Luna flicked her eyes behind me then back again. It was a very tiny gesture, but something about it sent a chill down my spine.
I turned around.
It’s always struck me as a bit unfair that despite being able to see the future, I get so many horrible surprises. You’d think being a diviner I’d be able to avoid them but it seems all that means is that when they finally do catch up with me they’re much worse. It’s happened so many times that I’ve learnt to recognise the exact feeling: a sort of hollow, sinking sensation in my gut, like I’ve just been dropped from very high up.
Belthas was standing thirty feet away, his hands clasped behind his back. He looked relaxed. Of course, he had a lot to be relaxed about.
About ten men from Belthas’s private army were standing in a loose semicircle on either side of Belthas, surrounding Luna and me. They were wearing body armour and carried submachine guns. The guns were pointed almost at the two of us so that we couldn’t quite stare down the barrels but could imagine very easily what it would be like. All of them were looking at us with flat, unreadable expressions. Seeing them up close in the light, they looked tough and competent. They did not look friendly or nice.
Garrick was in the circle too. Unlike the other men, he was standing at ease with his weapon hanging from its sling, though I had the feeling he could probably get a shot off faster than any of them. Unlike the others, he gave me a nod. A few more of Belthas’s men were scattered around the lair, including two stationed at the tunnel leading out to the Heath.
Meredith and Martin were there too, a little way behind Belthas. Meredith was sitting on one of the few remaining chairs; she didn’t meet my eyes. Martin was standing with arms folded, looking pleased with himself. All told, there were a little under twenty people facing us. None of them looked like they wanted to be our friends.
Arachne’s lair had been the site of a short, vicious battle. A few of the sofas and tables had been smashed into firewood, and many more bore the marks of spells or weapons fire. Dresses and coats had been slashed and burnt, then gathered up and piled carelessly in stacks. The centre of the room had been cleared, the clothes and furniture shunted up against the walls.
Arachne was next to the dressing rooms. She was lying motionless on the floor, her vast bulk still, watched over by two guards. Something glinted at the back of her head. At the sight of Arachne, my fear vanished in a wave of anger. I turned to Belthas. “Verus,” Belthas said.
I stared at him.
“I trust you’re feeling better?”
“You’ve tried to kill me twice in as many days,” I said. “Drop the act.”
Belthas raised his eyebrows. “You know,” I said, “there’s just one thing I’m curious about. How’d you know the monkey’s paw would pick Martin?”
Martin stiffened slightly, looking from me to Belthas. “Ah,” Belthas said. “That was merely a matter of adapting to circumstances.”
“And you just took advantage.”
Belthas inclined his head.
“So that’s why you ordered those assassination attempts,” I said. “You had Meredith and Martin to work on the two of us. But once Martin picked up that item, you didn’t need me anymore. He would have phoned you on … what, Saturday night?” I saw Martin start. “And by Sunday morning you had Garrick ready to shoot me. You don’t waste time, do you?”
“I’m impressed, Verus,” Belthas said. “But you’ve misinterpreted events slightly.”
“Why are we even talking to this guy?” Martin said.
“Shush, Martin,” I said. “Adults are talking.”
“Shut up,” Martin said with a sneer. “Me and Luna couldn’t stop laughing about you, you know that? Having something like this and being too scared to use it.”
“How can you say that?” Luna’s voice was shaking. “I thought you cared about me! How could you do this?”
Martin turned away with a shrug. “Martin, you’re stupid,” I said.
“Yeah? Then how come we’ve got a bunch of guns pointed at you?”
“Doesn’t change the fact that you’re stupid. For a start, you keep saying ‘we.’ You’re not Belthas’s partner, you’re his minion. You’re stupid enough to use the monkey’s paw after I told you the truth about it. And you’re stupid enough to keep being Belthas’s minion and keep using the monkey’s paw even after being told that it’ll kill you. In fact, you’re so stupid that I can tell you all this to your face and Belthas won’t stop me because he knows you’re too much of an idiot to know when you’re being told the truth. He can just wait for you to get yourself killed without lifting a finger.”
Belthas raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. Martin had been listening with his mouth half-open and he started to say something or other but I turned on Meredith before he could finish. “And you. Lying really is a way of life to you, isn’t it?”
Meredith stared at me. “Excuse me?”
“That was what Belthas told you to do, wasn’t it? Manipulate me.”
Meredith’s eyes narrowed. “Get over yourself.”
“I trusted you!”
“No, you didn’t. You never let me in-you don’t trust anyone. You’re the coldest man I’ve ever met.”
My face twisted in a snarl. “As if you could-” Martin started to shout something and some of the men brought their guns up.
“Quiet, please,” Belthas said, his voice cutting across the noise. He looked from side to side, eyebrows raised, until everyone had fallen silent. “I can understand you have reasons for disagreement but I think it would be best if you resolve your personal issues in your own time.”
Martin glowered. Meredith looked away.
“Now,” Belthas said once order had resumed. “Verus, I have an offer for you.”
“I can’t wait.”
“There’s no need for sarcasm,” Belthas said mildly. “As I was saying earlier, while your analysis is impressive, you’ve gone astray in one or two points. I haven’t given any instructions to kill you. In fact, I quite specifically instructed my men to make sure you were unharmed.”
“Oh,” I said. “So those were the friendly kind of assassination attempts.”
Belthas sighed. “Verus, you really should … how did Meredith put it? Get over yourself. Yes, your value was diminished once Martin reported his success. But do you really think that’s enough reason to order your death? I’m not a Dark mage. If I killed everyone who wasn’t useful to me, there wouldn’t be many people left.”
I was silent. “Besides,” Belthas continued. “You’ve been of considerable assistance. It was due to you that we were able to capture Deleo. With her and Cinder on the loose, this would have been impossible.”
“Feel free to express your gratitude.”
“I’d be happy to. As I said, I have considerable influence with the Council. However, with that influence comes obligations.” Belthas gestured to the men around him. “It would hardly have been possible to arrange all this without some assistance. Fortunately, I was able to discover a Council member willing to act as a patron of sorts.”
“Great. Who?”
Belthas smiled slightly. “Come now, Verus. I’ve already explained that I’ve no wish to kill you. Who do you know on the Council who does?”
I stared for a second-then my heart sank. “Shit.”
“Yes,” Belthas said dryly. “Did you think he forgot?”
I turned away. “Alex?” Luna said quietly.
“Levistus,” I said. Things had just gone from bad to worse. I looked at Belthas. “So what? I was the price for his help?”
“Actually, that’s quite an interesting story.” Belthas settled himself more comfortably. “I suspected from the start that it was Deleo and Cinder we were looking for, and given your past history, I immediately thought of you as the natural choice to find them. But when I suggested your name to Levistus, he was quite definite that you were not to be involved. Levistus is … less tolerant of unpredictability than I am.
“It was the one sticking point in our arrangement. But we had only managed to acquire part of the ritual, and I knew that without Cinder and Deleo I would have no more success than they had had with that barghest. I needed one of them alive to interrogate and I was certain you were our best chance.” Belthas smiled again. “You played your role admirably.”