“This is going to be the biggest fight in this war so far,” Luna said.
“I’m not buying it,” I said. “So far, every time Richard’s engaged the Council, he’s done it on his own terms.”
“Okay, look,” Luna said. “You haven’t told me much about what you’re planning here. From what you’ve been saying, I’m guessing it has something to do with Deleo. But once you find Richard, you do actually have a plan, right? You’re not trying to go out in a blaze of glory?”
“No, both of us are going to be walking away from this one.”
“How?”
“The times you’ve gone out gambling, did you ever try poker?”
Luna looked at me in surprise, her face faintly illuminated in the orange of the streetlights below. “Not much. Too little luck once the cards are dealt. Why?”
“Your play style in poker falls on a scale,” I said. “Tight versus loose. No one’s a hundred percent one or the other, but the longer you play, the more you find the point on the scale where you’re most comfortable. So most of the time, when you first sit down at a table, you want to play your natural style because it’s what you’re best at. But once someone gets to know you? Then you’ll usually find you make the most money when you take your natural style and play the opposite.”
Luna frowned. “I don’t get it.”
“I’ve tried talking to Rachel a lot of times the past few years,” I said. “I’ve tried persuading her, tried probing for a weakness, but I’ve never pretended to be anything I’m not.”
“How’s that going to—” Luna paused, as if listening to something. “They’ve broken in. Keeper teams are entering the shadow realm. Vari says the fighting’s already started.”
“All right,” I said. If Richard was going to make a move, this was when he’d do it.
Seconds ticked by. I searched through futures, picking through possibilities of me making calls, checking on contacts, scouting in person. It was slow going; too much variation between the futures.
Maybe I should play a hunch. Assume I was right and Richard was going after one of the Council. Who would he pick? No, that was the wrong question. If I were Richard, and I wanted to weaken the Council’s resolve, make it more willing to come to terms, who would I want removed?
I’d go after Levistus or Sal Sarque. I narrowed my focus to those two but widened the trace. Nothing, nothing . . . wait.
There.
“It’s Sal Sarque,” I said. “Richard’s going to make a move on him while the Council forces attack Arcadia.”
Luna frowned. “Are you sure? If you wait, we can—”
“Can’t,” I called over my shoulder. I was already sending out a call to Starbreeze. “Keep in touch with Vari. I’ll call you with the dreamstone.”
chapter 14
Two minutes later, I was in the air and soaring. The lights of London had disappeared behind us, and the English countryside was opening up ahead, glowing lines marking the roads and sparkling orange webs the towns. Starbreeze rode the winds at lightning speed, spiralling as she went for the sheer fun of it.
So wait, Luna said. Sal Sarque isn’t in the War Rooms?
He’s got a command centre in that island fortress of his, I said. Whenever there’s a major op, he runs it from there. Means he can funnel all the intel through him and choose what does and doesn’t get reported to the Council.
Island fortress. Sounds great.
The Midlands were racing below us; a city swept past to our left that might have been Leeds. We passed an airliner, its lights blinking white-red-green, there and gone in a flash. I’m not storming it single-handed, I said. I’m going to slip in while the two groups are busy fighting. This is the biggest and most important attack that Richard’s launched, which means Anne’s going to be at the spearhead. I just need to catch up.
Don’t you want to take someone?
I am. Just not someone I care about.
While I’d been talking, we’d passed over the coastline and swept out over the sea. Starbreeze veered from side to side, dodging clouds before zipping right through a big one. My vision greyed out; when we emerged on the other side, I could make out a few black spots in the distance, visible against the moonlit waters.
I checked the futures quickly, remembering my mental map. Sal Sarque’s island was at the south end of a small chain. There, I said to Starbreeze. Angle that way.
Starbreeze came down in a shallow dive, losing height until she was skimming the waves. The smell of salt water surrounded me, the moonlight a bright reflection off to the right and its light casting a white glow over each wave. Up ahead the island was getting bigger fast. Very fast. Not too close, I said to Starbreeze. We need to circle around, find a safe place to set—
Boring. I want to see!
No, wait, don’t—
We pulled up just in front of the cliffs and sped upwards at lightning speed, shooting out past the cliff edge and up into the sky right above the south end of the island.
It gave us a great view of the battle.
Sal Sarque’s fortress was built on and around a rock outcropping at the island’s southern end, and it was under attack. Flashes of coloured light sparkled on the fortress walls and roof and in the rocks nearby. The fortress itself was squat and massive, the walls thick and heavy with covered guard towers, and emplacements on the top were hurling fire into the darkness below.
Ooh, Starbreeze said in fascination. Pretty. She angled in for a closer look.
Pull back! Starbreeze! Back!
Why? Starbreeze asked. She’d drifted close enough that I could pick out movement on the roof.
They have anti-air, that’s why!
What’s anti-air?
A bolt of energy lit the night, joining the rooftop with Starbreeze’s position. I shoved frantically at the futures and made it miss by a hair, the heat scorching my airborne body as Starbreeze veered away. That!
Oh, okay. Starbreeze didn’t seem particularly worried. She swept down and right, putting a ridgeline between us and the fortress. Didn’t look scary.
Maybe not to you! Held aloft by Starbreeze, I had no way of dodging. It would have vaporised me.
Well, you’re going to die really soon anyway.
Which was jarring to hear. I think of Starbreeze as my friend, and she is my friend, as much as she can be. But she’s also very far away from being human. Right now she was helping me, and as far as I could tell, she was going to keep helping me—right up until I died, at which point she’d promptly forget me the same way she’s forgotten the countless other mortals she’s known. When she said I was going to die “really soon,” she could mean tomorrow or in fifty years. To Starbreeze, there’s not much difference.
Starbreeze dived into a small ravine and turned me solid again. My shoes scraped on rock and I shifted to keep my balance. I could hear the sounds of battle from over the ridge, the stammer of machine gun fire mixing with the whoom of fire spells. “Can you wait here? A lift would—”
“Boring,” Starbreeze announced. “Want to see the lights.” She sped up into the night sky and was gone.
“Or I could walk,” I said to the rocks. I took out the gate stone that I’d taken from Meredith’s house, and channelled. From over the ridge, I could hear the sounds of battle. The gate opened and I stepped through.