Will and the other two approached the counter. I’d dropped the phone as soon as they entered and my hand was under the counter, resting on the concealed shelf. They came to a halt ten feet away, staring at me.
There was a long silence. The shop was still filled with the buzz of conversation, but around the counter all was quiet. I could feel the potential for violence but couldn’t see it in the futures . . . yet. “Looking for something?” I said at last.
Will’s gaze slid off me and scanned the others. He dismissed Anne with a glance and studied Variam briefly before settling on Luna. “Who are you?”
“The one who kicked your ass,” Luna said. The handle of her whip was hidden behind her forearm, and the silver mist of her curse coiled around her, quick and eager. She looked casual but I could tell she was ready to spring.
Will’s eyes narrowed, and he looked back at me. “Getting reinforcements?”
“Pretty much,” I said. “Mind if I ask you something?”
Will ignored me and addressed the others. “Why are you helping this piece of shit?”
“None of your business,” Variam said.
“Because we’re his friends,” Luna said. “You have a problem with him, you have a problem with us.”
“Friends?” the gold-hair girl said in a London accent, and laughed.
“Do you know what he did?” the Indian boy said, addressing Luna and Variam.
“Yeah, actually, we do,” Luna said. “He told us.”
“And you’re on his side?” Will said incredulously.
“So you’re Dark mages too?” the Indian boy said.
“It’s not about sides,” Anne said, speaking for the first time in her soft voice. All three of them turned to her, and she met their eyes. “We are his friends. And if you try to kill him we won’t stand aside.”
I felt an odd choking sensation and blinked before shaking it away quickly. But Will and the other two looked off-balance, and in a sudden flash of insight I realised that they hadn’t come in here prepared to confront anyone but me. Friends hadn’t been in the script.
A customer approached, a middle-aged man with a balding head. “Um, excuse me,” he said. “Could I get—?”
Will and the girl turned to stare at him. The man trailed off. “. . . I’ll come back,” he finished, and backed away.
“Is that what this is about?” the Indian boy asked me, gesturing around the shop. “Human shields?”
“Call it that if you like,” I said. “The question is, do you want to start a fight in the middle of them?”
Will gave me a look of utter contempt. “You really are a piece of work, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, given that you tried to murder me I can’t say I care much about your good opinion,” I said. “Now let’s do a head count. You’re outnumbered, outgunned, and in the middle of a crowd full of civilian witnesses. So again—do you really want to start a fight here?”
Will tensed. My precognition lit up and I closed my hand on the gun beneath the counter. He was about to—
The Indian boy grabbed Will. “Will! No.”
Will’s lips curled but he didn’t move. The customers seemed to be belatedly noticing that something was going on and a few of them had backed away, giving us some space. “I’m gonna fuck you up,” gold-hair girl told me and Luna.
“Try to send that ground fire at me or Alex,” Luna told the girl clearly, “and I will stuff it down your throat.”
“Bev!” The Indian boy caught the girl’s arm, his voice urgent. “Don’t! Remember the plan!”
Will shook the Indian boy off, but his face was controlled again and the moment was gone. “Big man, hiding behind kids,” he said, staring at me. “Why don’t you come out on your own?”
“Because I’d lose,” I said. “Last time we tried that you beat me, remember?”
Will’s lip curled. “Scared?”
“Actually, yes,” I said. “I’d rather not get killed if it’s all the same to you. Oh, and while we’re at it, what makes you so sure your sister’s dead?”
Will had been about to snap something back at me, but that made him stop. “Is that some kind of joke?”
“The last time I saw Catherine, she was still alive,” I said. “How about this? You stop trying to kill me, and I’ll do all I can to find her.”
Will stared at me. “That’s bullshit!” the girl said angrily. “We know she’s dead, we got told—”
“Bev!” the Indian boy snapped.
I held Will’s gaze. “Well?” I said when he didn’t move. “How about it?”
For just an instant I thought I saw a flicker of doubt in Will’s eyes, then he took a step back. “Come on,” he said to the other two and backed away, not taking his eyes off me. Gold-hair girl and the Indian boy gave us suspicious looks but followed. The three of them retreated to the door and pulled it shut behind them. The bell went ding-ding as they withdrew into the street, and they were gone.
Chapter 6
The four of us stood silently, looking with our different senses to figure out what would come next. “Well,” Luna said at last. “I guess that could have gone worse.”
“They’re going,” Anne said, looking at the wall.
“Looks like,” I said. I raised my voice, addressing the customers still scattered around the shop. “Sorry, everyone, we’re closing. Going to have to leave.”
There was some grumbling, but the more perceptive of the customers had caught the tail end of the confrontation and had figured out that staying might not be the best plan. Once I’d finished herding them out, I locked the door and flipped the sign to CLOSED.
“They out of range?” Variam asked Anne.
Anne nodded. “They didn’t slow down.”
“How did you know they wouldn’t start a fight?” Luna said curiously.
“Remember when you jumped in front of me at the casino?” I said. “They could have swarmed you but they didn’t. They just tried to get you out of the way.”
Luna frowned. “So?”
“Will’s lot think they’re the good guys,” I said with a sigh. “They weren’t planning on hurting anyone except me. I think the way they were expecting this to go was that they’d show up, I’d fight them, and they’d defeat the evil Dark mage with their bravery and teamwork. Me having friends wasn’t in the script.” I’m still getting used to it myself.
“Do you think they’ll listen?” Anne asked. “To what you said?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Meeting you guys threw them off, I think. They’ll probably pull back and try to figure out what to do next.” I tapped my fingers on the counter, thinking. “I can see this going two ways. If they stop thinking of me as the enemy and start thinking of me as a person, they’ll come back to negotiate. See what they can get.”
“He won’t,” Variam said.
Anne frowned at Variam. “They might.”
“They might,” Variam said. “He won’t.”
I didn’t answer, feeling a twinge of unease. There’d been a moment where Will had hesitated. Wasn’t there a chance he might listen? Logic said yes, but . . .
Something flickered in the futures ahead, and I took a glance. “Caldera’s coming,” I said, and that made me relax slightly. I didn’t really think that Will and his friends would come back so soon, but if they did, having another mage around would help.
“Keepers,” Variam said. “Always show up after it’s too late.”
“Hey, Verus,” Caldera said as I let her in. “So what’s the rush?”
“We had some visitors,” I told her. “I’d like you to meet Anne and Variam.”
We did introductions. Variam gave Caldera a barely civil nod. Anne was polite as usual. “So what’s up?” Caldera said.
“I’m looking for information on a group,” I said. “They’re young, eighteen to early twenties, mostly adepts I think. New on the scene and aggressive, leader is a guy called Will.”