He hated this dark, dingy floor, where everything was damp and the sun never shone. He hated even thinking about it, let alone coming down here. But this plan was their best shot at stopping Harriet. When Kasper thought about Harriet, his brain screamed Stay away! and Not a good idea! It offered up no suggestions about how to defeat her.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Felix asked, worrying at his bottom lip with his teeth.
“I need to help. She killed your brother. I have to stop her.”
Felix dropped his head. “It’s too much. We’ll try something else. We’ll—”
“There’s nothing else.” There must have been something final in his voice because Felix stopped talking.
“Rock, paper, scissors to go in first?” Rima suggested. She was doing a very good job of hiding her terror. Or maybe he was the only one who was terrified.
Felix gritted his teeth. “No. I’ll go in first. I can protect you both, then.”
A shiver ran down the nape of Kasper’s neck. He really, really didn’t like the sound of that. Did Felix think he would have to hypnotize someone today?
He touched the back of his hand to Felix’s, and he immediately interlinked their fingers. Kasper was carefully not thinking about Felix’s confession earlier. Obviously, it hadn’t come as a surprise to Kasper that Felix liked him. He wasn’t that oblivious. But Kasper never, ever, ever let himself think about Felix’s feelings. It was off limits; an existential crisis waiting to happen.
Kasper had been perfectly happy burying it at the back of his mind, never to be acknowledged or addressed. But now, he had to face it, even though his mind kept skittering away in absolute terror. Felix wanted things from him. Things that Kasper couldn’t let himself give.
Whatever happened, all he knew was he absolutely couldn’t lose him.
He focused on the warmth of Felix’s skin, and tried not to think about what they were about to do. He gulped.
With Felix leading the way, they stepped inside the basement. Kasper’s heart was thudding in his ears like he was underwater and he knew the Tricksters would sense his fear and try to feed off it.
Everyone in the basement turned to watch them enter.
“Hi,” Felix said, into the roaring silence. “We’ve come to ask for a trade.”
His voice sounded steady. Only someone who knew him well would be able to detect the tremble of fear laced through the words. Kasper squeezed his hand.
No one moved or spoke, until Rufus stepped out of the darkness. The Trickster glowed with energy, looking as mind-numbingly awful as Kasper remembered.
Terror swept up his spine, but he ignored it. If any of them panicked, this was all over. Once you entered the basement, you were fair game. Any sign of weakness or fear, and the Tricksters would pounce.
“Felix Anekwe. What a pleasure.”
When Rufus sniffed the air, Kasper flinched. He could feel Rima trembling beside him. The Tricksters had been here long before him. They were old, and that hadn’t made them weak, like it had Leah. It had made them strong.
“Would you be willing to trade with us?” Felix repeated.
Vini was inching towards them, eyes fixed on Kasper. He must be able to feel the fear pouring off him.
“What, no time for chit-chat?” Rufus rolled up his sleeve, looking down at the tattooed spreadsheet on his arm. He counted up the Roman numerals, then said, “I see you’re in credit. I’m always happy to do business with someone reliable. This is the first time you’ve come to us personally with a request, though. Are things not working out to your liking upstairs?”
When Rufus took a step towards them, they all jumped back involuntarily. Felix held out one hand. “I know that you know what my power is. I will use it. Please stay where you are.”
He straightened his glasses and added, clearly trying to be diplomatic, “Sir.” A pang of affection hit Kasper’s heart.
The Tricksters both stopped moving, though they looked ready to pounce whenever the time was right. Kasper bit the inside of his cheek.
“I’ve always admired your power, Felix,” Rufus said. “Are you sure you don’t want to join us down here? We have much to offer you.”
Kasper thought he must mean a share of their black-market tradings. If Felix agreed to use his hypnotism on people who disobeyed Rufus, then they might give him first dibs on anything that turned up on the black market. The most valuable rewards were exotic animal spirits or the opportunity to use someone’s unusual powers. You had to be willing to sacrifice your morals to get the best things.
Felix shook his head, twice, and then again. Kasper couldn’t believe how calm he seemed. How controlled.
Rufus sighed. “It’s an open offer. Please consider it. Time is running out, though.”
Before Kasper could ask why, Felix said, “No, thank you. We’re here because we know you’ve got Harriet’s eyelid. We need it. Rima has a lot of credit built up from black-market trades that we’d like to cash in. On top of that, we’ve got something else you might be interested in.”
Vini was still creeping towards Kasper. He swallowed again and again, trying to ignore his fear. When Felix pushed Kasper behind him, he let himself be moved. Unlike Felix and Rima, he had no way of protecting himself, if this became a fight. His power was useless against other ghosts. Physical strength didn’t mean much when your opponent could summon monsters inside your head.
“What might you need this eyelid for, Mr Anekwe?”
“That’s none of your business,” Rima said, and then flinched when Rufus turned his attention on her.
“Rima Hamid, is that correct?”
“Yes, sir.” She shrunk in on herself.
“Ms Hamid, you are also welcome to join us. We’ve always dreamed of a power like yours. The possibilities are endless,” Rufus said dreamily. “Have you ever thought about producing hallucinogenic snake venom? We’ve become so bored with all the usual methods of having fun, after all these years. Venom would add a little edge to our days.”
There was an uncomfortable pause. “No, thank you,” she said, very politely.
“I suppose the same is true of the coward in the back? Mr Jedynak, it’s amazing that you’ve survived this long. You reek of fear like a frightened little rabbit.”
Kasper’s heart raced. He couldn’t think of a reply.
“Do you still have the eyelid?” Rima persisted.
“We still have the eyelid. But there’s only one thing you can offer that we’d accept.”
“What?” Felix asked, sharply.
“I want Kasper’s power, of course,” Rufus said. “And not just to borrow. I want to take it off him for good.”
“Absolutely not,” Rima spat out, while Kasper was still remembering how to breathe. “You can’t take it off him. He could disintegrate!”
Kasper felt sick. He’d been planning to let them use it once, not give it up completely.
Vini laughed.
Rufus sighed. “How disappointing. No power, no eyelid. I look forward to seeing what Harriet does next.”
“You can’t do this!” Felix snapped. “You can’t give her the knowledge to destroy people and then let her run wild.”
“And why not?” Rufus said. “None of you have ever done anything for us. In fact, your alignment with Aeliana proves that our interests are in direct opposition.”