“How do you get in?” I asked.
“That’s the tricky part. The whole castle’s warded with a gate lock—the only place you can gate in and out is from the front courtyard, and even then you need an access key.”
“Don’t suppose you’ve got one?”
“Yep.”
“What?” Luna said. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Does it still work?” I asked.
“Nope.”
“I’m guessing you’ve tried.”
“Yesterday.”
“Wasn’t that right after Caldera told you not to try to contact Sagash?” Luna asked, briefly diverted.
“Screw Caldera.”
“So after you and Anne did your prison break, Sagash changed the locks,” I said. “Okay, our first problem is how to get in.”
“Sonder said Sagash’s apprentices were using a focus,” Luna said. “Sagash must have given them copies of the new access keys.”
“So we find them,” Variam said.
“Agreed,” I said. “But when we do, we’re not going to start a fight.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because the first thing I’m going to do is ask if we can buy or trade Anne back.”
“What?”
“What’s the alternative, storm the castle? Okay, we could probably get in. But launching a frontal assault on Sagash plus his apprentices plus an army of constructs plus whatever the hell else he’s got up his sleeve is not my idea of a good plan.”
“We did it before!”
“Somehow I doubt you managed it by marching up to the front door and blasting your way in.”
“Anne’s not a thing!”
“To Dark mages that’s exactly what she is, a commodity. Look, shut up a second and listen. I don’t honestly expect this to work, but as long as there’s any chance it’s worth trying. I know it’s not very heroic, but it’s practical.”
“What’s the backup plan?” Luna asked.
“We steal an access key and sneak in, but I don’t like that plan for a whole lot of reasons. Number one is that if Sagash is the one behind this, then he’s got to be expecting Vari to try some sort of rescue attempt, because that’s what he did last time. If I were Sagash, I’d put enough security in that shadow realm to turn it into a death trap.”
“That doesn’t do us much good if we can’t get an access key in the first place.”
“So, backup backup plan. Luna, I want you to go find Arachne. I don’t know much about gate wards but she does, and if there’s a way into this fortress of Sagash’s, there’s a good chance she’ll know some way to find it. Vari, if you can still do it safely, see what else you can find about Sagash’s apprentices, especially the other two. See if you can get anything that’d let us track them down, or find out where they might have hidden something like an access key. They can’t live in a shadow realm twenty-four-seven.”
“Got it,” Variam said.
“What about you?” Luna asked.
“I’m going to keep staking out the flat. Let’s see if Mr. Darren Smith makes a visit.”
I stayed in that flat for half the day. From time to time Variam or Luna would call to give me an update, and we’d share information. I left Sonder a message but didn’t get a reply.
I searched the futures for any trace of Sagash’s apprentices but found nothing. There was little to do but look out of the window and watch the movement on the estate. As the hours slipped by and afternoon wore into evening, the place grew more active. A trickle of school-age kids began to filter in, passing through the corridors and heading for the football courts. Women and men climbed the stairs carrying their shopping; they disappeared inside their flats and windows lit up. A group of teenagers took up places down in the courtyard, leaning against the pillars and smoking and eyeing passersby. One flat door on the second floor opened and a big German shepherd was let out; he trotted confidently down the row of flats to the stairs and disappeared down into the lower levels.
It was twilight when a ripple in the futures ahead caught my attention. Someone was going to open the door to Darren’s flat. I backtracked to see who it was, and . . . Well hello, guy-I-saw-last-night. Fancy meeting you here. I slipped out the door and into the cold evening air and started down the walkway.
I’d had lots of time to think while I’d been waiting, and the best plans I could come up with were still “negotiate” and “steal the key.” I’d wavered between the two, but in the end I’d decided to go with “negotiate.” The “steal” plan would more or less require me to use my mist cloak, an imbued item I keep stored back at my flat that is very good at hiding me. In fact, it’s so good at hiding me that the last time I used it I nearly turned into a wraith, and I did not want to use it again if I could help it. The most likely place for Darren to be keeping the access key was on his person, and I couldn’t see any way of taking it off him without getting into a fight, which I didn’t want to do for a variety of reasons, not least was that it’d mean attacking the apprentice of a recognised mage. That would mean I’d be the one breaking the Concord, which could quite possibly lead to the Keepers of Caldera’s order going after me. No matter how bad our odds might be of getting to Anne, that would make them worse. My best chance was that Darren would be willing to cut a deal. I turned into the stairwell, waited forty seconds, then came out, turning towards Darren’s flat.
Darren was on the walkway about to reach his flat, and he spotted me instantly. He was fit and tough-looking, with dark skin and curly black hair cut close to his skull. He didn’t move but watched as I approached, his eyes hard and alert. I kept my motions smooth and my hands visible, and didn’t make any sudden movements. The kids in the courtyard below were still in view; this wasn’t the place for a fight . . . unless someone got jumpy.
We came to a halt outside Darren’s flat, facing each other on the concrete walkway. A cold wind blew through the railings, and voices echoed up from the corridors below. “Darren Smith?” I asked.
“Fuck off,” Darren said. His hands were slightly apart from his sides, and he was watching me like a hawk.
“I’d like to discuss some business with you. It involves you and your colleague Sam Taylor.”
“Never heard of him.”
“It’s about a girl you’ve had some dealings with recently,” I said. “By the name of Anne Walker.” I paused. “Or if you’d prefer not to talk to me, I could take it up with Sagash.” Fingers crossed . . .
Darren stared at me. I felt the futures shift and flicker and knew he was deciding what to do. One future grew and eclipsed the others, becoming real; Darren turned half away from me, still watching me in his peripheral vision, and unlocked the door to his flat. “Inside,” he said curtly, and went in. I followed.
The flat was the same design as the one I’d been using: five rooms with narrow windows looking down onto the inner flats of the council estate. I shut the door behind me without being asked and followed Darren into the living room. He’d switched the lights on as he’d come in, suggesting his magical senses weren’t good enough for him to consider darkness an advantage. Once inside the living room he stripped off his coat and tossed it onto the sofa before turning to face me. Up close he looked tough, with flat eyes. Not that experienced, maybe, but you don’t need to be experienced to be dangerous. “Who are you supposed to be?”
“Nobody important,” I said. “I’m representing someone who’s interested in the welfare of Anne Walker. I understand you may be able to help my client with that.” Presenting yourself as an agent rather than a principal has its drawbacks, but it does help discourage your opponent from being too trigger happy.