“So they left and I called Vari. He told me that he was being held on standby and they wouldn’t tell him why. Except he also told me there were arrest warrants out for you and Anne and that they didn’t seem to care too much about whether they brought you in alive or dead. I tried to get in touch with you and Anne and I couldn’t, and that was when I got really worried. Tried calling Arachne and she didn’t answer either, and at that point I ran out of ideas. Just stayed in the flat, waiting for someone to call and getting more and more on edge.
“I was starting to wonder if I should go out looking when I heard a bump on the roof. I ran out and climbed up and found you lying there. I thought I saw something flitting away—it made me think of that elemental you used to be friends with—but then I was on my own. I didn’t know what was going on but I knew the Council was looking for you, so the first thing I did was use a gate stone and take you here to the Hollow. Then I got in touch with Vari. I knew I couldn’t tell him anything where anyone could hear, but we’ve worked out a code for this stuff. He sent me a message back that said help was coming, and twenty minutes later Landis showed up with this German life mage I’d never seen before. I was a bit dubious, since, you know, Keeper, but I let him in. She’s been the one taking care of you. She and Landis left again early in the morning, but she’s due back soon.”
Luna paused, waiting for me to answer. When I didn’t, she carried on. “What happened? I know it’s something to do with you and Anne, but no one’s talking. I ducked out to check the news, and the police have got a section of the Heath cordoned off all around Arachne’s lair.”
“They found out about Anne and the jinn.”
“I was afraid of that.” Luna looked unhappy but not surprised. “I was hoping, but . . . Where is she?”
“She’s—” I took a breath. “She’s gone. Not dead, but—She’s not coming back.”
“Gone where? What happened?”
I told her. I didn’t leave anything out, and Luna’s expression went from unhappiness to shock to horror.
When I got to the part with Anne, my voice wavered and I had to struggle to keep talking. “I didn’t want to,” I told Luna, feeling fresh tears well up. “I was trying to fight, but Crystal made me keep going. I couldn’t stop.” I saw sympathy on Luna’s face, and she touched my hand, her curse pulling back to let her fingers rest on mine. “It was Starbreeze, like you thought,” I finished. “She must have carried me back to the Arcana Emporium since she thought that was my home. Lucky you were there . . .”
“Oh no,” Luna said. “Alex, I’m so sorry.”
I’d managed to sit up at some point in the story; now I bowed my head. “God, this is awful,” Luna said. “What can we do?”
I didn’t meet Luna’s eyes.
There was a ping from Luna’s pocket. She glanced down, then rose to her feet. “It’s Landis. I’ll be back.”
Luna was gone for only a few minutes before returning, and this time there were two people with her. One was a woman I’d never met before, slim and serious looking with ash blond hair. Her eyes settled on me as she walked through the door, weighing me up.
Landis came striding through right behind her, all long limbs and brisk movements. “Well, well.” Normally Landis acts like a lunatic, but he can flip from eccentric to focused in the blink of an eye. “So you’re the new threat to national peace, eh? Have to admit, you don’t look the part.”
“It is Verus, yes?” the woman—Klara—asked. “May I examine you?”
I nodded. “Go ahead.”
Klara crouched by my side and placed a hand on my chest, studying me dispassionately. “Alex told me what happened,” Luna said to Landis. “If you want to know—”
“Not at all, my dear girl,” Landis interrupted. “I most definitely do not want to know. In fact, I think it’s very much in everyone’s interest that I know as little as possible.”
“Isn’t it your duty as a Keeper to bring me in?” I said.
“Absolutely! I woke up this morning to a bulletin announcing that you and Miss Walker were to be considered high-priority fugitives to be arrested and brought in at all costs, alive if possible, dead if not. Which is why, as I said, I have no idea whatsoever as to your whereabouts. I rather think I’ve spent this past hour taking lunch in the Lake District.”
I looked at Klara. “And this is . . . ?”
“Of course, where are my manners? Verus, meet Klara Lorenz. An extremely talented life mage and old acquaintance. When Variam and Luna apprised me of your circumstances, I put two and two together and concluded that Miss Walker, sadly, would not be in a position to offer her services. Very fortunately, Lady Klara was willing to make a house call.”
“For which I am also not here,” Klara said in accented English. “I am not under the authority of your Council, but I would rather this was not official knowledge, you understand?” She leant back with a nod. “Your injuries are not life-threatening. The previous wounds you suffered were healed before I saw you. With rest, you will recover fully. Your hand is another matter.”
With everything else that had happened, I’d forgotten about that. I pulled it out from under the duvet and looked at it. Someone had wrapped it in elastic bandages that held it steady, though I couldn’t feel their touch. It didn’t hurt, but I couldn’t make it move.
“Your body’s connection in that area has been broken,” Klara said. “There is nothing I can do.”
I didn’t understand. “The bones?”
Klara made a frustrated noise. “Not the bones. The Lebens . . . no.” She looked at Landis. “Grundmuster?”
Landis nodded. “Klara is referring to a concept in common parlance among life mages. Over here, they refer to it as a body’s pattern. You might think of it as a blueprint.”
“Yes,” Klara said. “Pattern. Your right hand is missing from your body’s pattern. Effectively your body believes your hand has been severed. Nerves do not function, blood flow is limited. Healing is impossible. Any damage will not be repaired.”
“Can you cure it?”
Klara shook her head. “If I had several days to work, and had the mage who had done it with me, so that I could question her . . . then maybe. Even then I would be at the limits of my skill. Your best hope would be to find the mage that did it. Assuming they would be willing to help. It troubles me that anyone would do this. It serves no function.”
Unless you just really hate someone, I thought bleakly. “Is there anything I can do?”
“If you cannot undo the alteration, the hand will have to be amputated,” Klara said bluntly. “Without natural regeneration, damage to the skin and flesh will not heal. Any incision will put you at risk of blood loss and infection and, eventually, gangrene. At that point, your life will be at risk.”
It was one more blow on top of too many others. It said something about my last twenty-four hours that I didn’t even really feel it. I just felt numb.
“I should go,” Klara said, rising to her feet. “I will return in two days to check on you.”
“And I should report in before anyone in the Council thinks to ask the wrong sorts of questions,” Landis announced. “Good luck, Verus. You can get in touch with me via Variam, but I would rather suggest you don’t do so unless absolutely necessary, for both our sakes.”
I nodded. Landis and Klara left.
Luna hesitated at the door. “Is there anything . . . ?”
“I’d rather be alone right now,” I said. It was an effort to talk.
“Okay,” Luna said. “Look, we’ll figure out a way to fix this. Somehow.”
I nodded without believing it. Luna left and I lay flat on my back, staring up at the ceiling.