"And if I get you this list, what are you going to do with it?" he asked me.
"That depends what's on the list," I demurred.
"You're sure this isn't one of Blackbird's games?"
"To what end?"
Garvin sighed, "It's enough that she goes off on wild goose chases, Niall, without sending the Warders off on one as well."
"Aren't you always telling me to find out what I'm walking into before I engage?" I asked.
"Don't quote me back, Niall. I haven't the patience for it."
"We know they've stolen a feather and a key. The question is, what else have they stolen, and what will they go after next? I thought you'd be pleased that I was following my training."
Garvin raised an eyebrow, then folded his hands. "OK, I'll put a request in today. I don't know how long it will take them to respond. I'll get back to you when they do."
"Thanks," I said, standing. "Oh, and I'd like to borrow Amber, if I may?"
"Amber? Why?"
"I've tracked one of the escapees down, but every time I have him cornered, he disappears. I think it would be easier with some backup."
Garvin studied my face for a moment. "Very well. I'll talk to her."
"I've already mentioned it to her. It's OK with her if it's OK with you," I said.
"She's a Warder, she doesn't need permission," he said.
"She seemed to think it would be best to clear it with you first," I said.
Garvin looked at me long and hard. "Amber hasn't asked my permission to act on anything for a very long time."
"I'm only saying what she said to me."
"I'll speak to her," said Garvin, "but it's fine. In fact, I encourage you to work with the other Warders. Maybe some of their experience will rub off on you."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."
I turned and walked away.
"It's kept them alive," Garvin called after me. "You might want to bear that in mind."
At whose expense, I wondered.
"You don't need me for this," said Amber. "It's a job for one."
"You agreed to help," I pointed out.
"I thought he was dangerous. From what you've said, every time he spots you he takes off. That's hardly a threat."
"I still haven't managed to catch up with him."
She shook her head. "You're making it too easy for him — approaching in plain sight, announcing your presence before you need to — no wonder he gets away from you. If you're going to use those tactics you're going to have to learn to run a lot faster."
"I don't want to scare him. I'm trying to build trust."
"Perhaps that's not working out so well for him?" she suggested.
"Look, Amber, are you going to help me or not?"
She studied me for a while, and then nodded.
"Twice now I've chased him and each time he's come to this alley. Where he goes, I don't know, but he comes round here and then vanishes."
She turned around slowly, checking walls, floor, the rolldown shutters and the slot windows. "Not many places to go. Are you sure he isn't hiding out until you've gone?"
"Where?" I asked.
She drew her blade and poked through some of the binbags, finding only discarded waste and flies.
"My plan," I explained, "is to wait for him to appear and then introduce myself. I'll try and talk to him. If he bolts then he'll likely come here, where you can be waiting for him."
"Cornered animals fight harder," she remarked.
"I only want to talk to him. There's no reason for a fight."
"On your part, at least," she said. "We don't know about him."
"He hasn't shown any inclination to fight up until now. Let's keep it that way, shall we?"
"It would help if you knew what talents he possesses — evasion is clearly part of it."
"There's not enough information in the files to make any sense of it. We'll have to play it by ear. Are you OK with the plan? You'll have to wait here."
She leaned against the wall by the down-pipe. "I'm good at waiting."
As I watched, she closed in on herself, settling into stillness. After only a moment or two she might as well have been part of the wall.
"Great," I said, wishing I was more confident.
I made my way back to the market, wandering through the aisles and keeping a low profile, hoping to see Andy before he saw me. I looked for signs of someone using glamour — the faint heat haze in the air where someone is trying not to be seen, the unaccounted urge to look away when someone passes. As it was, I needn't have bothered. Half an hour later, Andy walked through the market wearing the coat, carrying the rucksack I'd left with the stallholder. Having escaped twice, he'd developed a boldness to his approach and sauntered casually through the stalls, greeting regulars by name.
I followed him through the stalls, watching him ply his trade. He sold jars of honey to a couple of stallholders, exchanging the golden jars for coins and notes. I began to see that he wasn't trying to supply the market with honey in bulk, but was selling jars individually to the stallholders themselves. The comment the guy who'd kept his coat had made about him charging retail price began to make sense. He wasn't looking for trade, he was looking for customers.
I followed him to the guy I'd left his coat with, and he stopped there and spoke with him. He passed over a jar, gesturing that he would take no money for it. It was a reward for returning the coat, perhaps. I waited out of sight until he finished his conversation and moved on, winding his way through the stalls. I placed myself in a position where he would be coming towards me on his way back out again, leaning casually against a pillar so that he could see I wouldn't chase him.
As he turned the corner and scanned the stalls he spotted me. I tried for a wave of the hand as a casual greeting, but he interpreted my move as a threat and bolted for the side street. I ran after him, tracking his progress out of the market into the street, heading for the alley.
I was only moments behind him. He had the rucksack hampering him and the coat flying out like a banner behind him as he ran. As soon as he came to the alley he dipped sideways.
I came around the corner to find him standing, arms raised and held out from his body. In front on him, Amber held her sword level with his throat, the tip of the blade only inches from him. Poised, she stood like a dancer. He looked back at me as I caught up behind him.
"It's OK," I said, slightly winded, "We only want to talk. She won't hurt you."
"Buuddzzz," he said.
I looked at him. "What?"
There was something strange about him. His skin became bumpy, as if some disease was erupting from within him. His form rippled as he swayed drunkenly, Amber's blade following his movement. It was as if he was no longer able to support his own weight.
Amber said, "What the…?"
His skin broke into fragments and evaporated, falling away to reveal a living crawling mass of tiny creatures. They streamed into a flying mass, spiralling out from the manshape, the coat and rucksack falling to the ground amid them. Amber and I staggered back from the swarming, circling mass as they filled the alley with their buzzing, rising and swirling upwards in a harmonious melee, spilling out over the roof until they vanished out of sight.
"Bees." I said, finally grasping what I'd seen. "He's made of bees!"
"Shapechanger," said Amber, "and not one I've seen before. Come on." She headed out of the alley.
"Where are you going?" I asked. "We're never going to catch him now."
"That's where you're wrong," she said.
I raced after her as she headed down the side street, rounded the block and turned back on herself into the shopping street that fronted the row. She scanned the skyline.