I woke up the next morning starving and light-headed. Obviously the effects of Anne’s spell hadn’t worn off. I had to eat everything in my flat and make a trip to the supermarket for a second breakfast before I was feeling human again.
Sonder rang just as I was finishing up. “Hey,” I said into my phone, carrying the plates to the sink.
“Alex?” Sonder said. “Those men who were after you and Anne? I found them.”
* * *
The block of flats was in Stoke Newington, not close to where the attack had happened but not all that far either. It was a border area between a run-down council estate and a nicer street of semidetached houses; the sort of area you’d find students, immigrants, and anyone who wanted a place with more-or-less affordable rent and not too high a crime rate. The flats were dark brick, spread wide, and three storeys high, and they were quiet. It was late morning and most of the people living here would be at work or school.
The weather had clouded over and a chill wind was gusting down the street. I ducked into a doorway next to Sonder, taking what meagre shelter we could from the cold. “Which flat?”
“Second floor, number three twenty-nine,” Sonder said. He was shivering.
I concentrated and path-walked, watching my future self cross the street, make my way into the flats, and navigate to the door. I kicked the door down. . and the future dissolved into a chaos of combat and gunfire. I pulled back, the future fading away instantly. “It’s them.”
“I told you.”
“How did you find them?”
“How do you think? I followed the route here.”
“Were they in a car?”
“Yes.”
“And you traced them on foot-”
“Yes.”
“I’m guessing it took a long time.”
“Yes.”
“All right,” I said. “Thanks. I know it wasn’t an easy job.”
“I’m freezing,” Sonder said. He was still shivering. “What are you going to do?”
I studied the block of flats. “I’m going to go in and have a chat.”
“Then I’m coming too.”
“Sonder-”
“You always try to leave me behind,” Sonder said. “I’ve been doing this for five hours. I’m not turning around and going home.”
I hesitated. It’s not that Sonder’s incompetent. Several times he’s managed to accomplish things on his own that I think are pretty impressive. Just because he doesn’t specialise in combat doesn’t mean that he can’t look after himself; he can react surprisingly fast and he knows some uses of time magic that are very useful in a tight spot. I’d rather have him at my side than most mages twice his age.
The problem is that Sonder is basically nice. He doesn’t fight except in self-defence and he avoids hurting people whenever he can. I on the other hand am not nice. The reason there were two people in the flat ahead of us rather than three was because I’d stabbed the third one to death. And if necessary I was quite willing to do the same to the other two. Sonder would never think of doing something like that. I’ve never been sure whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but I knew the difference in approach was likely to cause trouble.
But Sonder had earned the right to come along, and I could use the backup. “You don’t come into the flat until I tell you it’s clear,” I said. “Got it?”
“Got it.”
We crossed the street, cold wind whipping our clothes. A fine drizzle had started to fall, chilling my skin and damping my hair. The entrance to the flats was sealed with a security door; I studied the panel for a second and pressed the button for a first-floor flat. We waited for a second and the speaker buzzed. “Hello?” a female voice asked.
“Delivery for flat seventeen?” I said.
“Delivery?” the voice said doubtfully. “I thought they said tomorrow. . Just a second. .” The door beeped as the unlock light came on and we ducked inside.
“Why didn’t she ask why you weren’t using the tradesman’s bell?” Sonder asked as we started up the stairs.
“No idea.”
The stairwell was concrete, and cold. We were on the first-floor landing when something pinged on my precognition. I stopped, Sonder doing the same, and in the silence I heard footsteps descending above us.
I moved quickly to the doors, pulling Sonder through them and letting them swing closed behind me. Sonder started to ask a question and I raised a hand for silence. The door had a small wired-glass window and I watched through it.
The echoing footsteps kept coming, muffled through the wood and concrete, and then through the window I saw a man descend into view wearing the uniform of a London policeman. Black vest, webbing belt, conical hat. He crossed the landing, his hand twisted oddly on the banister and his back to us, and disappeared from view without showing us his face. His footsteps faded away.
I waited a minute, then pushed the door open an inch. There was no sound from below. “What was he doing here?” Sonder asked uneasily.
“I’m not sure.”
“Do you think he was here to see those guys?”
“Maybe,” I said. Something about what we’d just seen was nagging at me. One lone policeman. . “Sonder? Don’t police usually go in pairs?”
Sonder sounded doubtful. “I’m not sure.”
If it was just a routine enquiry. . but if it was a murder investigation. . “Come on,” I said, going up the stairs two at a time. Sonder hurried after me.
I gave the second floor a quick visual check as we emerged from the stairwell. No security cameras. I walked quickly and quietly to number 329 and looked into the immediate future of going through the door. No movement. I pulled out my tools. “Cover me,” I said, going down on one knee. Sonder stood above me, looking nervously from side to side.
Being able to see the future helps with a lot of physical skills and lockpicking is one of them. You still need to know how to use the tools, but with my divination magic I can see at a glance if a lock’s beatable and if so how. Conscious of how exposed we were, I worked fast.
After twenty seconds there was a click and the door swung open to reveal a plain corridor, open doorways leading into rooms ahead of me. I signalled to Sonder to stay back and slipped inside. I was already scanning the futures, looking for the flurry of combat I’d seen before. Nothing on the ground floor, nothing on the first floor-that didn’t make sense, I should be seeing a fight. I checked again. Living room, bathroom, bedrooms-no combat. I wasn’t in any danger at all.
“Alex?” Sonder whispered from behind me. I waved to him to stay back. There was something odd about the air in here, a strange smell. Coppery.
I switched from a focused scan to a wide one. Instead of looking only for combat, I looked into the futures of entering the rooms ahead of me just to see what would happen. . and suddenly I knew what that smell was.
“I-” Sonder started to say.
“Stay there,” I said harshly and walked forward.
The men who’d tried to kill Anne two nights ago were in the living room. One was sprawled across the sofa on his back, eyes staring sightlessly up at the ceiling. His throat had been torn open with such force that it had almost severed his head, and blood glistened over his fingers and in a gory spray around his body. The second man was sprawled against the wall, greyish intestines strewn around his shredded stomach. The rich scent of blood filled the air.
I stood quite still, not going any farther into the room. My eyes took in the details. Furniture overturned where the men had fallen, but nowhere else. Coffee mugs on the table with a TV remote. A thread of steam was rising from the coffee and the blood was still fresh.
Sonder was trying to get my attention from outside, but I wasn’t listening. My heart was pounding from the adrenaline and I looked into the future of searching the bodies, being very careful not to move. Wallets, phones, keys-and weapons. Both had been carrying guns, but they hadn’t taken them out. Their hands were empty.
I thought back over my movements. I hadn’t stepped in the blood. Had I touched anything that could have left fingerprints? No, I’d been careful. But any second now someone could show up. We had to get out of here.