Taken

by Benedict Jacka

  Lyle stiffened. “I’ve asked you before not to use your abilities for—”

  “I don’t need divination magic to guess what you’re up to.”

  Crystal looked at me pointedly. “I’m sorry, but this is a private conversation.”

  “Really? What’s it about?”

  Crystal didn’t react but I felt a flash of anger behind her eyes. “Alex,” Lyle said uneasily. “Keepers are looking for you. Given your position, I’m not sure you should be—”

  “Oh, I’m sure it’ll work out,” I said cheerfully. “See you later. Crystal.”

  We walked away. “You really like annoying him, don’t you?” Luna said under her breath.

  “Old history,” I murmured. “I’ll tell you about it some day.” The crowd up here was scattered, thinner. I searched through it, looking ahead for danger, and my heart jumped. “Oh shit.”

  Luna sighed. “Now what?”

  “Behind that pillar. Out of sight now!”

  Luna didn’t hesitate, and neither did I. As we ducked out of sight a tall, slim figure appeared through the crowd, stalking towards us. Onyx.

  I stood behind the pillar. A couple of people gave us curious glances but nothing more. We were fewer than twenty feet from Onyx, but I’d dealt with him enough times to get a fairly good grasp of what he could and couldn’t do. Onyx was a force mage and all his powers revolved around the direct use of momentum. He was fast as a cobra and utterly lethal in a fight, but not much good at being subtle. When it came to detecting and identifying people, he wasn’t any better than a normal man.

  Onyx passed us without a glance. I waited ten seconds, then led Luna out and headed in the direction he’d come from, keeping an eye out. I knew Onyx would be back. “Is there anyone here who likes us?” Luna said.

  “Apparently not.” Ahead, the balcony ended in a square doorway. “Tell you what, let’s ask the guy who invited me.”

  “Why are all these people here?” Luna asked quietly.

  “No idea.” Through the doorway I could see a big open room. As we walked in I had the feeling we were getting into something we didn’t understand.

  chapter 7

  The room at the end of the balcony was tall with dark walls and pillars, and it was set into the building in such a way that despite its size it didn’t extend out over the dance floor. To the left was a view down into the club, but a layer of tinted glass had been installed that I knew would block line of sight from below. Guards were standing on either side of the entrance and more were spaced around the room, each looking about as friendly as the ones we’d seen on the way in. A square of four black leather sofas sat to one side of the room, giving a direct view over the crowd, and on the other side was a corridor leading deeper into the building, halfhidden behind a bead curtain. Girls and men in flashy clothes were scattered around, laughing and chattering.

  At the centre, reclining on one of the sofas, was Jagadev. The rakshasa was big and powerfully built, with thick arms and legs. He had the head and the striped orange-black fur of a tiger but was humanoid enough to wear clothes—a black suit with a red silk shirt and tie. He held a wineglass in one clawed paw. He didn’t move, yet somehow he dominated the room, as though everybody there were oriented towards him and waiting to take their cue.

  I walked straight towards Jagadev. Faces turned to watch as we approached, and I had the sudden strange feeling that I was at a court, the inhabitants watching us draw closer to the king on his throne. An Asian guy in sunglasses stepped in front of us, blocking our way.

  I stopped and met his gaze. “Alex Verus.”

  The man glanced back towards Jagadev. Jagadev made no movement that I could see, but the man stepped away. I walked up and stood before him. The girls to either side eyed me appraisingly. The room was silent but for the pounding beat of the music below.

  Jagadev made a small gesture with his free paw towards the sofa behind me.

  “Hi,” I said. “Sorry, was that an invitation to sit down? I’m not that familiar with the code.”

  “Sit,” Jagadev said. His voice was a rumble, midway between a purr and a growl.

  “Thanks.” I sat and glanced around. “Interesting place you’ve got here.” Without turning I could sense Luna’s presence behind me; she’d taken up a position a safe distance from the other people in the room, not too far from the exit. Although I kept myself relaxed, I was very aware of how many people were surrounding us. There were thirteen other people in the room apart from us and Jagadev, of whom four or five were between us and the exit. If things went wrong this could get ugly fast.

  Some things are much easier to predict than others. Machines and other inanimate objects are simple. When you flick a light switch, the light comes on. You can flick the switch a hundred times, and the light will go on the same way every time. Sure, there’s a tiny chance something will go wrong—the bulb might blow out, there could be a power cut—but even those can be predicted fairly reliably if you know what you’re doing.

  Forecasting what a living creature will do is much harder. Free will is one of the points at which divination breaks down; if someone genuinely hasn’t made a choice then no divination magic can see beyond it. You can see the branching futures, see the consequences of each, but the final decision is always theirs.

  But while everyone has free will, one of the odd things you learn as a diviner is that not everyone actually uses it. A surprising number of people don’t make choices, not most of the time anyway—they just react on predefined patterns until something happens to shake them out of it. A thoughtful person, though, someone who makes decisions based on what they hear and think and see—to a diviner’s eyes they look totally different. By looking at the shape of someone’s futures, I can actually make a pretty good guess at what kind of person they are. So as I spoke to Jagadev, only a part of my mind was in the present. Most of my attention was on what he was going to do.

  The shape of Jagadev’s actions was . . . odd. Normally I see a swirl of futures, changing and adapting to my own actions. Jagadev’s futures weren’t like that at all—they were impassive, still. In all the futures of all my words and actions, Jagadev sat like a statue, controlled and steady. I could sense a powerful intelligence behind that mask, but what and how much he would reveal I didn’t know.

  It all took only an instant, and as Jagadev spoke I snapped back to the present. “I have always been here.”

  “You’ve gone for a different setup than mages usually do.”

  Jagadev’s eyes drifted past me, looking over my shoulder. “And yet,” he murmured, “mages come.”

  I looked back, following Jagadev’s gaze across the balcony towards the stairs up from the floor below. The two Keepers I’d seen earlier were visible across the gap, their outlines dim through the glass. They looked around, then moved towards where Lyle and Crystal had been sitting. “So,” I said, turning back to Jagadev, “not that I’m not grateful for the invitation, but why did you ask me here?”

  “Why did you assist my ward?”

  “You mean Anne?” I shrugged. “I’m a diviner.”

  “That is the how,” Jagadev said. “I wish to know why.”

  Behind me, across the balcony, I could feel the two mages talking to Lyle and Crystal. Without turning to look, I sensed Lyle point them in our direction. The men started towards us. “Would you prefer I hadn’t?”

  “Answer the question.”

  “Let’s just say I don’t like seeing apprentices getting killed.” I tilted my head. “Not intending to interfere in your business, of course.”

  Jagadev held my gaze for a few moments. “You have my gratitude,” he said at last.

  He didn’t sound grateful. But then I was getting the definite impression that Jagadev didn’t show much of anything. “Quite a well-planned attack,” I said. “Som
ebody wanted to make sure she didn’t get back.”

  “Those responsible will be dealt with,” Jagadev said. His voice was calm, but there was an undercurrent that gave me a chill.

  “So I’m curious,” I said. “What exactly is your relationship with Anne and Variam? You called Anne your ward?”

  “That is not your concern.”

  “Fair enough.” The two mages were heading towards us. “But seeing as I was able to provide some help, is there any chance you could tell me something about a related matter?”

  Jagadev gave a single nod. “This wasn’t the first attack on an apprentice,” I said. “Others have been going missing. Know anything about it?”

  From behind came the sound of voices. The other people in the room turned to look; I didn’t. Instead I looked into the futures in which I did, seeing behind me without having to turn my head. The Council Keepers were right outside and the Asian guy in sunglasses was in the doorway blocking their way. One of the mages said something. I couldn’t make out Sunglasses’s reply, but I got the gist: Lord Jagadev is busy. The mage’s answer was short and threatening, and it wasn’t a request. Sunglasses folded his arms.

  I felt the snap of a spell: air magic. Sunglasses hit the wall to my right with a whump, crumpling to the floor. I turned my head to look over the back of the sofa as the mages walked in.

  There was a rustle of movement from around the room. I recognised the sound of metal against leather and saw the glint of a gun from under one man’s coat. Everyone was focused on the two men, but if they were worried about being outnumbered and surrounded they didn’t show it. “Mage Verus,” the one on the left said. He was tall and lean, with a hard face, and he was the one who’d cast the spell. “We’d like to have a word.”

  “You were told to wait outside,” Jagadev said softly.

  “We have business with Verus,” the tall mage said. “It’s not your concern.”

  “You would force your way into my domain?” Jagadev said. He didn’t raise his voice, but there was something dangerous there and I could feel everyone in the room tense.

  “It’s not your domain, rakshasa,” the mage said. “You stay here because we let you. Now tell your servants to stand down or come morning this place will be a slag heap.”

  The music from below had stopped and the room was quiet. A dozen pairs of eyes were locked on the mages and I could sense weapons readied. The two mages didn’t seem to notice but I could feel the tension of spells poised to trigger. Jagadev was sitting absolutely still and showed no expression, but somehow I was sure that he was furiously angry. The seconds stretched out, ticking away.

  Then Jagadev made a small gesture and the men around us drew back, fingers coming off triggers and muscles relaxing. I let out a soft breath, and I wasn’t the only one. I gave Luna a quick glance; she’d withdrawn to a safe corner and I gave her a nod to stay there.

  “Mage Verus,” the Keeper said.

  “That’s me,” I said.

  “Come with us, please.”

  “I’m kind of in the middle of something,” I said. “Could I come sort this out with you later?”

  “No.”

  “Could I at least know what the problem is?”

  “All right, Verus, if that’s the way you want to play it,” the Keeper said. “An apprentice named Anne Walker has been reported attacked and missing and you’re on record as the last one to have seen her. Under Council authority, you’re required to answer our questions as to why.”

  As the mage spoke I felt a stir of movement from across the room. Behind where Jagadev was sitting was a doorway leading into the club, covered by a bead curtain. “So Anne Walker’s been reported missing?” I asked, raising my voice.

  “That’s what I said.”

  I pointed past Jagadev to the doorway. “Then who exactly is that?”

  The timing was perfect. Anne had been listening from the shadows, and as every eye in the room turned towards her she took her cue and stepped out from behind the curtain. She hesitated a second under the weight of the stares, then walked forward to stand behind Jagadev, heels clicking on the floor.

  Anne looked . . . different. In place of the clothes I’d seen her in before she was wearing an outfit of tight black leather, reflections from the lights of the club gleaming from it as she moved. It left her arms bare and showed off the tops of her breasts, and as she walked her hair brushed the skin of her shoulders. She still looked as if she wanted to avoid attention but it really wasn’t working and if anything it actually made people stare more. The only one who didn’t turn to look was Jagadev. He sat unmoving, his eyes fixed on the two mages.

  “Anne Walker?” the first mage said at last. Anne nodded.

  “I think you’ve got some explaining to do,” the mage said. “This way, please.”

  Anne glanced at Jagadev, waiting for his nod, before going to them. The two mages turned and walked out, flanking her as the rest of the room watched them go.

  * * *

  The Keepers were questioning Anne. I could just see them across the room on the far side of the balcony, through the tinted glass. In Jagadev’s room—what I’d taken to thinking of as his court—the atmosphere had eased. The weapons had been put away, though none of the men carrying them had left.

  “You have done me a favour, so I will return it,” Jagadev said, and I turned back to him. He had his furred hands clasped over his chest and I checked idly to see if they were backwards. They weren’t. I guess not all rumours are true. “I do not know who is responsible for the disappearances amongst your kind but I know where they will be. You will find them at the White Stone tournament at Fountain Reach.”

  I don’t think I showed anything on my face but it was a near thing. “How do you know they’ll be there?”

  “That is my concern,” Jagadev said. “Anne and Variam will be attending the tournament. I will have them assist you.”

  “Uh . . . thanks.”

  Jagadev nodded. “You may go.”

  I hesitated an instant, thinking of asking Jagadev more questions, but as I looked into the future I saw he wouldn’t answer them. I rose, gave Jagadev a nod, and withdrew. Luna fell in by my side. The guy who’d been thrown into the wall had picked himself back up and watched stone-faced as we left. As we passed through the door I heard chatter start up from behind us.

  I did a quick scan of the area as we emerged back onto the balcony and saw that we didn’t have anyone hunting us down right at the moment. “Well,” I said. “I guess that could have gone worse.”

  Luna was craning her neck to try to look at the other end of the balcony. “Do you think Anne’s okay?”

  “She’s not a suspect,” I said. I leant against the railing and frowned. “That’s the third time in two days I’ve been pointed towards Fountain Reach.”

  “Are you going to go?”

  I thought for a second and nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know what’s going on but I know something is.” I paused. “Of course, it’d help if I had a reason for being there.”

  “You do,” Luna said, and then caught herself. “Oh, right. You can’t tell anyone you’re there to watch the apprentices, can you?”

  “Nope. Of course, if my apprentice had a reason for attending . . .”

  Luna looked back at me for a second. “You want me to enter the tournament, don’t you?”

  “It would make things simpler.”

  “After how well I did last time?”

  “Good practice.”

  Luna sighed. “Oh, fine. I suppose it won’t kill me.”

  “That’s the spirit. So what did you think of our friend Jagadev?”

  “He was . . .” Luna frowned. “Different. From what I was expecting, I mean. I guess I thought he’d be like Arachne.”

  “Do you think he was bein
g honest with us?”

  Luna thought for a second. “I’m not sure.”

  “Neither am I. He was very hard to read.”

  “He said Anne was his ward,” Luna said. “Does that mean he’s like Anne and Variam’s master?”

  “Magical creatures do sort of adopt apprentices sometimes.”

  “Then he’s supposed to look after them, right?” Luna said. “So why’s he sending them to the tournament if he thinks the thing that’s making apprentices vanish is there? Shouldn’t he be keeping them away?”

  I nodded. “And there’s something else. Back there Jagadev was acting as though the only reason he was seeing me was because I’d helped Anne. But he sent me that invitation before I helped Anne.”

  “So why did he invite you?”

  “Good question.” I glanced into the future. “Looks like Variam’s here too.”

  “Where?”

  “Far corner over your right shoulder. Don’t turn and look.”

  Luna had already taken a glance. “Why’s he scowling at us?”

  “I’ve got the feeling Variam doesn’t like us very much,” I said. Like Anne Variam had dressed up, but his outfit was much less eye-catching: a dark shirt and pants, a black denim jacket, and a black turban instead of the khaki one. By looking into the future in which I met his gaze I could watch him without seeming to watch him, and just as Luna had said he was staring at us with a scowl.

  “What’s his problem?” Luna said.

  “Maybe he’s pissed off that I didn’t let Anne get killed.”

  Luna gave me a look. “I’m kidding,” I said. “Probably.” I glanced along the balcony. “Those mages are about to finish with Anne. Why don’t you go talk to her?”

  “Okay,” Luna said, and started to turn, then stopped with a suspicious look. “Wait, are you just trying to get me out of the way?”

  “Yes.”

  Luna rolled her eyes and left. I watched her go, seeing her move unconsciously to keep a safe distance from the people in her path. Luna’s control over her curse is much better now and to my sight it looks like a tight, dense layer of silver mist over her skin, but through force of habit she still won’t get any closer to another person than she has to.