Morden glanced at Anne. It was unnerving seeing him apparently looking straight into my eyes. ‘You don’t seem entirely pleased.’
‘Yeah, you could say that.’ I couldn’t see Anne’s expression, but her voice was a lot less friendly. ‘I’m guessing he’s bringing his retinue, right? And his items.’
‘He won’t be unprotected, if that’s what you’re asking.’ Morden tilted his head. ‘Is there a problem?’
‘You bet there’s a problem. I’m not here so that I can be his slave girl.’
‘That’s not the intention.’
‘You think I’m an idiot?’ Anne asked. ‘I was the one who found that dreamstone, remember? I know what it does. If he’s coming, that means he wants me as well.’
‘Was that not the arrangement?’ Morden asked. ‘I admit I’ve been a little out of the loop of late, but I was under the impression that you were intending to accept Richard’s offer. The same one that he gave you in Sagash’s shadow realm three years ago.’
‘Yeah,’ Anne said. ‘I saw what happened to the last girl who took him up on a deal like that.’
‘Deleo’s circumstances were … particular to her.’
‘Bet he says that to everyone.’ My view of Morden swayed as Anne shook her head. ‘No deal.’
Morden picked up a coat and slung it over his arm, turning to Anne. ‘Then are you intending to go back to Verus?’
‘I’m okay with helping Richard,’ Anne said. ‘But it’s going to be on my terms. I’m not interested in being another Deleo. More like Vihaela.’
Morden studied Anne, tilting his head. ‘Ambitious.’ He quirked his lips in a smile. ‘Quite different from your other self. You should bear in mind that Vihaela did not attain her position for free. She brought a great deal to Richard’s cause, and she has not sat idle since.’
‘I just broke you out of prison. I think that earns me some credit.’
‘Don’t let your newfound power go to your head, Anne,’ Morden said. ‘Remember, that power is not yours. It is the jinn’s. And the jinn does not serve you.’
My viewpoint moved as Anne shrugged. ‘Yeah, well, Richard still needs me if he wants his jinn to do anything, doesn’t he? Otherwise that ring of his is just a pretty piece of jewellery.’
‘Then why don’t you explain that to him yourself?’
Anne looked at Morden silently.
‘No?’ Morden said. ‘I hadn’t expected you to be timid.’
‘You going to try to force me?’ Anne said.
‘Richard and I are not Sagash,’ Morden said. ‘We prefer willing servants. If you wish to go your own way, then I will not stop you. But have a care. Without Richard’s influence, you will find that jinn considerably less tractable.’
‘I’ll take my chances.’
Morden picked up his old clothes and left the room. Anne’s viewpoint swivelled as she looked over her shoulder. Something about the movement made me wonder if she could sense she was being watched, and I touched the mirror quickly. The image faded and went dark.
I hurried out of the room, and as I did I reached out to Luna. It was a little harder, opening a mental link from here, but I’d had plenty of practice, and Luna’s one of the people I can reach most easily. I came to a spiral staircase and began to climb, and as I did I felt the touch of Luna’s mind. Luna, it’s me. You found the tracer?
We did, Luna answered instantly. Blood’s fresh; we’re ready to go. But Vari’s worried that as soon as we do, Anne’ll sense it.
She might, I admitted. I really didn’t want to bet against Anne’s powers right now. She’s out of the country. Couldn’t get a fix on where.
We can handle that. Who else is there?
Morden, but he’s leaving. I get the feeling he and Anne don’t trust each other very much.
What about our jinn problem?
Yeah, that’s going to be the tricky part, I said. The stairs kept going up; I climbed them as I talked, taking them two at a time. I didn’t have to worry about getting tired, not here. One thing I’ve found out. I don’t think other-Anne is actually controlling that jinn. At least, not completely.
Then who is?
She said something about a ring, I said. It must be the same one that Richard took from the Vault, the one the jinn’s bound to. He’s using that and the dreamstone to influence it. Other-Anne has her own deal with the jinn, but it doesn’t seem like she controls it completely either. Remember when we thought that it was just the jinn possessing Anne? It’s looking like more of a triangle. There’s Richard, there’s Anne’s dark side and there’s the jinn. None of them have full control, and each of them needs the other two to get what they want. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure that if there’s one thing all three of them can agree on, it’ll be that they want to keep Anne possessed.
Then figure out a way to make sure they don’t get what they want!
Working on it. Be ready to move as soon as I give the word.
We already are, Luna said. Oh, and Vari says to step on it.
‘Thanks for the advice,’ I muttered, cutting the connection. I wondered what Anne was doing in the outside world. What I really needed was a portable version of that mirror …
Then I smiled. But this is Elsewhere, isn’t it? If I want it … I held up my hand, and a small hand mirror appeared in my grip. I concentrated on it, focusing a thread of magic into the glass. The mirror darkened … and stayed dark.
I frowned and tried again. Same result. Is it not working? I was pretty sure it should be. Maybe something was stopping it …
… or maybe it was working just fine, and this was what Anne was seeing. I didn’t like that idea. Enough climbing. I need to find her. As I thought that, I looked up and saw a landing with a door. I opened it and stepped through.
The room on the other side was vast. Circular walls curved away to the left and right, with cylindrical pillars. The pillars went up and up, disappearing into the shadows, so that the ceiling, if there was one, was lost in darkness. Everything was made of the same black glass, and the white lamps on the walls and pillars seemed small and feeble against the gloom. The room should have been too big to fit into the tower, but then it was Elsewhere.
At the centre of the room was a dais, and mounted on the dais was a crystal sphere, maybe eight or ten feet wide. The sphere was nearly opaque but I thought I could make out an outline of something within. I walked out through the pillars towards it, my footsteps echoing in the stillness.
A voice spoke from behind the columns. ‘I had a feeling it was you.’
The shadows moved and Anne stepped out. One look was enough to tell me which Anne. She was wearing a black dress that left her arms and shoulders bare; its hem trailed on the floor as she walked towards me. Her gaze was locked onto me, and she did not look happy. ‘You should not be here.’
‘First you complain about being left alone; now you get upset when I visit,’ I said. I kept my voice casual, but inwardly I was keyed up. This was it. ‘Make up your mind.’
Dark Anne’s eyes flashed. ‘You’re too soon. You’ll ruin everything.’
I reached out through the dreamstone to Luna. Luna. She’s in here with me. Go get her.
All right, Luna said. We’re going in.
‘Ruin everything?’ I said. ‘What do you think’s going to happen when the Council finds out what happened today?’