Okay, so social graces aren’t my strong point. Hey, you try to come up with a polite way of introducing an apprentice, a mage, and a dead body.
Meredith reacted first. “Oh, of course.” She glanced at Luna. “You didn’t tell me you had an apprentice, Alex.”
“No, I—” Luna looked from the construct to Meredith to me.
I was about to explain but Meredith spoke, moving to my side. “It was a construct assassin sent last night to kill me. Alex”—she put her hand on my arm—“saved me.” She smiled up at me.
My face went red. “No, that’s—”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Meredith looked at Luna, contrite. “Do you usually stay here? I didn’t realise I was taking up your space.”
Luna stared at the two of us for a long moment before answering. “No.” Her voice was toneless.
“That’s good.” Meredith smiled at her. “So, you’re Alex’s apprentice? Have you been studying long?”
Luna was still staring and I realised she wasn’t looking at me but at Meredith’s hand where it rested on my shoulder. I moved away, breaking the connection, and as I did, Luna’s eyes flicked up to my face, then down. “No.” She put the glass down. “I should go.”
I stared. “Already?”
“I’m supposed to meet Martin.” Luna moved towards the door. Her movements were sharp, jerky, without her usual control. My precognition flared and instinctively I moved out of her way, and a moment later Luna was through the door.
“Luna, wait!” I followed her out into the landing.
Luna was halfway down the stairs. She stopped as I spoke, and as she did I pulled myself up short. To my mage’s sight, the silver mist was lashing around her, its range and strength far greater than normal, tendrils snaking through the air and soaking into the walls and floor. Another step and I’d be in deadly danger.
I stood my ground. “I need to talk to you. Martin as well. Ask him to come to the shop tomorrow morning.”
“Why?” Luna’s voice was flat but there was an edge to it I hadn’t heard before.
“You wanted me to help, right? If he comes in, maybe I can do something about that item.”
A beat, then Luna nodded. “Fine.”
I hesitated. I wanted to say more, something to encourage her, about how she’d done well today. But before I could think how to say it, Luna started back down the stairs and her curse flared again in the instant before she vanished into the hall. I heard the door shut, followed a second later by the bang of her leaving by the front door.
I frowned. For a moment I tried to figure out everything that had just happened, then my thoughts vanished in a wave of exhaustion. I returned to the living room and made it to the sofa before my legs collapsed.
“Alex?” Meredith said in concern. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” I said without looking up. The reaction from my near-death experience on the Heath hadn’t worn off yet, and for some reason I didn’t want to talk to Meredith right now. I felt as though what had just happened was her fault, though I couldn’t explain why.
“Well … I got in touch with Belthas.”
For a moment I didn’t know who Meredith was talking about. It was funny; while I was with Luna and Arachne, all the details with Meredith just didn’t seem important. Then I remembered. “Belthas, right.”
“He says he’d like to meet you. I could take you to him this afternoon?”
All I wanted to do was sit there. “Okay,” I said with an effort. “Give me half an hour and we’ll go.”
Meredith hesitated an instant, then withdrew. I leant back on the sofa and closed my eyes. I needed to figure out who was trying to have me killed and why. I needed to find out more about Belthas and Meredith and what their goals were. And I needed to do something about Luna and Martin and the monkey’s paw. But right now all I wanted was to sit and rest, and remember a simpler time.
I made my preparations and travelled with Meredith to Canary Wharf. According to Meredith, Belthas had an office in one of the skyscrapers. It’s not as rare as you’d think: Mages like towers. They’re a kind of status symbol in the magical world, even though no one seems able to explain exactly why. Some say it’s a leftover from the old days where mages had to worry about actual armies laying siege to their homes and a tower gave you a tactical advantage. Others say it’s from when mages went in for astronomy—a tower makes a better observation platform. Other explanations I’ve heard include a better view, attracting attention, reducing electromagnetic interference, impressing members of the opposite sex, a way to reduce the danger of vertical teleportation mishaps, and my tower is bigger than yours. My personal suspicion is that mages like to feel above everyone else, but I usually keep that to myself. Belthas’s office was near the top floor of the second- or third-highest skyscraper in the cluster, which meant he was either powerful and successful, concerned about his reputation, or compensating for something, depending on your point of view. The ground floor was huge, with tall wood-panelled walls and a shining white floor. A doorman showed us through the security gates and we stepped into a lift that carried us upward.
The back of the lift was mirrored and as we ascended I used the mirror to study Meredith. She’d been quiet all the way, hardly saying a word, and I wondered if she was thinking about the mage we were about to meet. I hadn’t forgotten about the conversation I’d overheard last night and I wondered if it had been Belthas she’d been talking to. Meredith had sounded as if she wasn’t happy about their deal.
There was a ding and the lift stopped on the thirty-eighth floor. From what I could see, Belthas seemed to own about half the floor space. There was a receptionist to greet us but my attention was on the men with guns and body armour standing against the wall watching us with alert eyes: Council security. We were shown into a room, and after a brief wait, the receptionist put her head in with a smile. “Mr. Belthas will see you now.”
It’s not the first time I’ve been to see an important mage in Canary Wharf. The last time, it was at night in the middle of a ball, I was shown in alone, and I very nearly never walked out again. The mage I’d met had been Levistus and it had been a near thing. I could still remember the soundproofed room, silent and empty.
Belthas’s office was very different. It was set into the corner of the tower and sunlight streamed in from two glass walls, leaving bright patterns on the carpet and keeping the air comfortably warm. Belthas rose from his desk as we entered and walked around to shake my hand. “Verus. I’m glad you could make it.”
Belthas was tall, almost as tall as me. His hair was almost entirely white and he looked like a very well-preserved fifty. His features were difficult to place: His face looked English, but a faint accent to his words made me think of Eastern Europe. He had a pair of clear blue eyes and a ready smile, and his manner as he greeted me was friendly, but there was something in those eyes that made me cautious. You don’t get places in Council politics without playing the system and somehow I had the feeling that Belthas was watching me just as I was watching him. He went through the usual formalities while I gave the usual replies. Belthas wasn’t acting as though he had anything to hide … but then the best manipulators don’t.
“Well then,” Belthas said once we were seated and I’d refused the offer of a drink. “What can I do for you?”
“How much has Meredith told you?”
Belthas frowned. “I haven’t been fully filled in. I understand you came under attack?”
“That’s one way to put it,” I said dryly. “Someone sent a construct assassin after Meredith.”
Belthas’s eyebrows went up. “I see.”
“Yes. I’d appreciate knowing why.”
Belthas steepled his fingers, seeming to think. Meredith was sitting quietly to one side, but otherwise the three of us were alone in the office. “I can certainly understand why you’d be upset,” Belthas said. “And I’m grateful for your assistance. However, as I’m sure you’re aware, the details are not common knowledge.”