“Well, Vari thinks we should get ready to move,” Luna said. “They’re going after Richard as soon as they manage to follow the attacker’s trail. Vari says he’ll tell us as soon as they have a lead.”
I hesitated, then shook my head. “No.”
“You know they’re not just after Richard, right?” Luna said. “Anne’s right at the top of their list, too. Vari says their orders are to kill her on sight.”
“I can believe it, but I don’t think they’re going to find her,” I said. “Not unless Richard wants her found.” I thought for moment. “We’re going to have to split up. Go out of the Hollow and stay in contact with Vari.”
“I thought you just said you didn’t think they were going to find her?”
“I might be wrong.”
“What are you going to do, then?”
“I’m waiting to hear back from Chalice,” I said. “She’s got one last piece of the puzzle that I need before I can move.”
Luna disappeared, and I waited in the Hollow, checking every ten minutes to see if Chalice would be in contact. I was tense now—I didn’t know how much longer I had before Richard would strike.
But luck was with me. After less than an hour, my search through the futures found what I was looking for, and I gated out of the Hollow to find a text message on my phone. It contained an address and nothing more. Chalice hadn’t added a signature; she didn’t need to.
Buenos Aires, I thought. Feels right. I sent a message out through the dreamstone, calling Starbreeze. I didn’t have much time.
Starbreeze set me down in an out-of-the-way street in one of Buenos Aires’s suburbs before darting off. White-painted houses were nestled behind walls and gardens, and in the distance, down the slope of the hill, I could see the blue sparkle of the river. I checked my phone for the address Chalice had given me, and started walking.
It was winter here, but to me, the Buenos Aires winter felt more like spring. The neighbourhood was pretty but not hospitable—trees lined the road and climbing plants bloomed red and violet on the walls, but the gates were made of thick metal bars and more than one wall was topped with razor wire.
I stopped in front of a house that looked much the same as all the others, two storeys high and painted white, with a black iron fence blocking off access to the garden. There was nothing from outside that marked it out, but with my magesight I could feel the faint signature of wards. The rectangular box of an alarm system was mounted on the outside wall.
I glanced around, scaled the fence at the corner, and dropped down on the other side. You really don’t appreciate having two working hands until you’ve had to do without for a while. On the other side was a path of paving stones that led me into a back garden. A stone fountain bubbled away in the middle of a well-tended lawn, with a pagoda on the far side of a goldfish pond. The back of the house held a veranda, French windows leading into a living room. A minute’s work got the French windows unlocked and I stepped inside. An alarm panel to my left blinked red; I typed in the code and the light settled obediently on green.
The inside of the house smelt of woodwork and expensive carpets. A grandfather clock ticked, the sound echoing in the quiet. In the kitchen, a light lunch and a jug of orange juice had been laid out on the counter. I climbed the stairs, checking for traps and telltales and finding nothing. The bedroom was light and airy, with a balcony overlooking the garden. A double bed held rumpled sheets, as well as two or three outfits lying in roughly the place someone would have tossed them after trying them on in front of the mirror.
I path-walked through the futures in which I hung around, and got a hit between thirty minutes and an hour. I settled down to wait.
The futures narrowed as I waited, focusing until I knew precisely who would be arriving and when. When the sound of the front door opening drifted up from down below, I was ready. Voices echoed from the hallway, a man and a woman. The language was Spanish, but I could recognise the tones of voice. The man was pushing, entreating; the woman wasn’t quite saying yes, but wasn’t turning him away. A last exchange of words, then the man’s footsteps were moving towards the kitchen, while the woman’s shoes clattered on the wooden steps as she headed upstairs.
I moved out onto the balcony, letting the blinds shield me from view. Footsteps sounded from the landing, then the woman was walking into the bedroom. I stayed out of view, studying her through the futures.
Meredith is small and delicate, only a little over five feet tall, with long flowing dark hair. She wore a black blouse and skirt with brown-and-gold highlights, and moved with the confidence of someone who knew that people would find her attractive. And if they didn’t, well, she could change that. Meredith is an enchantress, able to manipulate emotions, and she’s good at it. She’s less skilled when it comes to politics. In the time I’d known her, she’d worked for both the Council and for Richard, without siding with either, and had ended up giving them both good reason to distrust her. Apparently she’d decided to hide out here while things calmed down.
The man called up something from downstairs: I caught the word noche. Meredith glanced down in annoyance, but her tone as she called back to him was sweet and welcoming. She dropped her handbag onto the bed and was just starting to open it when she paused, frowning. She looked up towards the balcony.
Looks like we’re done hiding. I’d been using the fateweaver to push away the futures in which Meredith detected me, but you can’t keep people careless forever. I strode into the bedroom. “Meredith,” I said. “We need to talk.”
Meredith’s eyes went as big as dinner plates. “Mateo!” she screamed.
I heard the clatter of something falling followed by footsteps racing up the stairs. The door slammed open and a young man burst in. He was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit of black, decorated in silver thread, and he had a long knife drawn in one hand. With two strides he put himself between me and Meredith.
“Tell your boy toy to wait outside,” I told Meredith.
Mateo said something in Spanish, not taking his eyes off me. The knife stayed pointed towards my chest.
“No,” Meredith said. “He’s one of the ones—from before, the ones I was telling you about. Mateo, be careful, he’s been hunting for me.”
Mateo replied confidently, then switched to accented English, addressing me. “Leave now, Dark mage. While you still can.”
“Mateo, or whatever your name is, right now I have no particular intention of hurting either you or your mistress. Keep pointing that knife at me and that’s going to change. Now, I’m not going to ask again. Go wait outside.”
“I don’t know who you are or where you came from,” Mateo said, “but I’m sure of one thing. No man of honour would enter a lady’s bedchamber and threaten her like this.” He drew back his knife in a combat stance, flourishing his free hand: blue energy glowed at his fingertips. “Come dance with me, if you dare.”
I looked at Meredith in annoyance. “Where did you find this clown?”
“Catalina, stay behind me,” Mateo announced, glancing back towards Meredith. “I’ll handle—”
I strode towards Mateo. He stepped forward to meet me, light flashing on the blade.
There was a flurry of movement.
The hilt of the knife slammed into Mateo’s chin with a solid thud. Mateo’s eyes rolled back into his skull and he collapsed to the floor. I flipped the knife in my hand and thrust it towards Meredith. “Stay!”