisps crouched together upon the floor.
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