Nine of Wands

by Mark Hayden

  We’d dropped off the parcel on our way to the Villa Verde, and now, on our way home, we had the results. To our shock, they’d been returned by Hannah’s brother, Daniel Beckman.

  My boss, the Peculier Constable of the King’s Watch, is Hannah Rothman. She’s 100% North London Jewish, though Reform, not Orthodox. Her brother had been, shared tapas with us, and gone, leaving Mina and I somewhat bemused.

  ‘How is it,’ she said, ‘that Hannah keeps kosher and won’t break Shabbos but won’t set foot in Israel, yet her brother asks for extra pork sausage and is a committed Zionist?’

  ‘You tell me, love. Families are strange things. At least we have the report.’

  ‘Couldn’t he email it to the Watch?’

  ‘No. The Parchment inside this envelope is enchanted. They could have sent it by courier, though. I think Daniel just wanted to see us – me – in the flesh.’ I pushed a cigarette packet towards Mina. Daniel had casually left it on the table. ‘And to return this. Have a look.’

  Mina opened the packet and slipped out the now mundane diamond. Her eyes bulged. ‘This is worth a fortune.’

  ‘I thought it might look good in a ring. On your finger. One day.’

  She pushed the packet back to me. ‘One day. You’ve been very patient, Conrad. You haven’t asked me what Arun had to say.’

  I stowed the diamond safely away and lit a cigarette. When I didn’t answer straight away, Mina waved at the waiter and pointed to our drinks. He nodded and went back inside the hotel.

  ‘Your mother is a very odd person,’ she said. ‘I suppose you know that.’

  ‘Mmm,’ was the only safe reply.

  ‘I like her. I do not like my own mother very much. I don’t think she ever liked me.’

  That was harsh, but never having met her mother, I couldn’t argue. She waited until fresh drinks had arrived before she continued. ‘Arun says that she is not at death’s door, but there is no way back. Breast cancer. She didn’t go for a check-up until it was too late. It had spread all over.’

  She left a silence for me to fill in my head: Mrs Desai had been too proud, too embarrassed, too stubborn and too fearful to go for a scan.

  ‘I will go,’ said Mina. ‘Soon. There are things to do first, though. While you were in the shower, I had a message from Stacey. You remember her?’

  ‘I do. We both owe her a debt. Is she okay?’

  Stacey had been a friend to Mina in prison. Without Stacey’s help, Mina wouldn’t be sitting with me in Madrid.

  ‘Stacey’s good. She’s coming out on Tuesday, and I want to give her some cash, obviously, but I want to be there, too. If her … ex-partner shows up, I want to help her get away from him. She won’t stand a chance, otherwise, and he’ll have his hands on her money before they get to Preston.’

  ‘Of course. I’ve got to go up north as well, to sort out that business with the inquest. I can do that on Tuesday.’

  ‘Good,’ said Mina. She raised her glass. ‘To freedom.’

  ‘To freedom.’

  2 — All Along the Watch Tower

  ‘Wow,’ said Mina. ‘I had no idea that it was so big.’

  ‘And I had no idea that you’ve never been before. How can you have lived in London all your life and never have gone to the Tower?’

  She put her arm through mine. ‘Because my primary school did not think that symbols of hegemonic oppression were suitable places for children to visit.’

  ‘And they told you that, did they?’

  ‘No, but they did tell it to Papaji when he asked why we were going to the climate change event for the third year running.’ She paused. ‘And we never went as a family, because most summers we were in Bombay or with Papaji’s family.’

  I got a bit confused. ‘Were they not from Bombay?’

  She shook her head. ‘From Gujarat. Up country, as they used to say. My father grew up in a falling-down mansion. His family were very high caste, and they used a great chunk of mother’s dowry on refurbishing it. I think he came to England while there was still some left for him. Come on, give me the tour.’

  We were on our way to Merlyn’s Tower, and we could have gone straight there via the staff entrance, but when I found out that she’d never been to the Tower of London at all, it seemed right for her to get the overall feel of the place first. I even bought her a ticket.

  We couldn’t do the whole thing, obviously, but we did make a circuit and go to the Waterloo Barracks to see the Crown Jewels. As Mina said herself, ‘You can’t take an Indian girl to the world epicentre of bling and not show her the money.’

  Quite.

  I also wanted to show her the ravens, and we were watching one of them hop about when two Yeoman Warders came up. One of them, the senior one, nodded to me out of respect for my RAF uniform, and his apprentice was doing the same until he did a double-take and snapped a smart salute.

  ‘Mr Clarke, sir,’ he said.

  I disengaged my arm from Mina and returned the salute. His was a very familiar face, one I’d seen many times in a set of RAF overalls, usually emerging from a Chinook helicopter and pronouncing it fit to fly.

  ‘Warrant Officer Keith Bradburn,’ I replied. ‘Bit of a change for you.’

  ‘Yes sir. I’ve only been here a week, sir.’ He glanced at the senior Warder. ‘They’re keeping me on a tight leash.’

  I smiled. ‘Good to hear it.’

  He took another look at my uniform. ‘I’d heard you were in a bad way, sir. I thought you’d left the service.’

  ‘They couldn’t do without me. Or I missed them. One or the other.’

  The senior Warder spoke up. ‘Mr Clarke works in that tower I was telling you about. He often comes this way.’

  ‘I had no idea you’d noticed,’ I said.

  ‘We notice all the staff at your tower, sir, and you’re the only one who always says hello and always means it. We’ve been waiting for you to ask to feed the ravens. They come closer to you than any other visitor. Closer than most of the Warders, too.’

  I was impressed. Very impressed. To cover my surprise, I quickly introduced Mina, and after handshakes, I said that we had to be going.

  I led Mina towards the Water Gate. ‘How does that work?’ she asked. ‘Those guys live here, don’t they? So how do they cope with a magickal tower?’

  ‘They do live here. All thirty-seven of them and their families. They’re all very loyal former Warrant Officers, remember, and they just don’t talk about Merlyn’s Tower directly, or look at it.’ She shook her head and shrugged.

  I took my cap off and waved some air over my head. The RAF uniform was designed to keep you warm on a winter’s day at an exposed East Anglian airfield, not keep you cool on a hot spring day in London. It’s a bit of a sweat box, but today was a special day for the King’s Watch, so it was parade orders.

  Mina looked at me. ‘Are you 100% certain I won’t have to dress up like you if I get the job?’

  This was the third time (at least) that she’d asked me the same question. ‘Yes. I’m sure. You could wear a uniform at home if you feel left out.’

  ‘The only woman who doesn’t look awful in that black get-up is Annelise, and she would look good in a bin liner. I think that Hannah should change the rules for her own sake, if no one else’s. She doesn’t have the hips to wear a skirt that tight, and Vicky looks like a checkout supervisor who’s won employee of the month.’

  ‘Steady on, love. Vicky died to get that Military Cross.’

  She grinned. ‘It was her who said it, not me, but don’t repeat it. Secrets of the ladies’ room and all that.’

  I took her hand again when we were through the Water Gate. That way, she’d see Merlyn’s Tower as it really is and not as it appears to the rest of the world. I stopped and said, ‘There you go.’

  She wrinkled her nose. ‘Is that it?’

  ‘What were you expecting.’

  ‘It’s all squat and boring. I was expecting something bigger. With turrets and mini-towe
rs. Heads on spikes. Bats. That sort of thing.’

  You can’t please some people. ‘The magick is on the inside.’

  The big wooden door is only locked a few times a year, mainly because there are only two keys and there’s enough magickal protection on the Tower to keep out an entire horde of Orcs, if some mad Mage decided to create one. I pushed the door back and Mina stepped nervously over the threshold.

  By the time I’d closed the door behind us, she was reading a note taped to the Clerk’s office. ‘They’re in the Watch Room,’ she announced. ‘I’m still not feeling the magick. Why are there no paintings, no impressive coats of arms?’

  She had a point. The stairwells of Merlyn’s Tower are completely unadorned and rather grim. Maybe that’s the point. We climbed the curved stairs to the first floor, and I let us in to the Watch Room.

  It was packed and close to chaos in there, because today’s special event was the Induction of our newest recruit. Detective Sergeant Helen Davies was laying aside her police warrant card to take the Queen’s commission and become Watch Captain for Wales. A lot of my fellow officers had come to welcome her and take a nosey at only the second woman to become a Watch Captain.

  The Watch Clerk, Maxine Lambert, was directing operations as everyone moved tables, stacked chairs and unpacked the refreshments. The only one taking it easy was Maxine’s deputy, Cleo. She was drinking tea and resting one hand on her now very prominent bump, and that bump was one of the reasons that Mina had come with me.

  Maxine needs a deputy, and the Watch was recruiting for its first ever maternity cover. Mina was here to have a good look round, talk to Cleo and let Maxine run the ruler over her properly. They’ve met before, but only briefly.

  Maxine welcomed us and introduced Mina to Cleo before checking her watch. ‘We’ve got ten minutes before you’re due upstairs. Let’s get out, quick.’ Maxine is the only other smoker in the Watch, and led the way through a little door to the back staircase and then up to the roof.

  We lit up and spent a moment taking in the view of the Thames. ‘Good news and bad news,’ she said. ‘The good news is that the panel for Cleo’s job will be the Vicar of London Stone, the Boss and me. The official announcement was yesterday, and I’ve got a copy of the application form for Mina.’

  ‘Thanks. What’s the bad news?’

  ‘The reason she’s not on the panel is that a friend of hers from church is going to apply for it. Just to spite me and put a spy in the camp.’

  If that sentence left you at a loss, I’ll explain. When Maxine says she, it’s not the Boss she’s talking about, it’s the Boss’s PA, Tennille Haynes. Maxine and Tennille do not get on, and I’ve no idea why. I’m also too scared to ask, as is Hannah. I think.

  ‘Mina wouldn’t have it any other way,’ I said, lying through my teeth. Mina will be devastated. There has been a thaw between Hannah and Mina. No doubt. But when Hannah had said that Mina’s application would come second to anyone without a criminal record, she wasn’t joking. That was a bridge I’d have to cross later.

  We headed back to the Watch room, and I said goodbye to Mina. The other reason she’d come today was to collect a secure laptop from Li Cheng, the Royal Occulter, and that’s what she was doing. We agreed to meet at a coffee shop after the ceremony, because only Watch members would be attending. Even Helen’s husband would have to wait for her outside with the ravens and tourists.

  I made my way up the formal staircase to the top floor, home of the Peculier Constable and of Maxine’s nemesis, Tennille, who fixed me with a hard stare the moment I emerged into her domain.

  ‘Watch Captain Clarke,’ was what she said. Her tone supplied the subtext: Watch Captain Clarke, in whose footsteps the Devil walks. And when Tennille talks about the Devil, she really does mean Satan.

  I don’t know why Tennille hates Maxine, but at least I know why she dislikes me: her daughter, Desirée, was seriously injured in my command.

  ‘How is Desi?’ I asked.

  ‘You’ll see for yourself in a moment. And you’ll see why I ain’t happy. Go through. She’s waiting.’

  When Tennille says she, it’s always the Constable she means.

  I went through the impressive oak doors into Hannah’s impressive office. As per standing orders, I saluted, and while Hannah made a half-hearted return, I checked out who else was there.

  Vicky, of course, gave me a big grin, as did the Senior Watch Captain, Rick James. My eyes popped out when I saw Desirée and what she was wearing. Since last week, she’d got a uniform of her own, and that explained the latest reason her mother was upset with me. Tennille would prefer her daughter to be studying for her doctorate with the Invisible College in Salomon’s House, not acting as a Reserve Watch Officer. Rather than blame Desi herself or Hannah, she takes it out on me.

  I had expected a full contingent from Salomon’s House, but there was only one – Francesca Somerton, Keeper of the Library. The others were all on holiday, apparently. Typical academics.

  We’d all seen each other a week ago, but it seemed a lot longer. I was about to ask how everyone was until Hannah said, ‘Grab yourself a coffee and sit down, Conrad. Have you got something for us?’

  The coffee in Merlyn’s Tower is generally very good and excellent in Hannah’s office. I took a cup and slipped a folded envelope from my inside pocket.

  ‘Give it to Vicky,’ said Hannah. ‘She’s the expert.’

  Vicky took the compliment in her stride. Her confidence is definitely growing. She slipped the Parchment out of the envelope and ran her finger over it. The paper looked blank to me. Completely blank.

  Her fingers traced complex invisible patterns in more and more detail. I sipped my coffee and leaned right to whisper to Desirée, ‘You look a lot better.’

  ‘Getting there. I still need a stick to walk, but I’m getting there, thanks.’

  Rick leaned over, too, and said, ‘Good work in Spain, Bro. I got to spend half term with the kids. They’re doing the big Tower right now with their Gran.’

  Vicky let out a groan of frustration, then realised that we could hear her and put her hand over her mouth. ‘Sorry, ma’am.’

  ‘What?’ said Hannah with a real edge. ‘Is there a fault with the analysis?’

  ‘Oh no. It’s top notch, this. It’s the diamond. Creating that fake Rockseed must have been so hard that whichever Fae created it, they used Quicksilver magick exclusively. There’s no trace of their human side in this record.’

  I’d better explain. The Fae are a different species. They are half-human, yes, but the human part is mostly biology. Most of their magick is in their other half, and that half uses mercury, known to alchemists as quicksilver, and Quicksilver magick is as alien to humans as the element mercury is toxic. If that was a record of human magick on the Parchment, Vicky could tell who it was just by looking at them. The Fae keep their Quicksilver selves completely hidden.

  ‘Is there a way round this?’ I asked.

  Hannah gave a humourless grin. ‘The Watch used to torture people. In the basement of the Develin Tower. If you put a Fae to the Question, you can see their Quicksilver Imprint. The equipment is still there, but sadly we had to give up the practice.’

  ‘Not without a fight,’ said the Keeper. Hannah had made a joke of it, but Francesca wasn’t laughing. ‘There is another way, isn’t there, Vicky?’

  ‘Aye,’ said Vic, somewhat dubiously. ‘If I can compare this Parchment to any other Artefact created exclusively with Quicksilver magick, I can rule them in or out. It’s dangerous, though.’

  ‘And it’s not as if we have an elimination database,’ said Hannah, ever the ex-copper.

  ‘Yes we do,’ said Francesca. ‘We have that list of all the Fae nobles from 1689 who are still alive, so we track down Artefacts made by them, starting in the Library, and starting now. Here.’

  She passed Vicky a cigar sized silver cylinder – an Egyptian Tube, concealing something powerfully magick.

  Vicky rubbed a b
lank spot in the engraved surface with her finger. ‘The Queen of the Heath?’ she exclaimed. ‘You’re joking, aren’t you?’

  Even Hannah had flinched, and Desi looked most disturbed.

  ‘Who…?’ I said.

  ‘The Queen of the Heath is one of the three Fae Queens in London,’ said Vicky. ‘That’s Hampstead Heath, by the way.’

  ‘And my prime suspect,’ said Francesca. ‘Go on, Victoria, open it.’

  Hannah nodded her approval, and Vicky unscrewed the cylinder. She took out a piece of Parchment and carefully unrolled it.

  ‘That’s beautiful,’ I said. The Parchment was about A5 size and had a poem on it. I couldn’t read the flowing, extravagantly curled writing, but I marvelled at the miniature illuminations – and the way they moved with the text. In one verse, a hedgehog stumbled over the words, each one a little hill; in another, a butterfly flitted across the page, pausing to sip at the taller letters, which became flowers when it approached.

  Vicky dropped the Parchment and rubbed her hands on her uniform skirt. ‘Beautiful, aye, and deadly.’ She turned to me. ‘It’s a Binding Charm. The ultimate love letter, if you’re into emotional slavery.’ She looked back at Francesca. ‘Where did this come from?’

  ‘It was sent to a past Warden of Salomon’s House. He proved immune and lodged it in the Library.’

  ‘Well?’ said Hannah impatiently. ‘Is it her?’

  Vicky looked alarmed. ‘I can’t tell, ma’am. I’d rather not do the analysis here, and not without preparation.’

  Hannah sighed. ‘Fair enough. As soon as you can, Vicky. This is as far as we’re going to get for now. If it’s not the Queen of the Heath, can you keep looking for Artefacts, Keeper? Desirée?’

  ‘We will,’ said Francesca.

  Hannah checked her watch. ‘Thanks everyone. We’d all hoped for a breakthrough with that analysis, I know, but we’ll get there. Soon. Rick, Desi, can you give us a minute?’