I was silent. Lyle had already brought this request to me via Anne twice, and both times I’d dodged it. This time he’d called me directly in my office. The truth was that if Lyle did go to the Council, they’d almost certainly make it a direct order. Lyle would lose face, but I’d lose a lot more. ‘Fine.’
‘You’ll go?’
I didn’t answer.
‘Alex?’
‘Yes, I’ll go. Stop pestering me.’
‘Excellent,’ Lyle said. ‘You know the gate location?’
‘Yes.’
‘And the time.’
‘Yes.’
‘You’ll be sure to be punctual? It’s very important—’
‘Thank you, Lyle,’ I said. I cut the connection before he could respond.
Anne looked up. ‘Didn’t go well?’
I sat back with a sigh. ‘I’m really not in the mood for this.’
‘Why do they want you there anyway?’
‘Wish I knew,’ I said. People think that being a diviner makes this kind of thing easy, but it really doesn’t. Being able to look into short-term futures doesn’t help much when it comes to revealing long-term plans, and when it comes to politics, pretty much everything is long-term plans. ‘Best guess is that Levistus is hoping to use Morden’s fall to involve me, but I don’t know exactly how.’
Anne stretched, put down the papers and stood up. ‘Sounds as though I should come along for this one.’
‘It’s probably nothing.’
‘Oh, come on,’ Anne said. ‘Are you going to try to keep me away from everything? Richard isn’t there this time.’
‘I guess you’re right,’ I said. Morden had had some interest in Anne as well, but that was a long time ago. Besides, I could use someone to watch my back.
‘Why did Lyle make such a big deal about you being on time?’
‘It’s just how he is,’ I said. ‘You know how big Light mages are on protocol. If you’re late for anything, they take it as a deliberate insult.’
‘Okay.’ Anne paused. ‘Wasn’t it supposed to be at two-thirty?’
I picked up the report I’d been looking over. ‘You don’t want to rush these things.’
14
At exactly 2.55 p.m., Anne and I stepped through the gateway into San Vittore. The gate linking our world with the bubble realm closed behind us.
There were two people waiting for us in the anteroom, a man and a woman. The man had been talking into a communicator, but as we entered he stopped what he’d been saying. ‘Never mind,’ he said. ‘They’re here.’ He dropped the communicator into a pocket. ‘Verus. I see you were delayed.’
‘Yes, sorry about that,’ I said pleasantly. ‘Busy afternoon.’ Which was two lies for the price of one. I’d carefully calculated the waiting time so that it was long enough to be a clear insult, but short enough that I could pass it off as an accident.
‘So you finally showed up,’ the woman said.
‘Yes, I did.’ I smiled at her. ‘So what can I can help you with?’
The two mages in front of us were Barrayar and Solace, the aides to Levistus and Sal Sarque. Of the two, I was most familiar with Barrayar. He’s slender, a fraction under medium height, dresses in expensive suits and has a polite, pleasant manner that gives away nothing at all of what he’s actually thinking. Underneath, I knew him to be calculating and dangerous. He’d been Levistus’s aide for something near to ten years, and he hadn’t kept his job by being incompetent.
Solace was the newer of the two, a replacement for Jarnaff, the mage Richard had killed last year in the Vault. She’s pale-skinned with mousy brown hair, and a particular look – slim but slightly pouchy – that I’ve learned to recognise. It’s a popular thing among Light mages to get life magic treatments where the life mage alters their physiology to give them the traits of being fit and athletic without them having to exercise. It kind of works, but once you know what to look for, it’s a lot like putting up a sign that says ‘easy target’. Given Sal Sarque’s background, I didn’t know why he’d gone for someone like that for his aide, but maybe his options were limited. In any case, I was pretty sure she was at least tangentially connected to the assassination attempts I’d been dealing with since last year.
As if that weren’t enough, I knew from asking around that there were a couple of Keepers present to be security for the negotiations. One of them had been approved by Levistus, while the other was Caldera, meaning that by my count, pretty much every mage occupying this facility other than Anne either disliked me, wanted me dead or both. This was not shaping up to be a pleasant visit.
‘Well,’ Barrayar said. ‘Since you’re here, I suggest we get started.’
Solace gave Anne a narrow look. ‘Why is she here?’
‘Mage Walker is my aide,’ I told her.
Solace curled her lip. ‘You mean she’s your bodyguard.’
‘She’s filled that role at times,’ I said. A lot of mages assume that me keeping Anne as my aide is kind of the equivalent of a short guy owning a giant German shepherd. I don’t do much to discourage it – being underestimated can be useful. ‘Shall we?’
We passed through into the anteroom. Security screenings hadn’t got any more convenient since my last visit.
‘… drugs or drug-related items or paraphernalia,’ the guard droned on, ‘flammable or corrosive liquids, alcohol in any form, poisonous or infectious materials such as pesticides, insecticides, cyanides, laboratory specimens or bacterial cultures, and are you carrying any gas or pressure containers including but not limited to aerosols, carbon dioxide cartridges, oxygen tanks, Mace, pepper spray or liquid nitrogen?’
Anne looked at the guard. ‘Oxygen tanks?’
‘Just answer the question already,’ Solace said irritably. She and Barrayar had already gone through and were waiting on the other side of the scanner.
‘No,’ Anne said.
‘Are you carrying any cameras or other photographic devices, mobile telephones or other communication devices …’
Is it me, Anne asked, or does Solace have something against me?
It’s not just you, I said. I’d kept our mental link open through the dreamstone.
Do you think she was the one who sent those men to my flat?
The one who made the decision? I said. Probably not. But involved in some way … I’d put it around seventy/eighty per cent.
‘About time,’ Solace told Anne as she finally made it through the scanner.
‘Why do you even care?’ I asked her. ‘It’s not as if you need us.’
‘Your presence is required by law,’ Barrayar said.
‘Really?’ I said. ‘So you won’t mind if we accompany you while you’re questioning Morden?’
‘That won’t be necessary,’ Solace said quickly.
I gave the two of them a look.
‘Verus, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make this take any longer than necessary,’ Barrayar said. ‘We’ll call if we need you.’
I shrugged. ‘I’m sure you won’t have any trouble finding us. You never have before.’
Barrayar and Solace turned and headed for the wing where I’d met Morden last time. Did you actually want to be there when they talked to Morden? Anne asked.
Just wanted to see how they reacted. I turned to the guard. ‘You have somewhere we can wait?’
The guard looked at me unsmilingly. ‘We don’t have waiting rooms.’
‘You have interview rooms.’
‘Those are reserved for official use only.’
I gave the guard a look. ‘How big an issue do you want to make out of this?’