Cursed av-2

by Benedict Jacka

  “Okay.”

  I hung up and speed-dialled Luna’s number. I got her voice mail. I tried again-same result. It could mean she was in Arachne’s lair. Or it could mean something very bad.

  I wanted to run but forced myself to keep to a walk. There was no way this could be a coincidence. Martin and Luna, Meredith and me …

  An idea stirred, something blank and terrible, the shape of it making me shy away. I tried to think of what Belthas could want with Luna. Luna’s curse is powerful in its way, but it doesn’t serve anyone but her. If Belthas wanted a chance mage, he could find someone else. Had he done the whole thing to get to me? No, that couldn’t be it-Martin had hardly spoken to me.

  There must be something Luna had that Belthas wanted. It wasn’t her magic and it wasn’t her status. Belthas had gotten me involved as well. Maybe it was something to do with both of us. What did Luna and I have in common?

  We both knew about the fateweaver. But that didn’t fit with what Rachel and Cinder had been doing, and besides, it was old news. We both knew Starbreeze … no, I’m the only one with a connection to her.

  What about Arachne? We were two of the very few people Arachne trusted enough to let into her lair … which was where Luna was taking Martin …

  I stopped dead.

  Arachne. A magical creature.

  The technique Rachel and Cinder had been using.

  And now Belthas had it too.

  “Oh shit,” I said quietly. And started to run.

  It took me ten minutes to cover the distance. I spent less than five putting the pieces together.

  Half of that was kicking myself for being stupid. I’d known Belthas was keeping something back. Of course he didn’t want Rachel and Cinder getting their hands on something this powerful. He wanted it for himself. And now he had it, he needed a creature to try it out on.

  Arachne was too well protected to attack directly. Behind the wards of her lair, she was almost invulnerable. But if you had someone Arachne trusted enough to let in … that changed things. And if you had someone like Martin, with the monkey’s paw making him immune to Arachne’s magic … and a small army of men to follow him …

  Night had fallen by the time I reached Arachne’s lair. The Heath was silent but for the sound of distant traffic. I crept forward to the ravine and peered through the trees.

  It was dark enough that I had to stare for a few seconds to be sure of what I was seeing but once I did, my heart sank. The entrance to Arachne’s lair was open.

  Something caught my eye, lying in the grass, and I moved silently to retrieve it. It was a white ribbon, the kind Luna uses to tie her hair. A faint silver mist still clung to it, the residue of Luna’s curse.

  I should have backed off. It would have been the smart thing to do. The careful thing to do.

  I walked down into the ravine. As I came down the slope I heard someone catch their breath just in front of me. The mouth of Arachne’s cave was a mass of shadows and I walked towards one of them, straight as an arrow. “Meredith,” I said into the darkness, my voice soft in the empty night. “We need to talk.”

  One of the shadows moved. There was a click and a faint light illuminated Meredith, pale and frightened. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

  I kept walking towards her. “Who’s in there, Meredith?”

  Meredith backed up. “I-what do you mean?”

  “No,” I said. “No more games.”

  “I’m not supposed to-” Meredith stopped.

  I nodded. “You’re out here to turn people away. While Belthas works.” I stepped closer. “I’ll make this simple. Where’s Luna?”

  Meredith hesitated.

  I turned towards the entrance. “You’re wasting my time.”

  “No, wait!” Meredith stepped in front of me, hands up.

  “Then answer. Where’s Luna?”

  “She’s-” Meredith shook her head. “Just go. Okay?”

  I didn’t even bother answering. I stepped in. Meredith pressed herself against the earth wall, her eyes going wide.

  Suddenly my anger vanished. I’d been splitting my attention, watching for any sign of Belthas’s men; now I found myself focusing on Meredith, noticing as if for the first time her softness and beauty. I realised that I didn’t want to hurt her, even if it was to … What was I doing again? “What’s happening?”

  Meredith’s eyes flicked over my shoulder, then back again. “It’s nothing. Alex, you should go. It’s dangerous here.”

  It seemed like a good idea. If Meredith wanted me to leave, I ought to. Except … I shook my head. There was something …

  “Alex? Please.”

  “Where’s Luna?”

  Meredith flinched, just for a second. “I … don’t know. Alex?”

  I tried to remember what I was doing. It was hard, like trying to think while asleep. I could feel something fighting me but I resisted it, piecing my thoughts back together one at a time. “She’s in there, isn’t she?”

  Meredith’s eyes flicked to one side again. “No. She isn’t.”

  Meredith was lying. It was hard to believe it-I wanted to trust her-but a clearer, stronger part of me was telling me not to. And she kept on looking away, as if …

  …as if she were looking at something behind me.

  I tried to turn but my dulled reactions were too slow. Something stung the back of my neck and a wave of dizziness washed over me. It was hard to move, and with a vague feeling of surprise I noticed I was lying on the ground. A man was saying something in a deep voice but I couldn’t seem to focus on the words. And then I stopped noticing anything at all.

  Mages have developed a lot of ways to knock someone unconscious. Light mages use them to avoid killing; Dark mages also use them to avoid killing, though for different reasons. I’ve had more experience with them than I’d like and this had been one of the “softer” ones-I didn’t feel any headache or nausea. As I came awake I began to hear the echoing scrape of movement from nearby. I could tell from the sounds that I was in a big room. I opened my eyes.

  I was in Arachne’s lair, though the layout seemed different. I was lying a rug near the far side. Sofas and chairs had been pushed up against the wall and Luna was sitting on one of them. She was looking down at me. “Hey,” I said, still a little blurry. “You okay?”

  Luna gave a tiny nod. She was sitting quite still. I couldn’t see any injuries on her, though now I took a closer look her clothes looked scuffed. I got to my feet. A brief wave of dizziness hit me and I swayed for a moment before shaking it off.

  I had the feeling I was forgetting something. “How did you get here?” I said.

  Luna flicked her eyes behind me then back again. It was a very tiny gesture, but something about it sent a chill down my spine.

  I turned around.

  It’s always struck me as a bit unfair that despite being able to see the future, I get so many horrible surprises. You’d think being a diviner I’d be able to avoid them but it seems all that means is that when they finally do catch up with me they’re much worse. It’s happened so many times that I’ve learnt to recognise the exact feeling: a sort of hollow, sinking sensation in my gut, like I’ve just been dropped from very high up.

  Belthas was standing thirty feet away, his hands clasped behind his back. He looked relaxed. Of course, he had a lot to be relaxed about.

  About ten men from Belthas’s private army were standing in a loose semicircle on either side of Belthas, surrounding Luna and me. They were wearing body armour and carried submachine guns. The guns were pointed almost at the two of us so that we couldn’t quite stare down the barrels but could imagine very easily what it would be like. All of them were looking at us with flat, unreadable expressions. Seeing them up close in the light, they looked tough and competent. They did not look friendly or nice.

  Garrick was in the circle too. Unlike the other men, he was standing at ease with his weapon hanging from its sling, though I had the feeling he could probably get a
shot off faster than any of them. Unlike the others, he gave me a nod. A few more of Belthas’s men were scattered around the lair, including two stationed at the tunnel leading out to the Heath.

  Meredith and Martin were there too, a little way behind Belthas. Meredith was sitting on one of the few remaining chairs; she didn’t meet my eyes. Martin was standing with arms folded, looking pleased with himself. All told, there were a little under twenty people facing us. None of them looked like they wanted to be our friends.

  Arachne’s lair had been the site of a short, vicious battle. A few of the sofas and tables had been smashed into firewood, and many more bore the marks of spells or weapons fire. Dresses and coats had been slashed and burnt, then gathered up and piled carelessly in stacks. The centre of the room had been cleared, the clothes and furniture shunted up against the walls.

  Arachne was next to the dressing rooms. She was lying motionless on the floor, her vast bulk still, watched over by two guards. Something glinted at the back of her head. At the sight of Arachne, my fear vanished in a wave of anger. I turned to Belthas. “Verus,” Belthas said.

  I stared at him.

  “I trust you’re feeling better?”

  “You’ve tried to kill me twice in as many days,” I said. “Drop the act.”

  Belthas raised his eyebrows. “You know,” I said, “there’s just one thing I’m curious about. How’d you know the monkey’s paw would pick Martin?”

  Martin stiffened slightly, looking from me to Belthas. “Ah,” Belthas said. “That was merely a matter of adapting to circumstances.”

  “And you just took advantage.”

  Belthas inclined his head.

  “So that’s why you ordered those assassination attempts,” I said. “You had Meredith and Martin to work on the two of us. But once Martin picked up that item, you didn’t need me anymore. He would have phoned you on … what, Saturday night?” I saw Martin start. “And by Sunday morning you had Garrick ready to shoot me. You don’t waste time, do you?”

  “I’m impressed, Verus,” Belthas said. “But you’ve misinterpreted events slightly.”

  “Why are we even talking to this guy?” Martin said.

  “Shush, Martin,” I said. “Adults are talking.”

  “Shut up,” Martin said with a sneer. “Me and Luna couldn’t stop laughing about you, you know that? Having something like this and being too scared to use it.”

  “How can you say that?” Luna’s voice was shaking. “I thought you cared about me! How could you do this?”

  Martin turned away with a shrug. “Martin, you’re stupid,” I said.

  “Yeah? Then how come we’ve got a bunch of guns pointed at you?”

  “Doesn’t change the fact that you’re stupid. For a start, you keep saying ‘we.’ You’re not Belthas’s partner, you’re his minion. You’re stupid enough to use the monkey’s paw after I told you the truth about it. And you’re stupid enough to keep being Belthas’s minion and keep using the monkey’s paw even after being told that it’ll kill you. In fact, you’re so stupid that I can tell you all this to your face and Belthas won’t stop me because he knows you’re too much of an idiot to know when you’re being told the truth. He can just wait for you to get yourself killed without lifting a finger.”

  Belthas raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. Martin had been listening with his mouth half-open and he started to say something or other but I turned on Meredith before he could finish. “And you. Lying really is a way of life to you, isn’t it?”

  Meredith stared at me. “Excuse me?”

  “That was what Belthas told you to do, wasn’t it? Manipulate me.”

  Meredith’s eyes narrowed. “Get over yourself.”

  “I trusted you!”

  “No, you didn’t. You never let me in-you don’t trust anyone. You’re the coldest man I’ve ever met.”

  My face twisted in a snarl. “As if you could-” Martin started to shout something and some of the men brought their guns up.

  “Quiet, please,” Belthas said, his voice cutting across the noise. He looked from side to side, eyebrows raised, until everyone had fallen silent. “I can understand you have reasons for disagreement but I think it would be best if you resolve your personal issues in your own time.”

  Martin glowered. Meredith looked away.

  “Now,” Belthas said once order had resumed. “Verus, I have an offer for you.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  “There’s no need for sarcasm,” Belthas said mildly. “As I was saying earlier, while your analysis is impressive, you’ve gone astray in one or two points. I haven’t given any instructions to kill you. In fact, I quite specifically instructed my men to make sure you were unharmed.”

  “Oh,” I said. “So those were the friendly kind of assassination attempts.”

  Belthas sighed. “Verus, you really should … how did Meredith put it? Get over yourself. Yes, your value was diminished once Martin reported his success. But do you really think that’s enough reason to order your death? I’m not a Dark mage. If I killed everyone who wasn’t useful to me, there wouldn’t be many people left.”

  I was silent. “Besides,” Belthas continued. “You’ve been of considerable assistance. It was due to you that we were able to capture Deleo. With her and Cinder on the loose, this would have been impossible.”

  “Feel free to express your gratitude.”

  “I’d be happy to. As I said, I have considerable influence with the Council. However, with that influence comes obligations.” Belthas gestured to the men around him. “It would hardly have been possible to arrange all this without some assistance. Fortunately, I was able to discover a Council member willing to act as a patron of sorts.”

  “Great. Who?”

  Belthas smiled slightly. “Come now, Verus. I’ve already explained that I’ve no wish to kill you. Who do you know on the Council who does?”

  I stared for a second-then my heart sank. “Shit.”

  “Yes,” Belthas said dryly. “Did you think he forgot?”

  I turned away. “Alex?” Luna said quietly.

  “Levistus,” I said. Things had just gone from bad to worse. I looked at Belthas. “So what? I was the price for his help?”

  “Actually, that’s quite an interesting story.” Belthas settled himself more comfortably. “I suspected from the start that it was Deleo and Cinder we were looking for, and given your past history, I immediately thought of you as the natural choice to find them. But when I suggested your name to Levistus, he was quite definite that you were not to be involved. Levistus is … less tolerant of unpredictability than I am.

  “It was the one sticking point in our arrangement. But we had only managed to acquire part of the ritual, and I knew that without Cinder and Deleo I would have no more success than they had had with that barghest. I needed one of them alive to interrogate and I was certain you were our best chance.” Belthas smiled again. “You played your role admirably.”

  I was silent.

  “Levistus, unfortunately, did not share my faith in your reliability,” Belthas continued. “Enough so that when he discovered your involvement, he ordered your immediate removal.” Belthas glanced sideways at Garrick. “Via someone whom I had been under the impression was working for me.”

  Garrick shrugged. “I was.”

  “I don’t believe your contract mentioned anything about freelancing.”

  “Didn’t say I wouldn’t, either.”

  Belthas sighed. “Yes, well. Smoothing that over took quite some work. Levistus assigned a second agent to the same task but fortunately you proved capable of dealing with that matter on your own. At least that unpleasantness at the factory had the advantage of persuading Levistus to reconsider. After some persuasion, he reluctantly agreed to a compromise.”

  I stood still. “A compromise.”

  “More a matter of reparation, really. You caused him a certain amount of loss in your last encounter.”

  “If he wa
nts the fateweaver, he can get it himself.”

  “Interesting you should mention that,” Belthas said. “It was my first assumption too. But it seems that retrieving the fateweaver isn’t a priority for Levistus at the moment. Oh, he’d like it some day, but it’s not his primary concern. His grudge against you concerns the loss of his agents.”

  I hadn’t been the only one Levistus had sent to get the fateweaver. There had been two others: an earth mage called Griff and a bound elemental named Thirteen. Both had done their best to get rid of me and I hadn’t cooperated. “You know,” I said, “technically, I didn’t kill either of them.”

  “Ah?” Belthas said politely. “Well, you could raise that point with Levistus if you feel it would help.”

  I was silent.

  “I’m not explaining all this to you because I like the sound of my own voice, Verus. I’m doing it as a sign of good faith. You asked me a moment ago to show my gratitude. I did. I convinced Levistus to stop the attempts on your life, and believe me when I say it took quite some persuasion. What eventually changed his mind was realising that you still had something he wanted.”

  “Which is?”

  Belthas brought his hand from behind his back and tossed something to me, something small that glinted in the light. I caught it reflexively and looked down.

  It was a small cylindrical rod, made of glass, the same one I’d brought to the lair tonight. It was the focus I used to call Starbreeze.

  “He wants,” Belthas said, “a new elemental servant.”

  I looked down at the rod, then up at Belthas.

  “I’m sure there’s no need to spell it out for you,” Belthas said.

  “You want Starbreeze.”

  “Levistus does.”

  “You want me to call her,” I said, my voice flat. “So you can catch her.”

  “Yes.”

  “For Levistus?” I said. “You do what he tells you?”

  “Do pay attention, Verus,” Belthas said. “Levistus is acting as my patron in this matter. He’s been quite generous with his assistance. In return, when he asks a favour, he expects me to uphold my end of the bargain.”