‘Not if you want your revolution funded.’
‘Don’t you mean our revolution?’
I touched Eliza’s shoulder. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll tell you everything later.’
Neither of them looked happy, but they stepped away. I held out a glass to Lucida.
‘I don’t partake,’ she said, with something that vaguely resembled a smile. ‘I escaped the scarring, you see. You will find that they become ill-tempered without wine to numb the pain.’
‘And I thought it was just their personalities,’ I said.
She tilted her head. ‘Is that a “joke”?’
‘Not really.’
Balancing the tray of glasses on my hip, I opened the parlour door. My head continued to hammer, and I swung on my feet. Usually, I had a chance to warm up before dreamwalking, but the shock of Terebell’s aura on mine had caused an involuntary jump.
Errai stood beside the window. Pleione was lounging on the couch (she never seemed to sit, Pleione; she lounged), while Warden was a statue in the corner, his back against the wall. There was also a stranger among them: a female with sarx of pure silver and a bald head, like Errai.
Terebell, who stood beside the fire with her usual ramrod posture, took a glass of wine and raised it to her lips.
‘Arcturus,’ she said, ‘you ought to drink.’
‘I will endure.’
I put down the tray a little too hard. Terebell emptied half her glass at a draught.
‘This is Mira Sarin,’ she said. ‘Another of our Ranthen-kith. She has been in exile for many years.’
I inclined my head briefly to the stranger, a gesture she returned. Her primrose eyes, which were wide-spaced and large, like Errai’s, betrayed her recent feed on a sensor.
‘I summoned you to inform you that we are leaving,’ Terebell said.
‘Leaving for how long?’
‘For as long as necessary.’
‘Why?’
She approached the nearest window. The other Ranthen watched her. ‘We have found pockets of Rephaim who are willing to confront the Sargas with us, both here and in the Netherworld,’ she said. ‘They have asked us to prove our commitment to rekindling war before they will take up our cause. To do that, we must persuade an influential member of each of the six families to join us – preferably a Warden, past or present, given that they are the head of the family.’
‘Those who went into exile after the war may be sympathetic to our cause,’ Lucida said, ‘so we will approach them first. To begin with, we will seek out Adhara, the banished Warden of the Sarin, who was rumoured to have Ranthen sympathies. Mira knows her location in the Netherworld.’
I picked up a glass of wine for myself. ‘What if it doesn’t work?’
‘It must,’ Warden said.
Reassuring.
‘It would help our cause if we could convince our potential allies that you are a loyal and capable associate,’ Terebell went on. ‘Many of our old friends are disturbed by the notion that we must work with humans, given what happened . . . last time.’ Her face turned colder.
‘How would you like me to prove my loyalty?’
‘Show us that you are willing to do whatever is necessary for this movement to make progress.’ She handed back her empty glass. ‘I understand that you have finally replaced the arch-traitor. I assume you have also expelled the remaining members of the Seven Seals, in accordance with my orders.’
‘Jaxon’s gone, Terebell. He’s not coming back,’ I said, hoping she would miss the evasion. ‘We need to focus on deactivating Senshield, or else we will find ourselves unable to leave the house, let alone start a revolution. Warden said it might be powered by ethereal technology, and we have a list of places where we know the scanners have been hidden, but we need more information.’ When none of them volunteered any, I pursed my lips. ‘Lucida, you’re a Sargas. You must know something. Do you know why they’re rolling Senshield out earlier than they originally projected? What could be powering it?’
Lucida turned away. I doubted she liked to remember which family she belonged to.
‘Only the blood-sovereigns know how Senshield works,’ she said. ‘Perhaps the Grand Commander, too. As to why they are increasing the number of scanners, I can only suppose that they wish to tighten their control of the capital to counter the threat of the Mime Order.’
‘Senshield’s core may be powered by an ethereal battery: a poltergeist inside a physical casing,’ Mira Sarin said. Her voice was soft and cool. ‘The battery contains and channels the energy the poltergeist creates. Something to consider.’
Ethereal batteries. I remembered them from the colony. The Rephaim had used them to power fences that no voyant could touch without receiving a shock, or to create padlocks that couldn’t be opened until the poltergeist was banished. I tried not to think of Sebastian Pearce, whose spirit had been used inside one.
‘Say it is an ethereal battery,’ I said. ‘How could it be destroyed? By banishing the spirit – or destroying the physical casing?’
‘Either, I should think.’
‘Desecration,’ Errai muttered. ‘Grafting ethereal energy with human machinery . . . the Sargas continue to disgrace us.’
‘What’s wrong with human machinery?’ I said.
‘It poisons the air and taints the ground. Much of it feeds on fuel made of putrefying matter. It is inelegant and destructive. To force it into a union with the energy of the æther is profane.’
When he put it like that, I had no argument.
‘Errai speaks the truth. I approve of your proposal to rid us of the Senshield core,’ Terebell said to me, ‘but I expect you to seek my authorisation before you take any action.’
‘Can I expect to authorise your decisions, too?’
‘Not until you fund my decisions, as I fund yours.’ She turned her back on me. ‘You can contact me through Lucida, who will stay behind. The rest of the Ranthen will join me in the Netherworld.’
‘Warden is our best instructor,’ I said. ‘I’d prefer him to stay with the Mime Order. And I’ll need him to help me if I’m planning to dreamwalk again.’
‘I am putting an end to your training with Arcturus.’
I looked at him, then at her back. ‘What?’
‘You heard me. If you require assistance with your ability, you may ask Lucida.’
Warden kept his gaze on the fire. I was conscious of my pulse, sharp and crystal-clear. ‘Lucida doesn’t train voyants.’
‘True,’ Lucida said airily, ‘but one has to start somewhere.’
‘I don’t know how my recruits will respond to you. I do know how they’ll respond to Warden – that they respect him – and I need that certainty. Things are about to get a lot harder for them, with the curfew and Senshield.’ I turned to him. ‘Warden, we need you here.’
My tone was even, but it sounded all too much like an entreaty. Terebell looked at him.
‘I must do as the sovereign-elect commands,’ Warden finally said.
Such a small number of words to drain so much strength from me.
One look, and he belonged to her.
To Terebellum Sheratan, you are a convenient pawn in an age-old game. I had stifled that voice for a few days, but now it filled my ears. Arcturus Mesarthim is nothing but her lure. Her bait.
I should never have gone to him. He was content to see me embarrassed in front of them, to undermine my orders in front of Terebell, who was supposed to be my equal in leadership, and to abandon me to handle the Mime Order alone while they left on Rephaite business.
‘We leave in four nights’ time,’ Terebell said.
She strode away. Errai opened the door for her, and the Ranthen filed into the hallway, leaving a chill in their wake. Mira Sarin gave me a fleeting look, one I couldn’t read, before she left.
Only Warden stayed. He shut the door, so the two of us were ensconced in shadows.
‘Your nose is bleeding.’
‘I know.’
I hadn’t known, but I could taste the blood now.
‘Errai reported to us that you chose a new mime-lord for I-4, but that the ceremony was casual and your own attitude throughout was flippant and . . . improper.’ He looked at me. ‘Would you disagree?’
I should have known that Errai would find something to criticise. ‘With all due respect, none of you know the first thing about syndicate politics. That’s why you needed a human associate.’
‘How did you choose the replacement?’
‘The usual way. The first candidate to declare themselves to the Unnatural Assembly is considered for the position. In this case, Jack Hickathrift declared himself to me, and I deemed him suitable.’ I lifted my chin. ‘Look, the reason Errai called it “improper” is because Jack made his entrance by flirting with me.’
Warden’s eyes darkened. ‘I trust your judgement. Errai did not.’
‘If Terebell wanted me to cross-examine every candidate, she should have said.’ I tried to sound calm, but my insides were boiling. ‘I know the syndicate. I know how it works.’
‘That is not her only qualm. If she discovers that you have not expelled the Seals—’
A flare of resentment burned up my patience. ‘I’m getting really sick of pandering to Terebell’s obsession with Jaxon. I’m sorry if publicly betraying him wasn’t enough to show that I’ve rejected him. Or if risking my neck in the colony didn’t already prove my loyalty to the cause. Maybe I was the wrong human to choose.’ I held out a glass. ‘Some wine, blood-consort?’
‘Stop, Paige.’
‘You never manage to tell Terebell to stop, do you?’ It took effort to keep my voice down. Every word quaked. ‘You fucking coward. She belittles me, treats me as her waitron, and you do nothing. Not only that, but you make me look like a fool for all the Ranthen to see. At least I know where I stand now.’
Warden lowered his head, so we were at eye level. A quiver ran across my back.
‘If I speak for you too loudly,’ he said, his voice rumbling from the depths of his chest, ‘you will pay a price far higher than wounded pride. If you suppose that I enjoy upholding the façade, you are mistaken.’
His voice was no sharper than before, but there was a simmer in the softness.
‘I wouldn’t know what you enjoy.’ I stared him out. ‘I need you here. You know what we’re facing.’
‘If I press the matter, she may not allow me to see you at all.’
‘Don’t pretend you care, Arcturus. I know what you are.’
His eyes narrowed slightly. ‘What I am,’ he said, an invitation in his tone. An invitation to explain.
The accusation was on the tip of my tongue. I was ready to parrot every word of Jaxon’s warning.
Lure. Bait.
‘If all you’re going to do is tell me how much you can’t do, then go,’ I said finally. ‘Deal with your Rephaite business. Go to the Netherworld and let me run this organisation my own way.’
Warden watched me. I didn’t break his gaze, but my heartbeat was rough.
‘I cannot tell what you think you know of me,’ he said, ‘but remember this, Paige. The Sargas want you isolated. They want the Mime Order divided. They mean to sow the seeds of mistrust. Do not prove to them that human and Rephaite cannot join forces.’
‘That was an order,’ I said.
My shoulders were rigid. There was a short silence before Warden said, ‘As you command, Underqueen.’
When he stepped away, our auras untwined. I sank on to a chair and held my head between my hands.
4
Vance
29 November, 2059
Novembertide
I was losing him. Little by little, he was slipping out of reach. We were the bridge between the syndicate and the Ranthen, and unless I could somehow preserve our relationship, everything we had built together would begin to crumble. The Mime Order would not survive.
Danica came in at just past one in the morning, clad in the boiler suit she wore to work, and stamped the snow from her steel-capped boots. I was nursing my headache by the fire, raw-eyed.
‘Give me some good news,’ I said.
‘All right. I think I’ve found Senshield’s core.’
I sat up. ‘You’re serious?’
‘I don’t really like to joke. Do you want the bad news, too?’
I was still reeling from the good news. ‘Go on.’
‘It’s underground. And the facility it’s stored in is probably going to be guarded to the hilt.’
I went to wake the others; they needed to hear this. A few minutes later, the four of us were sitting in the parlour. Danica unlaced her boots and took her hair down from its bun.
‘Right. My idiot supervisor has some role in the installation of the large scanners. Today he got news that the core needs maintenance for the first time in a year. I wasn’t chosen to work on it,’ she said, answering the question that had jumped on to my tongue, ‘but I overheard him talking to the group that’s been selected. I know where it is.’
‘Go on,’ I said.
‘There’s a warehouse in II-1, which sits on top of the facility.’ I wasn’t too familiar with the section, but I could find people who were. ‘A trapdoor inside leads to the core. While they’re carrying out the maintenance, the alarms will be deactivated. But there’s a catch: the work will only take a day, and they’re doing it immediately. Today.’
‘And you still have no idea what the core is?’ Nick said.
Danica shrugged. ‘My guess is that it’s something volatile, which is why it’s kept underground. Still,’ she said, ‘now might be your chance to find out. If you can go today, while there are engineers working on it, Paige could possess one of them and see for herself.’
‘Dani,’ I said, ‘you are brilliant.’
‘Frankly, anyone could have eavesdropped on the morons in my department.’ She wiped her oily hands on her boiler suit. ‘I’m going to bed. I’ve got an early shift tomorrow.’
The stairs creaked as she trudged upstairs, leaving us to contemplate our options.
‘We have to make a quick decision here,’ I said. ‘The core might not need maintenance again for years. This could be our only chance.’
Nick rubbed his chin. ‘I don’t know. This seems too convenient.’
‘They don’t know about Dani. The double agent would have told Warden if there was even a whiff of suspicion.’
We had a lead. I needed to quash the exhilaration and think clearly, because if we did this, it would be our first direct assault on Scion’s infrastructure. It was risky, but it could be decisive for the Mime Order.
‘I want Maria and Glym to help us decide.’ I stood. ‘Jimmy O’Goblin, too – it’s his section. Make sure he’s sober.’
Eliza took her phone from her pocket. In the kitchen, I dug out a detailed map of the section.
‘Paige,’ Nick said, ‘should we get permission from the Ranthen?’
I hesitated.
‘No,’ I said. ‘If Terebell is ever going to trust me, I need to start proving I can make decisions on my own, and that they can pay off. She doesn’t ask me for permission when she decides to do something.’
‘She could cut off the money if something goes wrong.’
‘If it does, I’ll call her bluff. She needs us, too.’ I reached for my gloves. ‘Let’s go.’
We met the others in the dockworkers’ slum. Maria and Glym waited in an empty shack with an ashen Jimmy O’Goblin, mime-lord of II-1. His hair was a mess and he smelled faintly of alcohol, as always, but at least he was upright.
‘Afternoon, Underqueen,’ he rasped.
‘It’s two A.M., Jimmy.’ My breath came white and thick. ‘We think we’ve found Senshield’s core.’
‘That was quick,’ Maria said.
I imparted to them what Danica had told us. Glym listened with a frown.
‘We need to go for it,’ Maria said immediately. ‘It’s worth the risk if we can kill this thing.’
‘I agree,’ I said. ‘Jimmy, it’s in your section. Have you ever noticed any Scion activity around this warehouse?’
‘Not usually,’ Jimmy said, rubbing his eyes, ‘but since yesterday there’s been swarms of Gillies all around it.’
I spread the map on the floor between us, and Jimmy described what we were up against. The warehouse, as well as being guarded, was surrounded by a fence, with only one entrance gate. It was too high to scale, the links too tough to cut, and approaching in the open was likely to get us shot.
‘But there is one option, Underqueen.’ Jimmy flashed his wine-stained teeth at me. ‘One way you could get inside without being seen . . . but you’d have to be mad to try it.’
I leaned closer. ‘Let’s assume I’m mad.’
‘All right. You know how bleedin’ cold it’s been lately?’ I nodded. ‘There’s an old service ladder behind the warehouse that leads down to the Thames. Normally you wouldn’t be able to access it, but with the weather being what it is, the river’s frozen in that area.’
I raised my eyebrows. ‘You’re not suggesting we walk across the ice?’
‘That is a truly mad idea,’ Maria said, looking impressed.
‘Mad,’ I admitted, ‘but not bad.’
My hands pressed together, so I felt my pulse in my fingertips. I had fought to be Underqueen so I could make decisions, but now I had to trust myself to make the right ones.
‘The ladder comes up near a hidden gap under the fence. Local junkies dug said gap a few years ago,’ Jimmy said. A grubby finger tapped the site on the map. ‘I can send you a local who knows exactly where it is. Mad it may be, but I reckon it’s the only way you’ll get in undetected.’
I was swiftly becoming convinced by the idea. ‘There should be back-to-back Novembertide celebrations; Weaver will have to allow a reprieve from curfew. That will give us plenty of cover,’ I said. Everyone nodded. ‘I say we send in a small, armed team – today. We get into the underground facility, locate this “core”, do as much damage to it as we can – or at the very least find out what the hell it is – and get out of there.’
‘When you say we . . .’ Eliza started.
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