“What, right now?”
“No, on Saturday night.”
“Saturday-okay. And you were listening?”
“Yeah, a few minutes ago.”
You really need a couple of extra tenses for a conversation about time magic. “Okay,” I said. “Who was he talking to?”
“Belthas.”
I stopped. “What?”
“I know,” Sonder said. “He’s not supposed to be working for Belthas, right?”
“…No. He’s not. Working for him?”
“That was what it sounded like. Martin was giving a report and then he said he was on his way to meet him. As in, right then.”
I tried to figure out what was going on. I’d missed something, something big. “What was he telling Belthas about?”
“About Luna.”
I went still.
“He said he’d spent the evening with her and things were going well.” Sonder sounded worried. “Then he said something about two or three days. Then he said he was on his way.”
Two or three days from Saturday night would be … about now. “Sonder, I’ve got to go. We’ve got a problem.”
“Why?”
“Because Luna’s taking Martin to Arachne’s lair right now.” I got to my feet and started walking. “See what else you can find but be careful.”
“Okay.” Sonder paused. “Alex? What do you think Belthas wanted with Martin?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t think I’m going to like the answer. I’m going to find Luna. I’ll check in when I do.”
“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.