Richard’s mansion looked the same as it had when I’d arrived here three days ago. In fact it looked exactly the same, which was wrong; there should have been a big hole in the wall where Caldera had done her improvised building works. Looking down the grassy slope, I saw that the wall was smooth and unbroken again. Somebody fixed it, and I was pretty sure I knew who: Deleo. Although we could see down through the trees to the mansion, we were under tree cover and the branches would hide us from any viewers. Variam had chosen his spot well. “Well, we’re here,” Variam said, walking out behind me. “You going to tell me what the plan is?”
I told him.
“That’s it?” Variam asked.
“Pretty much.”
“That’s . . .” Variam was silent for a moment.
“What?”
“I don’t know. Efficient. Cold.”
“It’s what I do, Vari,” I said. “I can’t take things on head-to-head the way you can. I have to stack the odds in my favour first.”
“I know what you’re trying to do,” Variam said, and he was watching me. “You want to set this up so none of this is our fault, don’t you?”
“Have you ever killed anyone?”
Variam looked away. “I don’t think so,” he said after a pause.
“Heat of battle is one thing. Premeditated is worse.”
“We’d fight for you. Me and Anne and Luna.”
“I know. And that’s why I can’t let you do it. This is my responsibility and I’m the one who should pay for it.”
Variam didn’t answer. We stood under the trees, looking down over the grass towards the mansion. Birds were singing in the warm summer day, though the air was still muggy and close. “So what do we do now?” Variam said at last. “Wait for them to show up to kill us?”
“Me, not us. But yeah, that pretty much sums it up.”
“Are they on their way?”
“Not yet,” I said. I hadn’t stopped scanning the futures and I couldn’t see the Nightstalkers coming yet. “They’re probably having breakfast.”
Variam gave me a look. “Having breakfast.”
“I can’t make them go any faster,” I pointed out. “Right now Lee isn’t looking for me or he’d spot me. As soon as he does, the next thing he’ll do is check the direction and see that it’s pointing straight to this mansion. They’ve been here before so their gater will know the location. They’ll assemble and gear up, and as soon as they’re ready they’ll gate in.” I shrugged. “Figure ten to forty minutes, depending how good their prep time is.”
“This is so weird,” Variam said, shaking his head. “We’re just sitting here waiting for them to notice?”
“Welcome to being a diviner,” I said. “It’s a lot more passive than what you’re used to.” I cocked my head. “Ah.”
“Ah?” Variam said. “Ah, what?”
“Looks like Lee just spotted me. They’re coming.” The futures were shifting now, narrowing fast. Decisions make a distinctive pattern in divination magic; if someone genuinely hasn’t made up their mind about what they’re going to do, it’s obvious. This was nothing like that. Will and the Nightstalkers must have already worked out a plan for this situation, and they were acting on it. “Looks like twenty-five minutes,” I said. “Figure twenty to be safe.” I leant against an ash tree. “You going to meet that Keeper?”
Variam gave me a disbelieving look. “Is this really the time?”
“Can’t go inside yet,” I said. “So?”
Variam looked down at the grass. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“I think you should,” I said.
“What about Anne?”
“You can’t protect her forever, Vari.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Variam muttered.
I frowned. “What?”
“Never mind,” Variam said. “I still don’t like the Keepers.”
“You’re not going to get any argument from me. But look at it this way. If decent people never join the Keepers, they’re never going to get any better, are they?”
“So what, I’m supposed to reform them?”
I grinned. “Maybe not. But . . . there’s a practical side to it, too. You’ve been worried about the Council causing trouble for you or Anne some day, right? Well, think about it. If you want to protect yourself from the Council, having a position in the Keepers would be a pretty good way to do it.”
Variam started to answer and then stopped. It was obvious that he hadn’t thought of that. “You think that’d work?”
“It’s worth a try.” I took another glance into the futures and straightened. “Time to go.”
“I’m staying,” Variam said.
“Vari—”
“You don’t want us killing anyone because of you,” Variam said. “I get it. But you’re still going to need a way out. So just in case things don’t go so smooth, I’ll be waiting out here. Okay?”
I looked back at Variam, then gave him a nod. “I’ll see you soon.”
As I walked down the hillside towards Richard’s mansion, I put Variam out of my mind. The timing of this was going to be tricky; too late and the Nightstalkers would overwhelm me, too early and I wouldn’t have them as a buffer. The futures were narrowing quickly, and I knew Will and the Nightstalkers would make their gate in minutes. The alarm ward on the front door waited quietly, at rest. I opened the front door, feeling the faint tingle as the ward triggered, and walked in.
As soon as I was inside I broke into a run. I’d already checked that the nocturne trap hadn’t been reset but I checked again as I ran down the corridor, just to be safe. It was gone, and I ran down the dark stairs, my diviner’s senses guiding me. The chapel was cold and pitch-black, and my footsteps echoed on the stone. I made what few preparations I had time for, then stood in the archway and waited.
As I stood in the darkness I checked my weapons. My 1911 rested in its holster, its weight an unfamiliar presence at my hip. I didn’t honestly expect it to do me any good, but with any luck the Nightstalkers wouldn’t know that. My combat knife sat next to it and my one-shots were distributed in pockets around the belt. I’d already laid out one of my forcewalls at the chapel exit at my feet, the gold discs placed so their wall would block the path between the chapel and the deeper basements. It was the same exit that Shireen had been trying to reach when Rachel had killed her.
On my left side was the weapon I’d brought in anticipation of Will. I’d deliberated a long time deciding what to use. Will’s speed made most ranged weapons useless; he was practically fast enough to dodge bullets and by the time I’d fired enough rounds to have any chance of a hit he’d have closed the range and gutted me. From my experience in the casino I knew Will liked to get up close, where he could use his gun and shortsword to deadly effect. The best counter to that would have been the battle-magic of an elemental mage—something powerful enough to blast a whole room, force him to hold range or be burnt to death. But I didn’t have that kind of power, and the one-shots I’d brought wouldn’t do more than slow him down. I’d toyed with the idea of some kind of staff or spear, something to hold him at arm’s length, but the tunnels below Richard’s mansion were too cramped for such a long weapon and I had the feeling Will was quick enough to just grab the haft and stab me.
In the end I’d settled on a jian: a Chinese one-handed sword, a little over two feet long. It had enough reach to give an advantage over Will’s shortsword but not so much that he could easily get inside my swing, and it was light enough to be useful at close quarters. I didn’t want to fight Will hand-to-hand if I could avoid it, but if there was one thing I’d learnt about him over the past few days it was that he was really hard to shake off. I wasn’t going to be caught unprepared this time.