I heard back from the Council within the hour. Apparently I finally had their attention. As afternoon came, I prepared for what I hoped would be the last time I’d ever have to speak to them.
chapter 13
I stepped out of my cottage to find Karyos and Luna waiting in the clearing. “Heard from Vari?” I asked Luna.
“Yeah, he’s on standby. Again.” Luna shook her head. “I can’t believe Levistus is finally dead.”
I shut the door behind me. “Wanted to settle the score yourself?”
“No, I got over that way of thinking a long time ago. You really think you can pull this off?”
“One way or another. You good to stay here for a few hours?”
Luna frowned. “Be nice if you’d tell me why.”
I sighed. “I wish I knew.”
“You could always try, I don’t know, divining the future.”
“Don’t be snarky,” I told her. “I’ve tried. No matter how I conduct this audience with the Council, I can’t see any direct threat.”
“So what are you afraid of?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “That’s the problem. The futures look . . . volatile. I can’t see any threat right now, but that could change. And the sort of interview I’m about to have, with lots of unpredictability and decision points, is exactly the kind of thing that’s virtually impossible to see past.”
“But why do you want me here and not in my shop?” Luna asked. “If the Keepers are watching, it’s going to look suspicious as hell.”
“I know, but if anything happens, the Hollow’s a lot better protected. Please, Luna, just do this as a favour. It’ll put my mind at rest.”
Luna shrugged. “Well, I suppose I didn’t have anything really important to do. I’ll stay here till you get back.”
“Thanks.”
“Why did you also warn me?” Karyos asked. “You believe the Council will connect us?”
“Honestly, no,” I said. “It’s much simpler than that. I’ve lost too many people I care about by now, and you’re two of the only ones left. I’d have asked Vari to stay here as well if I thought he’d do it.”
“Yeah, fat chance,” Luna said. “Shouldn’t you be going?”
“Yes,” I said. But I still hesitated. “Hermes is here, right?”
Luna rolled her eyes. “Will you stop fussing? Look, we put up the gate wards on this place together. If the Council or someone else decides to break in, we are going to have more than enough time to do something about it. Now how about you start worrying about the problem you actually have?”
I wanted to say that Levistus’s shadow realm had had gate wards, too, and that hadn’t stopped me. But I knew that Luna’s response would be to ask whether there was anyone else running around with a fateweaver, and I’d have to answer no. There was still Richard to worry about, but if Richard had wanted to go after Luna, he’d had more than enough chances already and he hadn’t seemed to—
“Alex,” Luna said. “You’re going to be late.”
“All right. I’ll come back as soon as I have news.”
* * *
—
I gated to the spot I’d picked out for my audience with the Council. It was a clearing in a forestry area in Wales, in a dip between two hills. I’d picked out a selection of spots like this before my first time contacting the Council, and this was number three of ten. The others had been mostly in North and South America, but Wales felt appropriate. A lot of things had started here; this was a good place for them to end.
I made my preparations with more care than usual. Perimeter alarm focuses to warn me if anyone got close—my divination could do the same thing, but I wanted the extra layer of protection. Tripwires hidden in shadows between trees, where I could jump them but any pursuers wouldn’t see. Antipersonnel mines set up at key locations, where attackers would be funnelled into kill zones. Once I was done, I stepped back and studied my work.
It looked good. If anyone launched an attack, I should have more than enough time to decide whether to escape or to turn and fight. And to attack me, they’d have to find me, which would be quite a trick. I hadn’t used this site before, and in fact I hadn’t even decided to use this one at all until the very last minute. Once I started transmitting, they could track me down, but they’d have to get through my shroud, and it would be enormously difficult not to leave some warning that I’d sense well in advance. I checked back in with Luna and Karyos—they were fine. I checked in with November—he was safe in his new flat and reported nothing to be concerned about. I used the dreamstone to call Variam—he told me that he was on standby and no, he wasn’t being mobilised to go after me, and why was I sounding so worried if I wouldn’t tell him what about?
No matter what I did, I couldn’t sense any danger. Still, the uneasy feeling didn’t go away.
It was half an hour to the deadline when the first thing went wrong. The futures shifted and I could see that someone had the potential to find me. They weren’t here yet, but by the time the meeting was due to start, they’d have narrowed down my location and would be able to gate to me with little notice.
I could get away easily. But I’d spent hours preparing this site, and there was no way I’d be able to do all this setup again for a new location. Besides, if I did, what was to stop them following?
I could find some different and better-fortified location, but that would mean missing my window with the Council. That would send exactly the wrong message. I’d worked towards this for so long, I couldn’t screw it up now!
Shit. I checked the time. Twenty-seven minutes. What to do?
I paced, watching the futures grow more and more defined. I couldn’t see any evidence of actual aggression. Maybe they weren’t here for a fight.
With eighteen minutes to go, I made the decision to hold my ground. I’d wait him out, pretend he wasn’t there, and dare him to do something about it.
Fifteen minutes. Ten. I checked the futures obsessively. At this point it was pretty much useless and I knew it, but old habits die hard. Five minutes. One.
My com focus flashed exactly on time. I took a deep breath, then channelled through it. “Good afternoon, Alma,” I said. “It’s been a while.”
“Verus,” Alma said, her voice cold. “I believe you had something to discuss.”
Futures unfolded before me, different approaches, different words. Enough to tell me who was listening. “And Druss, and Bahamus, and Spire,” I said. “Oh, and can’t forget you, Undaaris.”