Fred looked as if he’d rather be anywhere else, but he took a few steps away and started muttering into his communicator, shooting me occasional glances. After a few minutes he turned back to me. ‘He’s on his way.’
Talisid arrived fast enough that he must have run or jogged. He weaved his way through the crowd towards us. ‘Thank you, Officer –’ He glanced at the badge. ‘– Davies. I’ll take it from here.’
Fred Davies swiped me through the security gates and watched us go with a definite look of relief. ‘Here’s the bullet ward you asked for,’ Talisid said, passing it to me. The focus was made of dull grey metal, designed to clip onto a wrist. ‘I had to sign it out, so I’d prefer if you could return it, but given the circumstances I’ll understand if you don’t.’
The corridors of the War Rooms were filled with noise and bustle. Almost none of the people rushing past us would be going on the operation today, but you could feel the tension in the air: everyone knew that something big was happening. ‘Are you sure it’ll be enough?’ Talisid asked.
‘This’ll do fine,’ I said. Bullet wards aren’t very powerful, but by the same token they don’t need much energy. ‘Where do you have me placed in the command structure?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Technically, I’m still on the Council,’ I said. I didn’t mention that that was only because the Senior Council had been too busy over the past month to get around to kicking me out. ‘That would make me senior to Nimbus.’
‘Yes . . .’ Talisid said, drawing out the word. ‘I’m afraid I don’t think it’s politically feasible to place any troops under your direct command at present.’
I hadn’t really expected that one to work, but it had been worth a try. ‘I’m still going to need command access.’
‘What kind?’
We came out into the Belfry and turned left, our footsteps echoing on the wide floor. Normally at this time there would be a steady flow of people leaving from the judicial and legislative wings, but not today. Instead, the movement of people was towards the west halls and the Cathedral.
‘You’re hoping I’ll deal with your Richard problem,’ I said. I didn’t bother to keep my voice down: there was far too much chaos for anyone to overhear. ‘I guarantee you that Richard is going to make his move before you do. When that happens, I’m going to need the Council forces to act on my direction, fast.’
‘There are certain issues of trust.’
‘Yes, because up until a few days ago, you and the rest of the Council were trying to kill me, so I killed a bunch of you first. Get over it. If you want this operation to have the slightest chance of working, you’re going to have to put that aside.’
Talisid stopped. A woman with a sheaf of papers went hurrying between us and we leant aside to let her past. ‘What are you looking for?’ Talisid said.
‘Comm focus access for the command staff and official status as liaison,’ I said. ‘Plus I need you to talk to Nimbus. He won’t listen to me, but he might listen to you.’
The look on Talisid’s face wasn’t encouraging. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’
The Cathedral is the single biggest open space in the War Rooms. It’s a vast, vaulted hall, stretching for hundreds of feet. In between the ribs of the vault are tall stained-glass windows, permanent lights casting a glow down over the polished stone floor. There are duelling pistes and lecterns, but usually it’s empty except for a handful of people who like to wander around admiring the architecture during their breaks.
No one was admiring the architecture today. The huge open space was filled with hundreds of people, scattered in groups all the way to the far wall. To the right, a field armoury had been set up, assault rifles and sub-machine-guns and ammo boxes laid out on tables, and Council soldiers lined up in front of them doing weapons checks. The area around the duelling pistes had been cleared and mages were doing combat drills under the direction of Keepers. Sergeants and officers stood in the middle of small groups, delivering briefings. The noise was a constant roar, scores of people trying to raise their voices enough to be heard over everyone else.
A brown-haired figure detached from the nearest group and walked quickly towards us. Talisid gave me a preoccupied nod and left. ‘Alex!’ Luna shouted over the roar.
I beckoned and Luna moved closer. I looked her up and down; she was wearing a set of standardised black and grey combat armour of the type the Council makes available to Keepers and elite security. Rigid plates for the torso, a helmet for the head, light mesh for the arms and legs. Not as good as military body armour for stopping bullets, but it would do better against magical attacks and was a lot lighter. Good to see Talisid hadn’t cheaped out. ‘Looks good,’ I said.
‘Better than it feels,’ Luna said. ‘This stuff is heavy.’
‘I need to talk to Landis and Sonder,’ I said. ‘And Nimbus, but not until after Talisid’s found him first.’
Luna pointed. ‘Landis is over there, Sonder disappeared somewhere, and I’ve no idea about Nimbus.’
‘Find Sonder and bring him here. I’ll be with Landis.’
‘On it.’
Landis was near the duelling pistes, addressing a group of Council security, and he was in full cry. ‘Now, you see, this simply isn’t any good at all,’ he was saying. ‘Not at all! Take this sorry excuse for an armoured shell. Weber, just stand still for a moment, please, there’s a good fellow. No, no, don’t draw away. Now . . .’
The security man whose name was presumably Weber stood still with a slightly alarmed look. The men around him had unobtrusively edged away. Landis flicked out a hand and a brilliant, extremely precise blast of flame flashed out and struck Weber in the chest. Weber flinched, but it was there and gone in the time it took to blink.
‘The picture of health!’ Landis said, and held up an admonishing finger. ‘But! That was a mere one thousand degrees. Now if we try a mild increase to two thousand—’
‘Wait—’ Weber began.
The fireblast was noticeably brighter this time. Weber yelped as it hit his chest.
‘See?’ Landis said, pointing at the chestplate. ‘Look at that! Feel it. Oh, come on, come on.’ He grabbed the hand of one of the other security men, who unsuccessfully tried to pull away as Landis slapped the hand directly on to Weber’s chestplate. ‘You feel how warm it is?’
‘Yes, sir,’ the man said in a long-suffering tone.
‘That was a tenth of a second burst. If I’d held that spell for a mere two-tenths of a second longer, our dear friend Weber here would be on fire! Now, this is what happens when you don’t properly attend to your gear. The diffusion effects absolutely require regular maintenance or they’re no better than a fire extinguisher! Now go check out a new suit and we’ll test it when you get back.’
Weber disappeared with a look of relief. ‘Landis,’ I shouted over the noise. ‘Can I have a word?’
Landis whirled to face me. ‘Verus! Capital! Carry on for a moment, boys.’
I led Landis to a slightly quieter space near the wall. A stained-glass window loomed above us, gently glowing, a mage in rainbow colours depicted in combat with a dragon. ‘Now then,’ Landis said cheerfully. ‘How can I help our most recently instated, de-instated and reinstated Council member?’
‘I’m going to need your help dealing with Richard,’ I said, and explained.
Landis listened closely as I spoke, looking like an alert and unusually intelligent greyhound. ‘Well, that would explain the mystery, wouldn’t it?’ he said once I’d finished. He gave a single decisive nod. ‘Agreed.’
‘The problem is going to be Nimbus. I’m not sure he’ll be keen on following my lead.’
‘So you want a sheep to jump the fence first, eh?’ Landis grinned. ‘Not to worry. May be something of a delay, though. However, one slight potential problem does swim to mind. You aren’t a little concerned that this isolation ward might end up turning everyone in the shadow realm into a fine red mist, ourselves included?’