I looked around sadly. After the old Arcana Emporium had been destroyed, Arachne’s cave had been the one place I’d felt at home. It had been the last remnant of my old life, back when I’d wake up in the morning knowing that the biggest problem I’d be likely to face would be someone wanting me to sell them a love potion. Now it was gone.
I sat waiting for ten minutes, the light behind me flickering occasionally. My right arm itched and I pulled up the sleeve of my coat to look.
The white streaks of the fateweaver reached halfway from my wrist to my elbow. Back when Klara had examined me, I’d had the feeling they were spreading, but I hadn’t been sure. There was no room for doubt now. I scratched but the itch didn’t go away.
Footsteps sounded from the tunnel. I pulled my sleeve down and turned towards the entrance.
A faint green light showed from the tunnel mouth, then winked out. A moment later Anne stepped out, looking in my direction. “I had a feeling it was you.”
The black aura surrounding Anne was gone: to a casual glance, she looked a normal girl. “I would have given you a lift if you’d asked.”
“What, so you can drop me in some prison until you figure out how to change me back? No thanks.” Anne walked across the cavern, kicking aside bits of wreckage. “Nice job with the dreamstone. I knew Deleo was a nutcase, but I wasn’t expecting that.”
“That was the idea.”
“Well, I don’t really care how it works so long as it works.” Anne glanced across at me. “Weird-looking hand. What is it?”
She doesn’t know. It was a surprise, but as I thought about it, it made sense. Anne was a life mage, not a diviner. She could tell everything there was to know about someone’s physiology, but that wouldn’t tell her what the fateweaver did.
Anne tossed a broken chair out of her way and stepped up to the wall. “Well, while you’re here, make yourself useful and tell me how to open this thing.”
I looked briefly at the futures. “Move your right hand twelve inches higher and six inches to the left.”
Anne did as I said. There was a click, and a crack appeared in the wall, revealing a hidden alcove. “Thanks,” Anne called over her shoulder. “I mean, I could have ripped it apart, but it’s such a drag . . . Here we go.”
Anne had taken out something black and yielding from where it had been hidden in the shielded compartment. She shook it out and held it up against her, the dark cloth falling against her skin. It was the dress that Arachne had made for her, a few days and a lifetime ago. I wondered if Arachne had known which Anne would be the one to finally wear it.
“Not even torn,” Anne said. “Nice.” She looked at me. “Well?”
“Well, what?”
“Going to turn your back?”
I thought for a moment. “I don’t think I’m going to be turning my back on you anytime soon.”
Anne laughed. “What did you do with the old Alex? Well, I think I like the new one better anyway.” She began stripping off her clothes with a complete lack of concern.
I watched as Anne pulled off her top and dropped it on the floor. “Luna misses you.”
“So tell her to call,” Anne said, kicking off her jeans.
“Do you want her to?”
“Sure, why wouldn’t I? I’m still the same person. Just got a slightly different perspective, you know?” Anne pulled Arachne’s dress over her head, wiggling her arms through the straps, then smoothed it down before looking around. “Damn, they broke all the mirrors. How do I look?”
I looked at Anne: she twirled, letting the skirt flare out. “It suits you,” I said. “Actually, better than it did before.”
“Well, duh.” Anne walked forward, the black dress swirling around her knees. “So why’d you come here?”
“Same reason as Luna, really,” I said. “I wanted to see if I could talk you into coming back.”
“Yeah, I’ve got a funny feeling your reasons and Luna’s might be slightly different.” Anne came to a stop ten feet away and looked down with a smile, one hand resting on her hip. “Anyway, going to have to turn you down. Things to do, places to be.”
“What kind of things?”
“Well, first on the agenda is settling old scores,” Anne said. “I mean, what’s the point of unlimited power if you can’t take horrible vengeance on all the people who’ve screwed you over? Crystal and Sal Sarque were a good start. But right now, there are two others at the top of the list. I think you can guess who they are, right? Only reason I came here instead of going straight after them is that I’m having a really hard time figuring out which one I hate most.”
“And then what?” I said. “You’re going to keep working your way down the list?”
“Sure, why not? One of the things that pissed me off most about you guys was that live-and-let-live attitude. We’ve had so many people try to kill us I’ve lost track of them all, and you never did a damn thing about it. I figure it’s time for some payback.” Anne tilted her head. “Want to come along?”
“You mean that?”
“Sure, why not?” Anne said. “I mean, pretty much all of them are your enemies too. It’ll be just like when we were on the Council, except instead of going to meetings, we kill people we don’t like. Who knows, you might end up deciding you like the new me. Trust me, anything she can do, I can do better.”
It was more tempting than it should have been. “And what does the jinn get out of all this?”
Anne shrugged. “Stuff.”
“It’s not helping you for free,” I said. “So what’s the price?”
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
“You should have paid more attention to Arachne, Anne,” I said. “Jinn hate humans, and they hate mages most of all. Whatever it wants, long term, it’s not going to end well for you.”
“I don’t really care about long term,” Anne said. “But fine. How about a compromise? I’ll start at my end of the list, and you start at yours, and once we’ve met in the middle, we can have a showdown. Or a date. Or both.”
“If you think that jinn’s going to serve you, you’re a fool,” I said. “I’ve seen these kinds of partnerships, and they never end well for the human. But you’re right about one thing. For now at least, we have the same enemies.”
“Sounds good.” Anne gave me a wave and turned to go. “Later.”
“Anne,” I said.
Anne paused and looked back.
“I didn’t do this to settle old scores,” I said. “I did it for you. And one way or another, I’m going to protect you.”
Anne laughed. “Oh, Alex. I don’t need protecting anymore. It’s everyone else who needs protecting from me.”
I watched Anne go, listening to her footsteps recede up the tunnel until they faded into silence. I was sure of one thing: in the contest between Anne and the jinn, Anne was going to lose. Right now, the jinn might be giving her everything she wanted, but it could afford to. All it had to do was wait.
I guess we’re both on a clock.
I got to my feet. I had work to do.
About the Author
Benedict Jacka is half Australian, half Armenian, and grew up in London. He's worked as a teacher, bouncer, and civil servant, and spends his spare time skating and playing tabletop games. He's the author of the Alex Verus series, including Marked, Bound, Burned, Veiled, and Hidden.
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