I took one look at what I’d see if I went forward and everything fell into place. Of course. It would be her, wouldn’t it? The doorway led into a smaller balcony on the second floor, looking down over the main room. Strange equipment lined the balcony, opaque crystals resting on metal stands. I didn’t understand how they worked, but I was pretty sure I could guess what they did. They were psychic amplifiers, and I was willing to bet they were linked to broadcast devices hidden across the club floor. Jagadev had installed magical foci throughout the club designed to manipulate the thoughts and feelings of anyone who stayed here long enough, and from this room, he – or anyone skilled enough in mind or charm magic – could play the crowd like a violin. Sneaky bastard. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. I remembered the time I’d come to the Tiger’s Palace to a meeting of Dark mages, searching for Anne, and wondered how many supposedly ‘neutral’ meetings Jagadev had manipulated over the years.
Can you see if there’s anyone there? Luna asked.
Oh yeah, I said. The woman standing on the balcony was small and delicately beautiful, with long black hair and a diamond-shaped face. She had one hand resting on the spheres, and was concentrating. Our old friend.
Got a plan for what to do next?
You know what? I said. I think this is one of those times where subtlety is overrated.
I walked quickly and quietly to the doorway, Luna in tow. The woman had her back to the door and was entirely focused on her spell. I reached her in three quick strides, grabbed her by the hair, and yanked her head back. She started to struggle and froze as she felt the knife blade at her throat. ‘Hello, Meredith,’ I said into her ear. ‘We just keep running into each other in this place, don’t we?’
‘Wait! Don’t hurt me!’
‘Who said anything about hurting?’ I said.
‘I—’ Meredith paused. ‘Alex?’
‘Good memory,’ I said. ‘Now how about you explain what you were doing with that focus?’
‘What?’
I dug the knife in slightly. It’s one of my better-hidden weapons, an innocuous-looking piece of metal that reshapes itself when supplied with the right magical charge. The mass limitation means the blade has to be thin, more of a stiletto than a fighting knife, but it’s long enough.
‘Wait! I’m telling the truth!’
‘I am really not in the mood for games.’
‘I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you! Just—’
I dug the knife in further, on the edge of drawing blood, and Meredith gasped. ‘Drakh! It was Drakh! He and his Chosen, they made me! I didn’t have a choice!’
‘Made you do what?’
‘A sway the crowd effect, the equipment was already—’
‘I know what spell you were using,’ I told her. ‘I want to know exactly what effect Drakh and Deleo wanted you to produce. What were their instructions?’
From our position, we could look out over the crowd below, and I could see a sea of faces, though Richard himself was obscured by the balcony rail. None of them seemed to have noticed us; the lights on the ceiling were arranged so as to cast the patch of wall with the balcony in shadow. ‘He— They wanted the crowd malleable.’ Meredith spoke fast, the words spilling out. ‘He said to start while Andrei was doing his speech. Just make everyone feel good, have them go with the flow. So they’d agree to everything. There wasn’t going to be any fighting.’
‘Oh?’ I said. ‘And when the Keepers showed up, what were you meant to do then?’
Meredith hesitated.
‘You were going to whip them into a frenzy, weren’t you? Instant lynch mob.’
‘I didn’t have a choice! They were going to kill me if I didn’t!’
I made a disgusted noise. Meredith took it as a sign of violence and tensed; futures of her trying a desperate attack flashed into view. ‘Oh, relax,’ I said. ‘I’m not going to kill you unless you give me a reason. Though given what you were just doing, it wouldn’t take much. Did you think for even a second about how many people in that crowd were going to die if you followed through with your plan?’
‘What are you going to do?’ Fear laced Meredith’s voice.
‘Nothing,’ I said. ‘We’re going to sit right here and listen to how much the crowd likes Richard without you tipping the scales.’
Meredith subsided. From a glance at the futures I could tell that she wasn’t going to try anything. Meredith can fight if she has to, but she won’t if she has any other choice.
Meredith had had me distracted enough that I’d let the connection with Luna lapse. I linked with her thoughts again to find that she was already talking. So not that this isn’t fun to watch, Luna was saying, but do we have a plan for when Richard notices his audience have stopped making puppy eyes?
Down below, Richard was still talking, but the effect of Meredith’s spell was wearing off. I could hear murmurs as people started to shake off the enchantment, ripples of movement going through the crowd. Still working on that part, I admitted.
Then maybe we should move before they come looking to see what the problem is.
Not a bad idea. I looked ahead into the futures where we did just that. Uh-oh.
Uh-oh?
Company. I switched connections. I was getting more practised with using the dreamstone, able to shift more quickly between links. Vari? How long until you guys make an entrance?
They’re busy with the interdiction field, Variam said. Call it ten minutes.
Great.
Why? What’s going on?
No, no, we’re fine. See you soon. I switched back to Luna. We’ve got Deleo thirty seconds out. Vari and the Keepers are ten minutes away. We’re going to have to stall until then.
You don’t ask for much, do you? Luna said with a mental sigh. Got one of those life rings?
That’s the backup plan. Hex the equipment in case we have to make an exit.
Got it. Luna concentrated, tendrils of silver mist reaching out to soak into the focuses nearby.
‘Can I—?’ Meredith began.
‘Shut up,’ I told her.
Running footsteps sounded from the corridor. I pulled Meredith around to put her between me and the door, and Luna stepped to the side to open up space. A moment later, Rachel appeared in the balcony doorway with two men behind.
It had been a while since I’d seen Rachel, and judging from her expression, the time we’d spent apart hadn’t improved her opinion of me. She was wearing her black domino mask on top of what looked like combat gear. As soon as she saw me, her hand came up, green light glowing at her palm.
If she fires, run, I told Luna. I kept Meredith between me and Rachel. There was a moment’s pause.
‘Alex,’ Rachel said coldly. The disintegration spell hovered about her hand, ready to strike, but she didn’t fire. ‘I should have guessed.’
‘Nice to see you too,’ I said. My disguise was still up, but it’s always been really hard for me to fool Rachel. ‘How’s life?’
Rachel stared at me for a second. Futures flickered, and I knew she was calculating the odds of hitting me with a spell without killing Meredith in the process. Apparently she didn’t like her chances, because she took a step forward.