It took Teyo a moment to process this. Of course: at this stage, the keys were still at large, some of them still in Serena’s possession. They were being stolen by the Yllandu at this very moment, probably, and soon afterwards their new owners would take all seven to the tiny island and the gate.
‘Take it back,’ snarled Fabian. ‘Everything you said about my father. Take it all back!’
Halavere rolled her eyes. ‘I can’t, can I? It’s all the truth.’
‘It is NOT true,’ bellowed Fabian.
‘Fabe,’ said Serena. ‘This isn’t the way to pursue this. We need to go home, and talk it over.’ Her voice was calm and reassuring, and Teyo hoped for a second that it might suffice to bring Fabian back to rationality.
Instead, he swung towards Serena, gun still extended, until it was pointing at her. She stepped back, appalled. Fabian realised a horrified instant later what he was doing, and swung back. He was losing it entirely, Teyo realised. Confusion, dismay and rage warred in his face, and he was obviously far beyond his own control. Teyo saw, in a brief flash of insight, that there was only one way Fabian could relieve his overwrought feelings. Teyo knew it, because he’d been there himself.
He didn’t have time to think. He leapt, shapeshifting in mid-air into his draykoni shape. The hallway was far too small; he barely had time to adjust his size before he came crashing down in between Fabian and Valore Trebel. Somebody’s weapon cracked off a shot as he landed, and a bullet pierced his hide with a flash of sharp, intense pain. He fell heavily, a blaze of agony spreading rapidly outwards from his shoulder — the one turned towards Fabian.
He heard Serena shriek his name in shock and panic, but he couldn’t understand anything else that was happening. People were shouting, another shot fired, and then there were running feet and a door banged. Halavere’s voice rose above the rest. ‘Damn you, what a horrible mess.’ Her voice receded as she spoke; had she left the room? What had happened to the rest of his team?
He couldn’t maintain his shape an instant longer; the pain in his shoulder and the confusion in his mind were too intense. He collapsed rather than shifted back into his human shape, and bit back a groan as the pain intensified.
Serena fell to her knees beside him, her face a mask of fear. ‘Tey?’ she gasped. ‘Are you alive?’
Chapter Twenty Three
Serena knew her words weren’t reaching Fabian, even as she spoke. She’d seen this mood of his twice before: once when they were children, and their father had fired a farmhand for stealing. The man had been a favourite playmate of Fabian’s, and indeed — whether he was guilty of stealing or not — he’d been good to the child. But stately, dictatorial Thomaso Carterett had refused to listen to eleven-year-old Fabian. Fabe had displayed such a powerful rage, everyone had been shocked by it. By the time he’d finished, he had broken every single toy in their shared playroom, along with every article of furniture in that room and his bedroom. When he had finally calmed down Fabian had been shocked by the destruction himself, as though he had committed such violent acts in some other state of mind, so far removed from his normal self that he didn’t recognise it.
The second time had been when their father had died. Fabian had discovered Thomaso’s body, hanging from the long wooden beam in the ceiling of his study. That time, Fabian hadn’t been rational again for two days.
Serena recognised the look in her brother’s eyes, and quailed. This fit of rage was, if anything, worse than ever, and she was genuinely helpless to call him back. What would he do? What wouldn’t he do?
A shot sounded, appallingly loud in the confined space. It pierced Serena’s eardrums and her heart with equal impact. Her head turned towards Fabian, expecting any instant to see him clutch some vital part of himself and fall, bloodied and dying yet again — but something large and crimson blurred before her vision and fell heavily to the ground instead. Teyo.
She couldn’t move, because suddenly Halavere was standing in front of her and the cold barrel of a firearm was set against her head. ‘You people are boring me excessively,’ Halavere said with a pleasant smile. ‘I’m tempted to break my usual rules. I mean, I don’t want a trio of corpses littering my hallway, but you’d be quieter, wouldn’t you?’
Serena barely had time to process this before a door banged somewhere behind her and the sounds of many pairs of feet informed her that a lot of people had entered the hallway.
‘Here!’ barked Bron, and suddenly her vision was swarming with young, tough-looking men and women wearing identical dark, unobtrusive uniforms and waving firearms exactly like Bron’s. Some shouting ensued, and somebody fired another — horrifically loud — shot which thudded into the wall not far from Serena’s head. Serena could only stare, hopelessly confused. Who were these people? Associates of Bron’s? Had he brought half of G.A.9 in here without even telling her?
Halavere stepped back, allowing her gun to hang slack in her grip. Her guards backed off, too. Serena didn’t wait to question it; she ran to Teyo’s inert form. He had shifted human again at some point and lay frighteningly still, his arm and torso covered in blood.
‘Tey?’ she gasped. ‘Are you alive?’
His eyes were open, slightly, and he peered blurrily at her. ‘I think so,’ he croaked.
A little of Serena’s panic eased, though the rate at which he was bleeding alarmed her. Teyo tried to clutch at her hand; she gave it to him.
‘Fabian shot me,’ he whispered. ‘He didn’t mean to, but he’ll hurt over it.’
Serena started, and stared wildly around. For an instant, she’d allowed her concern for Teyo to wipe all thoughts of Fabe from her mind! She spotted him not far away, surrounded by some of Bron’s — were they Bron’s? — associates. His firearm was gone, to her relief, and he looked more poleaxed than enraged. Teyo was right: Fabian was staring at his fallen friend with an expression of appalled self-loathing upon his face.
‘Blazes,’ she spat. ‘If I’d known. I didn’t think it could get worse.’
‘It’s not worse,’ Teyo whispered. ‘We’re all alive.’
Serena looked sadly at him. ‘At what cost, though?’ she said, and then shook herself. ‘Now isn’t the time. We need to get you out of here.’
The words were barely out of her mouth before she was pushed aside, firmly if not roughly, by some of those grim-faced uniformed G.A.9 operatives. One of them bent to tend to Teyo, showing signs of skill and experience as a medic. Serena fell back with a sense of relief, and let them get on with it.
Only then did it occur to her to wonder what had become of Egg and Iyamar. She grabbed her voice-box from her pocket and switched it on, pressing the buttons to call its partnered device. It beeped and flashed, but there was no answer. Serena waited, her stomach dropping with renewed anxiety.
Finally, Egg’s voice. ‘That better be Serena.’
Serena almost laughed with relief. ‘Who else were you expecting?’
‘The evil queen, after she’d stolen your device. Fabian?’
‘Fabian’s all right, but Tey’s been shot.’
Silence for a second. ‘And the bitch queen? Is she dead?’ Egg’s words were mildly flippant, but her voice held a degree of grimness Serena hadn’t heard before.
‘What? No, she isn’t dead. She’s—’ Serena, looking around, broke off. Where was Halavere? A few moments ago she’d been secure in the grip of several of Bron’s colleagues; now there was no sign of her. ‘I don’t know where she is right now.’
‘When you find her, I get to kill her.’
‘No one’s killing her.’
‘But—’
‘Never mind. Get yourselves upstairs at once, if you please. We’re up one and a couple of turns left from where we left you.’
The voice-box deadened without any answer from Egg, and Serena was left to wonder whether she intended to follow instructions at all.
But a few minutes later, Serena caught a flash of Egg’s red hair as she elbowed her way unceremoniously through the cluster o
f uniformed people still thronging the hallway.
‘Who are these people?’ Egg said, panting a little.
‘G.A.9, I think? Apparently they’re saving our rears.’
Egg’s eyebrows rose. ‘Did we know about this?’
Serena shook her head. ‘No. They’d better get Teyo out of here, that’s all I’m saying.’
‘They’re my people,’ said Bron, appearing behind Serena. ‘And we just saved your man’s life.’ His hair was wildly dishevelled, and his shirt had developed a tear in the fabric at some point. ‘Teyo’s going to be fine, but he’ll be out of action for a while. Might want to look to your brother, though.’
Serena nodded, already moving towards Fabian before Bron had finished speaking. ‘Egg, can—’
‘I’ll stay with Teyo,’ Egg interrupted.
‘Me too,’ said Iyamar.
Serena didn’t stay to reply. In an instant she was at Fabian’s side, wrapping an arm tentatively around his shoulders. ‘Fabe? We’re going home.’
Fabian stared sightlessly at her, and the look of anguish in his dark eyes broke her heart. ‘I killed Teyo,’ he whispered.
‘No,’ said Serena firmly. ‘Tey’s going to be all right.’
‘I killed Teyo,’ repeated Fabian, as though he hadn’t heard her. ‘And Valore escaped.’
Serena took his face in both of her hands. ‘Look at me,’ she ordered, and waited until his eyes focused upon her. ‘Teyo is going to be fine. You killed no one.’
Fabian blinked twice, and then his gaze sharpened; at last he seemed to be truly seeing her. ‘Thank goodness,’ he whispered. ‘But still, I almost—’
‘Don’t think about it now,’ Serena said, and stood on tiptoe to place a kiss upon his forehead. ‘Come home.’
‘Valore—’
‘Never mind her. She doesn’t matter anymore.’
Fabian allowed himself to be led away. With the assistance and escort of Bron’s colleagues, they made their escape from the Warren with a minimum of complications. Teyo was taken to Tinudren Sanatorium for treatment. Serena, Fabian, Egg and Iyamar returned home and retired, exhausted, to bed.
When Serena woke some hours later, befuddled but rested, she found Egg and Iyamar seated at the kitchen table, clutching identical mugs of something that steamed and smelled of cayluch.
‘Serena...’ said Egg. ‘Um.’
Her tone gave it away. ‘Fabian?’ Serena whispered.
‘He’s gone. We don’t know where.’
Panic spasmed, once again. ‘Why didn’t you wake me?!’
Egg set down her mug. ‘His bed hasn’t been slept in. He probably didn’t stay much above half an hour, if that, and we discovered his absence all of twenty minutes ago.’
Serena whirled around, her head full of confused notions of following her brother. How large a head start did he truly have? Where might he have gone?’
‘Serena,’ Egg barked, with uncharacteristic authority. ‘You can’t follow him. He’s long gone.’
‘But I must,’ Serena replied, heedless, her head full of one thought only: find Fabian.
‘You can’t,’ said Egg brutally. ‘He could be anywhere. Besides, has it not occurred to you that maybe he needs some time alone? Have you two ever been apart for more than a day or two?’
Serena turned slowly back around. ‘I... well, no, but we’ve always been better together.’
‘Maybe,’ said Egg, her mouth twisting sceptically. ‘Maybe not.’
‘He’s chasing Valore again,’ said Serena desperately. ‘I need to stop him, you don’t know what he might do—’
‘I know pretty well what he might do,’ Egg interrupted. ‘I don’t know that he will do any of it. Neither do you. You don’t know that he’s chasing Valore. He could be lying on a beach somewhere right now.’
Serena shook her head. ‘I doubt it.’
Egg grinned. ‘I doubt it, too, but you never know. He was pretty shaken up, with what happened to Tey. I don’t think he’ll be in a hurry to rush out and try it again.’
Serena sighed, drew out a chair and sat down heavily upon it. ‘I need a holiday.’
‘Don’t we all,’ said Egg. She picked up her mug once more, drained the dregs of her cayluch and set it back down with a satisfied sigh. ‘You did good, mother Serena. But it’s time to stop flapping and clucking and settle down a bit.’
Serena fixed her with a steely glare. ‘You’re on very thin ice, Miss Rutherby.’
Egg grinned. ‘Aren’t I always?’
Serena opened her mouth to reply, but Iyamar thrust a steaming mug at her. ‘Cayluch?’
Serena looked at Iya. The girl looked relaxed, she realised. So did Egg. The two of them seemed pretty comfortable together, sitting here drinking cayluch and chatting. Almost like they were friends. And Tey? Dear, good-hearted Tey, fiercely loved by every member of his team. He would be all right, and he would come home, and... and maybe Fabian would find his way home.
She had her team. They hadn’t emerged unscathed, but they had emerged. They were okay. And maybe Fabian would be okay, too.
‘Cayluch,’ said Serena, accepting the mug with a smile. ‘Cayluch would be just fine.’
Epilogue
Teyo arrived at their Draetre hideaway a few days later, escorted by two G.A.9 operatives and, to Serena’s dismay, Bron. Tey was immediately put to bed in the room Serena had prepared for him. He looked thinner and drawn and somehow smaller than before, as if he had collapsed in upon himself. It wasn’t a wholly physical complaint, Serena guessed, looking at the dark shadows under his eyes and the deepened lines around his mouth. He mustered only a tired smile for her as he was helped into bed, and then closed his eyes and fell swiftly into a deep sleep.
Serena presided over the two agents as they settled Teyo, ruthlessly ignoring Bron. The moment Teyo was asleep, she ushered everyone out of his room — her team, the G.A.9 agents and especially Bron — and shut the door carefully upon his slumber.
‘Thank you for your care of Teyo,’ she said to Bron in a wintry tone, and turned away. She had no desire for any further conversation with him.
Bron caught at her arm, stopping her. ‘Can we talk?’ he said in a low voice. He cast a glance around at his two colleagues and at Egg and Iya standing nearby, and added, ‘In private?’
Serena sighed inwardly. She didn’t want to grant his request, but Bron was impervious to hints. He would keep coming back until she dealt with him.
She took him into the parlour and shut the door on everyone else. ‘What is it?’ she said crisply.
Bron tried on one of his charming smiles, and took a step closer to Serena. ‘I was hoping for a little gratitude,’ he said.
Serena’s brows shot up. ‘What?’
‘We saved your skin back there! Not to mention patching up your man. Come on, aren’t you just a little bit grateful?’
Serena glared. ‘Is that why you did it? To make me grateful?’
‘No, of course not. I did it because it was the thing to do, you know? I knew your plan couldn’t work. Just the few of you, to infiltrate the Warren and come out alive? You needed major backup, and you couldn’t see it. This kind of job just isn’t suited to small agencies like Torwyne.’
Serena’s stare grew frostier than ever. ‘So you just arranged it all, without telling me.’
‘If I’d told you, would you have permitted it?’ Bron folded his arms, unabashed.
‘Whether I permitted it or not doesn’t seem to have troubled you at all,’ Serena said coldly. ‘At least I would have been forewarned. If I couldn’t have stopped you from bringing in your friends, at least I could have planned for it. As it was, you turned a shambles into total chaos.’
‘Hey!’ blurted Bron. ‘That isn’t fair. Can you deny that we got you out?’
‘No,’ Serena said, keeping hold of her temper with an effort. ‘I can’t. I am grateful to you for Teyo. But that’s all. Who’s to say that we couldn’t have handled it, and handled it better, withou
t your assistance? You killed several people. Your friends probably killed more.’
Bron shrugged. ‘Just crooks.’
Serena’s mouth dropped open in shock, and it took a few moments for her to muster her thoughts sufficiently to compose a sentence. ‘You’ve treated me and my agency throughout as — as just — amateurs,’ she spat. ‘Small fish, wholly inconsequential. You’ve patronised us since the beginning. But if you were wondering why I chose to work with Torwyne instead of G.A.9, you’ve just demonstrated exactly why. Just crooks? No one is ever disposable. Teyo was “just a crook”, once. So was Egg. With the right help, they’ve turned themselves around. They’re some of the best people I know, and they’re making a difference every day with what we’re doing.’ She drew herself up to her fullest height and stared at Bron with poisonous contempt. ‘And you and yours would’ve cut them down without a thought.’
Bron blinked. ‘Well... well, yes, once in a while there’s an exception, and it’s good that you got to those people.’
Serena’s mouth twisted. ‘The people you killed? Maybe they could’ve been “exceptions”, too. There are reasons why we don’t kill. But G.A9 just doesn’t care.’
‘If I hadn’t killed those people, they would’ve killed you,’ Bron said, his face darkening. ‘Or your team. Doesn’t that matter to you?’
‘They might have,’ Serena corrected him. ‘They might not. There might have been something else we could’ve done, but you gave us no chance. You went straight for killing.’
‘Oh, like what?’ Bron said scornfully. ‘What else do you propose to do when faced with armed assailants?’
‘You could’ve aimed to wound and disarm,’ Serena said. ‘You could at least have tried.’ Bron began to say something else, but she held up a hand. ‘Enough, please. I don’t wish to hear any more. Thank you for bringing Teyo home, and have a safe journey to wherever you’re going.’
Bron eyed her. ‘And that’s it?’
‘That’s it.’
‘I was hoping maybe we could get together some time. Have a meal somewhere. There’s a great place I know not far away, they’ve got the best ice cream for miles —’
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