“A warning,” Rachel said with contempt. “That’s all you have?”
“It’s something that matters to you.”
Rachel stepped forward. The light at her shoulder deepened to a dark sea-green, and I felt the futures of violence fork and multiply. “You sold me to Belthas,” she said in a low, dangerous voice.
I wanted to back away but forced myself to stand still. “You got me captured by Morden,” I said, keeping my voice level. “Your construct nearly strangled me, you tried to abduct my apprentice, and you’ve threatened to kill me more times than I can count. Don’t give me the self-righteous act.”
Rachel stared at me and inwardly I tensed. If she struck I’d have to move very fast. Then Rachel’s eyes cleared and the futures were suddenly peaceful again. “Try it again,” she said, “and I’ll kill you.”
“Again with the threatening to kill me,” I said. “Look, will you just listen for thirty seconds? If you can’t help me, you can say so and we can both stop wasting each other’s time.”
Cinder’s lips twitched as though he wanted to grin. Rachel’s eyes bored into me for a long moment, then she looked to her left. “Get on with it.”
“I want to find out what happened to that girl Richard was holding,” I said. “Catherine Traviss.”
Rachel’s head snapped around to stare at me and she went utterly still. “You were still free to move around back then,” I said. “What happened to her after I—?”
“She sent you, didn’t she?” Rachel whispered.
“What? Who?”
“Get out.”
I opened my mouth to answer . . . and my precognition screamed a warning. Rachel was standing tense, frozen, but if I spoke a single word she was going to come at me with all her power and do her absolute best to kill me. “Get out,” Rachel whispered again.
I began to back away. “Del,” Cinder rumbled, looking suddenly uneasy.
“Get out.” Rachel’s voice rose suddenly to a scream, echoing in the empty building. “Get out. GET OUT! GET OUT! GET—”
I didn’t quite run but I got as close as I could to it without turning my back. I could feel the futures of violence spreading, getting closer, and the only way out was away. I had one last glimpse of Rachel, fists clenched and her face white with rage, then I put a wall between us and turned and ran.
Rachel and Cinder didn’t follow. Searching back with my magic I could catch murmurs of conversation, Cinder’s deep voice mixing with fragments from Rachel. Footsteps sounded, and I knew they were leaving. I kept my distance until I felt the flicker of gate magic from the other side of the building and I knew Rachel was gone.
Once my heart had stopped pounding I retraced my steps to the doorway where I’d met the two of them. The gold discs of the forcewall were untouched and I picked them up, slipping them into my trouser pocket. What the hell had that been about?
Something flickered on my precognition and I knew Cinder was coming back. I thought of withdrawing but my line of retreat was clear, and looking into the future I saw that the futures of combat were gone. I stood in the doorway and waited until Cinder appeared in the gloom, the red light still flickering at his hand. “So,” I said. “I’m guessing Deleo doesn’t want another chat.”
I haven’t known Cinder as long as I’ve known Rachel, but I get on a lot better with him than I do with her. We teamed up a couple of times last year, and while we’re not exactly friends we do have a kind of working relationship. Cinder shook his head, his brow furrowed. “What the hell set her off?” I asked.
“Del’s . . . got stuff,” Cinder said. His voice wasn’t friendly but it wasn’t hostile either, and I knew that was the closest he was going to get to an apology.
“No kidding. I’m not going to be ringing her up any time soon if that’s what you’re asking.”
Cinder hesitated. “Who was she?”
I looked at him in surprise. “Catherine?”
Cinder gave a nod. “Someone Deleo and I . . . treated badly,” I said. “I lost track of her when I left. Deleo never mentioned her?”
“She doesn’t talk about back then,” Cinder said.
I looked away. “Yeah,” I said. “I guess I can understand that.”
We stood in silence for a little while. “Del’s got something to do,” Cinder said at last. “You want to stay away till she’s done.”
I looked at Cinder, then nodded. Cinder withdrew, keeping an eye on me, and his light faded away around the corner and disappeared. I stood in the darkness for a while then left.
It was after midnight when Luna and I got back. Anne and Variam reported that all had been quiet, and once we were assembled in the living room I told them the story.
“Do you think there’s any way to persuade her?” Anne asked once I was finished.
“No,” Luna said, shaking her head very definitely. “You’ve never met this woman. She does not do compromises.”
“So now what?” Variam asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I guess I could try digging around but I think it’d just end up the same way. The only answers to what happened back then are inside Rachel’s head.”
“What about Sonder?” Anne asked.
I grimaced. “Right now I’m not sure Sonder wants to be around me. And ten years is a hell of a gap, even for someone as good as he is.”
“You’re going to the mansion tomorrow, right?” Variam said.
“That’s about the only angle I can see that’s left. And honestly, I’m not expecting much. What’s there going to be after all this time?”
We sat in silence for a little while. “Do you think it’s time to give up on this whole finding-Catherine thing?” Luna asked.
“But then what else is there to try?” Anne asked. “It’s the best chance of settling this peacefully.”
Variam rolled his eyes. “Yeah, good luck with that.”
“No, Anne’s right,” I said. “I want to do this. I just can’t see how.”
Luna had been looking down at the coffee table, but now she shrugged and raised her eyes to look at me. “Well, I can think of one way.”
I looked at her and then flinched. “Oh, you’re kidding.”
“You said it,” Luna pointed out. “The only answers are inside Rachel’s head.”
Variam looked between us. “What are you talking about?”
“So let me get this straight,” Variam said twenty minutes later. “You’re going to some kind of freaky dream-place to get the information out of Rachel while she’s asleep?”
“More or less,” I said, taking off my shoes.
“You can see people’s memories in Elsewhere,” Luna said. She didn’t mention how she knew.
“So just out of curiosity,” Variam said, “how’s Miss Psycho Bitch going to react if she catches you going through her head?”
“I’m going to guess ‘badly,’” I said as I slid my shoes under my bed. “Let’s hope she doesn’t notice.”
“Should I come?” Luna asked.
I shook my head. “One can hide better than two. Besides, I need someone to keep watch. Will’s lot know where I live, and I still don’t trust them not to try some sort of night raid.”
“I’ll do it,” Anne volunteered. “I can stay awake.”
“Is it good for you to keep doing that?”
“I slept last night,” Anne pointed out. “Besides, I can spot them before anyone else.”
“Wake me up at dawn,” Variam said. “I’ll take watch and you can get a few hours.”
Luna yawned. “Fair enough. Night.”
Luna and Variam squabbled briefly over the bathroom before going to bed, Luna withdrawing to the spare room while Variam set up the camp bed in the corner of the living room and fell asleep almost instantly. Anne curled up on the living room sofa with a book, the faint light of the lamp making her bare arms and neck glow softly in the darkness. I pulled the connecting door most of the way shut and hung up my coat before lying down on my bed with a sigh. It was too hot to sleep fully clothed but I was too tired to undress, so I pulled off my socks and left it at that. The clock by my bed read 12:48 and I watched it for a while as I listened to the sounds fade away. With Anne and Luna and Variam all here my flat felt lived-in and cosy, alert and alive. The day’s work on top of the last traces of fatigue from my injury had tired me more than I realised, and in only minutes my eyes drifted closed. As I did I reached out with my mind, searching for a place I’d been to before, a place to which I’d return again. Sleep came.