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 I gave Luna a quick glance; she’d withdrawn to a safe corner and I gave her a nod to stay there.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 being 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.
Someone cleared his throat from behind me. “Hi, Lyle,” I said without turning around.
“Ah,” Lyle said. “So, er. .”
“No, I haven’t been arrested.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear it.”