Why are we bringing this girl along when she sounds like she’d be happier fighting for the other team?
Because she knows the shadow realm and she’s motivated, I said. Besides, we aren’t exactly drowning in help. Aside from her, our entire rescue team consists of you plus me.
She was working for Sagash until yesterday.
She’s a life mage. If you get cut open in that shadow realm, you’ll be glad to have her around.
Assuming she’s not the one who did the cutting. Luna sounded resigned. I hope you know what you’re doing.
We walked through the tunnels of the War Rooms, heading for the exit. Somewhere behind us, a couple of agitated-looking Keeper admins arrived in the Cathedral to question the people there about whether they’d seen a Korean Dark mage who hadn’t filled out her paperwork.
I sent Ji-yeong to Sainsbury’s with a shopping list while Luna and I gated to the Hollow. It was six o’clock and the sun was dipping low in the sky.
Back in my cottage, I geared up. I changed into a new set of clothes, then put on my armour. Once upon a time it had felt too heavy; these days, its weight was comforting. It’s saved my life so many times. I hoped it’d get me through this last battle as well.
Next came the dreamstone and the copper headband. I felt them react to the armour, and I had to work to reassure them. It felt like handling a pack of wary animals: don’t worry, they’re friendly, everything’s going to be fine. Once the imbued items had been soothed, I distributed my tools, lockpicks and gate stones between my pockets, along with my new bullet ward. Next I turned to my weapons.
Usually for serious battles my weapon of choice is my MP-7. It’s served me well over the years, and I’d considered bringing it out tonight, but in the end I’d decided against it. The most common enemies I’d be facing would be Anne’s jann and Sagash’s shadows, and neither were good targets for bullets. I could bring it along it as a backup, but wearing it on a sling while using the sovnya two-handed would be awkward – it would bump against me as I ran and get in my way as I swung the polearm. Small things, but those small things add up. When you’re gearing up for combat, you have to do a calculation on every piece of equipment, setting off the utility it brings against the risk that the extra weight will slow you down just enough to get you killed.
So instead of the MP-7, I strapped on my webbing belt and buckled my handgun into its holster. The old-model 1911 had a lot less firepower than the personal defence weapon, but it was easier to carry. More importantly, against the kinds of enemies I’d be running into, the extra power of the MP-7 wouldn’t do much good. Battle mages specifically optimise their shields against bullets – to get a shot through their defences, you generally have to catch them by surprise or get very close. A bigger gun doesn’t help you do either. Next, I slipped my knife into its sheath on the other side. Gunmen often underestimate knives, and mages almost always do.
In the past, I’d tended to rely on one-shots for situations like this, using them to cover my weaknesses. Unfortunately, the Council’s sentence had cut me off from my usual sources of supply, and by now my stocks had run out. I still had my stun focus and the mind shield I’d used against Levistus, but I wouldn’t have a supply of forcewalls and condensers. So for consumable items, I’d had to turn to other sources. I took out a small backpack and opened it to look through the contents, then once I was satisfied that the explosives inside hadn’t been messed with, I closed it and slung it over one shoulder.
And finally I turned to the sovnya. I’d owned the polearm for only four days, not long enough to get a good feel for its personality, but I was already wary of it. The imbued item had a very clear purpose – to kill magical creatures – and its bloodlust was a constant pressure, like a weight leaning against my mind. I also knew from past experience that it really didn’t care about collateral damage. When I ran into Variam and Anne, the sovnya would try to kill them with just as much enthusiasm as it had those jann. I would have to fight to keep it under control.
I sighed. As an apprentice, I’d dreamed of power. I’d imagined that it would set me free, open up a world of endless possibilities. But now that I had it, it turned out that real power wasn’t something that you could just take and forget about. Real power mostly came from relationships, often with people and entities that you didn’t particularly like, and to keep it you had to spend so long developing and maintaining those relationships that you didn’t have time to do much else.
There was nothing more to be done. I grasped the sovnya, glanced around and walked out.
Karyos and Luna were waiting. Luna had one of my short-swords fastened to her belt, as well as the old duelling wand Arachne had made for her; her hair was tied back and she looked focused and set. Karyos was standing with her hands clasped in front of her, barefoot in the grass, her simple dress a sharp contrast against Luna’s battle armour. She wasn’t coming with us, and I hadn’t asked. This wasn’t her fight.
I leant the sovnya against a tree before walking up to them. ‘We ready?’ I asked Luna.
‘Yup,’ Luna said. ‘Also, we’ve got another tagalong.’
A black nose appeared from behind Luna’s legs, followed by a vulpine head. Hermes walked out, sat in the open and looked at me.
‘You want to come?’ I said in surprise.
Hermes blinked.
Well, come to think of it, Sagash’s shadow realm had been his home. ‘I guess that makes four,’ I said. ‘You guys head to the exit. I’ll catch up.’
Luna nodded and headed for the gating point, Hermes trotting at her heels. I waited for her to get out of earshot, then turned to Karyos. ‘Thank you for your hospitality. I know we took the Hollow by right of conquest, but it’s your home.’
‘No thanks are necessary,’ Karyos said. ‘You have done much for me.’
‘I’ve spoken to Luna,’ I said. ‘If I don’t come back, she’s going to be your link to the outside world. I’ve left her most of my contacts. If there’s anything you need, she should be able to help, even if it’s just knowing where to go.’
‘I understand.’
I gave the hamadryad a smile. ‘Goodbye, Karyos. I’m sorry we didn’t have longer. I didn’t have as much time with you as I had with Arachne, but I would have liked to.’
‘May I ask a favour?’
‘Of course.’
‘If you can . . . please bring Anne back,’ Karyos said. ‘I grew to know her over the long months in my cocoon. We never spoke, but I felt her touch, the weave of her magic. This current form . . . in a sense, she gave birth to me. I do not want the only words I ever have with her to be those we shared when she attacked us.’
‘That’s what I want as well.’
‘Thank you.’ Karyos bowed. ‘Until we speak again.’
I took a last look at the beauty of the Hollow, then walked away.
7
The Arcana Emporium was quiet. Within the shop, the only noise was the tap of Luna’s shoes on the floor. The shelves and tables didn’t leave enough space to get up any kind of speed, but there was a little corridor in front of the counter where you could walk in a straight line for about twelve feet before having to turn around. I watched Luna pace to the far shelves, then back, then to the shelves again. Every ten minutes or so she’d realise what she was doing and you could see her consciously stop and lean against the counter, holding herself still. Within sixty seconds, she’d be pacing again.