Mutual Trust

MUTUAL TRUST

5 June 2059

There are certain memories that shape the person you become – memories that sink deep roots, changing the way you grow. For me, one of those memories was my escape from Gallows Wood.

The Rephs could be cruel, but they could also understand our pleas for mercy, even grant it. Their ancient enemies were something else. All that thing had wanted was to survive at any cost.

When I came round, it was still dark. Instead of a beamed ceiling, I was looking at a canopy. The gramophone was playing in the near distance. This time it was ‘In the Gloaming’ – a song I loved, performed in music halls.

My thoughts dragged. I couldn’t quite remember what had happened before this. It reminded me of when Jaxon had first let me try real wine. I had the vague sense that I should get up, but the bed was so warm, and my wrist hurt. I drifted back into a drowse.

When I woke fully, the curtains had been opened around me, so I could see the window to my right, the fire snapping nearby. To my left, Warden sat in the bay of the opposite window, accompanied by another Reph. For some reason, I was in his bed.

I watched him, my eyes barely open. He was talking to Terebell.

They weren’t speaking English. Their voices were soft and resonant, the words an unbroken glissade, sliding into one another with no stops for breath, more duet than conversation. A few spirits were nearby, almost dancing along. It reminded me of what happened when a whisperer played an instrument, or a polyglot sang.

Warden and Terebell were neither. Then again, none of the Rephs had auras I recognised. This must be the language of the Netherworld.

The two Rephs stood. As I continued to feign sleep, I remembered how I had got here. My fist clenched. The dirt of the forest lined the whites of my nails.

Terebell stopped talking. Her stance was stiff, her face hard. Warden touched her under the jaw – an intimate gesture, one I had never seen from a Reph. She seemed to soften, resting her forehead against his. They stayed that way for a moment, eyes closed, before she left the room.

Interesting.

Warden shut the door behind her. When I shifted on to my side, he looked at me.

‘Paige,’ he said. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘Fuck you.’

His eyes burned. ‘Better, I take it.’

‘You absolute bastard,’ I seethed. ‘The least you could have done was—’

At that point, I made the mistake of putting my left hand on the mattress and trying to brace my weight on it. I crumpled with a yelp.

‘Your wrist is broken,’ Warden said, deadpan.

‘Yes. Thanks for the warning.’ It had been splinted. ‘Why am I in your bed?’

‘You were cold.’

‘Oh, now you care.’ I gingerly moved my fingers and thumb. ‘Nashira clearly doesn’t mind how I die. You may as well let me freeze in the attic.’

‘You would never have died in Gallows Wood.’

‘Could have fooled me. I thought you said I wouldn’t have to fight the Buzzers?’

‘Nashira wanted you to encounter one. By forcing you to the height of terror, we tested your ability to use your gift under pressure.’

‘So she could take notes, no doubt.’ I used my other hand to sit up. ‘I didn’t sense anyone else in the woods. Who was going to stop it from eating me?’

‘I assure you that the conditions of your test were tightly controlled.’

‘That’s a flam and a half. If you think a circle of salt is protection, you’re off the cot.’

The slang flew out before I could stop it. Fortunately, Warden seemed oblivious.

‘The Emim cannot enter a salt circle,’ he said. ‘It kept you safe until you woke.’

‘Yes, after you had me sedated and dumped on my own in the woods,’ I snapped. ‘Could you not have just told me the next test was coming?’

‘The second test assesses your ability to adapt. An element of surprise was necessary.’

‘You think a lot of awful shit is necessary, Arcturus.’ I shoved off the covers. ‘Excuse me. I’ll take the room with the leak.’

‘You may not believe it,’ Warden said, ‘but I am trying to help you, Paige.’

‘Go to hell.’

‘I already exist on a level of hell.’

‘Exist on one that isn’t near mine.’

‘No. You and I made a deal, and I do not take oaths lightly. It is June,’ he said. ‘Tonight, you will join me for supper.’

‘Fine,’ I growled.

I shoved off the heavy bedding. My hair was still full of twigs and pine needles. I was surprised he had let me near his silk pillows, the state I was in.

Then again, his staff was very good at cleaning.

‘A bath has been drawn for you,’ Warden said. ‘Take as long as you wish.’

‘You’re … letting me have a bath?’

‘To warm yourself.’

For once, I decided not to argue. I still made a point of slamming the door on my way out, just to rattle his cage.

Several candles flickered in the bathroom. Now Warden mentioned it, I did have a chill. My fingertips were grey, my lips a touch darker than usual.

It took a while to undress with a broken wrist. I craned to look at my back in the mirror. A deep bruise had cropped up between my shoulder blades. I took off the splint, finding the base of my thumb sore and swollen.

A deep, steaming bath awaited me, smelling of lavender. Little by little, I sank into it, savouring every inch of water. Once I was in, I almost shuddered with relief. It had been so long since I had last been wrapped in heat like this.

I let my head fall back, my left hand resting on the side. The windows misted over as I lay there, too exhausted to move. A cake of honey soap, a nail brush, and a jar labelled SHAMPOO had been left for me. Once I had mustered the will to sit up, I scrubbed myself one-handed with the soap and set to work on my hair.

Warden must be trying to butter me up for our supper. I had to keep my wits about me. His consort was still hunting for Jaxon.

I lounged in the bath until it was lukewarm, then rinsed my hair under the cold tap, dried off with a fluffy towel, and slotted my arms into a thick robe, my jaw clenched against the pain in my wrist. Unlike the massive towel, the robe was clearly made for a human. I went up to the attic for my comb and untangled my hair.

Warden awaited me in his bedchamber, where he and Terebell had been sitting. He gestured to the seat on the other side of the alcove.

‘Please.’

I sat down. ‘Not the parlour?’

‘This window has a pleasant outlook. If it is not to your liking, we can use the parlour.’

‘It’s fine.’

Other than his goblet, the table built into the nook was set for one. I sat with my arms crossed, waiting for him to make conversation.

‘Michael is preparing your supper,’ he said. ‘I trust you feel better.’

‘Yes.’ I scraped back my wet hair. ‘I wouldn’t mind having a bath more often.’

‘Now you have passed your second test, that might be permitted.’

‘I still won’t thank you for giving me the most basic of dignities.’

‘You are under no obligation to thank me.’

‘Good.’

Warden took a sip from his goblet. I tapped my foot.

‘Merope tells me you attempted to possess the Emite,’ he said. ‘You had a narrow escape. Their dreamscapes are like flytraps, ensnaring the nearest spirits – yours included, I should think.’

‘I’ll add it to the list of things you didn’t warn me about, like cold spots,’ I said. ‘Is that how they get here from the Netherworld?’

‘Yes. Cold spots are gateways to our world, but living flesh cannot pass through them.’

‘So you can still go there, even though it’s decaying.’

‘For short periods of time. Sooner or later, we must return.’

‘To feed,’ I said.

‘Yes.’

His eyes were gold tonight. I glanced away from them, out of the window, which overlooked the old tree in the courtyard. It showed no sign of leaves or blossom, but lanterns hung from its branches. Gail lit them at dusk on her way to the Porters’ Lodge.

The fire warmed the bedchamber, drying my hair back into curls. In the parlour, the gramophone played ‘I Don’t Stand a Ghost of a Chance (With You)’ – a jazz standard from the twentieth century, blacklisted for the grave offence of having the word ghost in its title, even though it had nothing to do with ghosts.

‘You seem to like our music,’ I said, when Warden refused to break the silence.

His tastes, in fact, were almost identical to mine. I chose not to voice this.

‘Very much,’ he said. ‘Most of my records are from the free world. The quality of music has declined in Scion.’

‘You can blame the dedicated censors at the Ministry of Arts. Where do you keep your records?’

‘Above this very bedchamber.’ He nodded to the ceiling. ‘The upper floors have a separate entrance, to which I hold the only key. That is where I store my records, along with most of my books.’

I lifted an eyebrow. ‘Should you be telling me this?’

‘It is a petty treason. Nashira would simply confiscate my collection if you chose to inform her.’ He locked eyes with me. ‘One might wonder how you knew my records were blacklisted.’

I should never have given that away.

‘The lyrics.’ To deflect his attention, I nodded to his goblet. ‘That drink illegal, too?’

‘Indeed. This is nectar of the amaranth flower, mixed with red wine.’

‘I’ve never heard of amaranth.’

‘I used it to treat your wound from the ethereal fence. It alleviates the pain of spiritual injuries, and may heal them, if applied swiftly. I have a limited supply, or I would offer it to you. I suspect it would help you to recuperate from dreamwalking.’

Jaxon would never let me rest again if he got wind of this.

‘You’re not a dreamwalker,’ I said. ‘Why do you drink amaranth?’

‘Old wounds.’

‘From the Buzzers?’

Warden looked at me in silence, his eyes as lambent as the fire.

Michael arrived with my supper just then. He set it down on the table.

‘Thank you, Michael,’ Warden said. ‘Perhaps you would care for a drink tonight, Paige.’

‘Will it have a sedative in it?’ I muttered. Michael gave me a sheepish look. ‘I don’t blame you, Michael. I’ll take a coffee, if you have it.’

Michael nodded and left. I uncovered the dish, letting out a small cloud of steam. This time, my supper was a pie with a perfect fluted crust, served with a generous helping of gravy, creamy mash and buttered peas.

‘This looks nice.’ I poured the gravy. ‘A bath and my first square meal in days. You’re spoiling me. Truly, your generosity is unrivalled.’

‘You have not even started your supper yet, Paige.’ His eyes smouldered. ‘Try not to waste all your sarcasm in one breath.’

‘I’m impressed you understand it. There was me thinking you were all brawn and big words.’ I cut a hefty wedge of pie. ‘Don’t think that interruption got you off the hook. I’ve seen a Buzzer now. I want to know why you would ever choose to fight one.’

Warden waited for me to take my first bite, as if he thought he might distract me.

‘The red-jackets bear a difficult burden. When I can, I support them from the shadows,’ he eventually said. ‘I have the strength and means to seal the creatures back into the Netherworld. Their cold spots will always open again, thanks to the broken threshold and the nature of this city, but I can delay their return.’

‘But the other Rephs won’t risk the corruption you mentioned. That’s why they send us.’

‘Yes.’

He delivered all this with no emotion. As I ate, I looked at him, my brow creasing.

‘Can I be honest with you?’

‘By all means,’ Warden said.

‘I’ve lived with you for weeks, and I still don’t understand you. You go out of your way to help the red-jackets. You’re gentler than the other Rephs, but sometimes you look at me as if I’m the bane of your existence. You don’t make sense to me.’

‘Not understanding does not mean there is no conclusion.’ He clasped his gloved hands. ‘It simply means you have yet to discover it.’

‘You could just tell me.’

‘Perhaps I do not trust you, Paige.’

The absolute gall of him.

‘Not that I want your trust,’ I said, ‘but I’ll thank you to remember that you have all the power here, and I still haven’t breathed a word to Nashira.’

‘That may be because you have no evidence.’

‘I would never give her anything. I don’t care if you don’t believe it. Think whatever you like of me.’

‘Help me form an opinion.’ Warden held my gaze. ‘You have not only kept my secret. You are holding one of your own, Paige Mahoney.’

‘What?’

He rose. I watched him remove a panel from the wainscoting. When he drew something from the hidden nook, I stiffened.

‘I believe this belongs to you.’ He sat back down with it. ‘The night of your arrest, the Overseer mistimed his shot, causing you to fall. The only reason you survived is because your backpack caught on a wire.’

My heart pounded.

‘Aludra is responsible for examining our prisoners’ effects. Fortunately, I saw your backpack first,’ Warden said. ‘None of the other detainees were trained to run or climb, as you were. None of them had this.’

He held up On the Merits of Unnaturalness. I could feel myself turning grey.

‘I should have known,’ I said in a whisper. ‘You would never give a human a bath or a meal without a return, would you, Warden?’

‘This is not an interrogation, Paige.’

He placed the pamphlet on the table.

‘Aludra did not see this,’ he said, ‘but she and a human assistant did make other observations. Aside from the marks on your palm, you also have other scars on your hands and arms, consistent with defence wounds. One of your boots had an improvised pocket for a knife. Your hands were callused, indicating a familiarity with climbing and strength training. You carried a pistol and ammunition that could only have been acquired on the black market at significant cost.

‘Your database entry states that you are a waitron at Oxidate, a bar in Holborn,’ he continued. ‘I decided to test this claim. No regular patrons have ever seen or heard of you. Your employer has continued to pay you, despite your conspicuous absence.’

Bill was a local voyant. In exchange for exemption from syndicate tax, he paid and vouched for me, giving the impression that I had a steady job. I smoothed it out by withdrawing the money and handing it to Jaxon. For three years, that deal had allowed me to live a double life.

Jaxon had forgotten to tell Bill I was missing.

Shit.

‘Even if you did work at Oxidate,’ Warden said, ‘payment for ossistas is low. You could not have acquired an illegal gun after only three years of work.’

‘What do you know about the cost of illegal guns?’

‘There is also the matter of the phone found after your arrest. Your fingerprints were detected on its surface, but you are not the registered owner. Like the gun, this device must have come from the black market. Either someone purchased these supplies for you, or you have an undeclared source of income.’

I was starting to sweat.

‘The device had made just one call, to a public telephone box,’ Warden said. ‘Why is that?’

‘It was a misdial,’ I said.

‘I doubt it.’ The slightest tilt of his head. ‘You mentioned having voyant friends. Did any of them belong to the syndicate?’

He had me. At this point, a white lie would serve me better than denial.

‘I’m a thief – lockpicking, finewiring, that sort of thing,’ I finally said. ‘I steal for a local fence. They pay me upfront and sell my spoils at a profit. I’m good enough to have afforded the gun, but I’m small fry.’

‘Who did you call?’

‘The fence. I hoped they could help me, but it was a long shot.’

‘Why does the oxygen bar pay you?’

‘I needed a cover to get a travel permit for that section. It’s where the best marks are,’ I said. ‘Bill cleans my record; I don’t pick on his customers. He doesn’t know I’m voyant. He just likes me.’

Warden looked at my clenched hand, then flicked his gaze up to catch mine.

‘I think not,’ he said.

I hitched up a smile. ‘What, you can’t imagine that anyone would like me?’

‘You are both too rare and too proud to be a pickpocket. Your gift would have drawn other eyes in the underworld.’ He nodded to On the Merits. ‘You implied there is a hierarchy. The author of this pamphlet may have helped create it. He would clearly have an interest in a gift like yours. We believe he is known as the White Binder.’

Fuck.

Jaxon hadn’t written under that name. Warden connecting the two meant he knew a little more about the syndicate than I had anticipated.

‘The White Binder would skin a kitten just to shine his shoes with it,’ I said. ‘You think he would ever stoop to employing a brogue?’

Another lie. No one in the syndicate had ever cared that I was Irish, least of all Jaxon Hall – but if I could make Warden believe it was a hindrance even in the underworld, it might keep him off my scent.

Warden just looked at me. His face held less emotion than a washed dishplate, but I still had a strong notion that he didn’t believe a word.

A lie is harder to distinguish when it dances with the truth.

‘I did ask to work for him,’ I said. ‘He turned me down. I tried to nick his pocket watch to prove myself to him, but all I could get was that rag.’

I was building a wall of lies brick by brick, with no time to put mortar on it. Warden was clearly in the mood to give it a tremendous push.

‘I understand why you would spin this tale.’ His voice was soft. ‘What would your friends in the Rookery say, if you did work for a man like the White Binder?’

My body was already so tense, it took the lightest touch to spring it. I snapped out of my seat, my spirit rearing, the taste of blood in my throat.

Warden looked me right in the eyes, daring me.

Michael chose that moment to return with my coffee. Seeing our stances, he placed the tray between us and saw himself out, hands raised.

‘You may think I’m some opportunistic lowlife,’ I said softly, ‘or you might be goading me into becoming one. Either way, I will not turn nose. You can waterboard me, you can beat me senseless, but you will not pry one more word out of me about that pamphlet. Got it?’

Warden stood as well. For a cold moment, I thought he would actually call my bluff and hit me. Instead, he held up On the Merits of Unnaturalness, forcing me to look at it, the cause of my downfall.

And then he threw it into the fire.

‘You have no evidence against me,’ he said. ‘Now I have none against you.’

I stared at it, then at him. ‘Why?’

‘An overture to mutual trust.’

I walked to the fire. The last of the pamphlet curled up and vanished.

‘We still know too much about each other,’ I said. ‘At this point, you’d be wiser to get rid of me.’

‘Perhaps I am not wise.’

Warden joined me by the flames. Our auras brushed, sending a brief shiver through me.

‘Nashira holds a feast at her residence at the beginning of each season. I received an invitation for you,’ he said. ‘It explains why she wanted you to be tested so quickly. She wishes you to join the summer feast.’

‘Rephs don’t eat.’ I glanced at him. ‘What does she do at these feasts?’

‘She asks questions.’

‘You’re sure she isn’t going to surprise me with a knife to the throat?’

‘You will be killed when I deem you ready,’ he said, ‘but she has requested that I prepare you in time to be executed at the Bicentenary.’

Just as Liss had suspected.

‘Put me out of my misery.’ I watched the flames. ‘How is she going to do it?’

Warden was silent for so long, I thought he wouldn’t answer. Finally, he turned to me, one hand on the mantelpiece. The fire crackled.

‘What do you know of angels?’

‘A class of breacher,’ I said. ‘A guardian angel is formed by sacrifice. The spirit lingers to protect the person they died to save. An archangel is similar, but stays to protect a bloodline. They’re both rare.’

No point in feigning ignorance now.

‘Nashira can make a third sort of angel,’ Warden said. ‘If she kills a clairvoyant, she can not only trap their spirit, but misappropriate their gift. We call these fallen angels. They are bound to remain with their murderer.’

The death I feared – trapped with an immortal binder, used for all eternity.

‘She’s your consort,’ I said quietly. ‘No matter what you do to help me, I can never trust you. Not when you choose to be with her.’

‘Do not judge too quickly, little dreamer.’

I shot him a quizzical look. ‘Who are you calling little, Reph?’

Warden made a point of looking down at me from his tremendous height. I defensively stood up as straight as I could, but still got no higher than his shoulder.

‘Wait.’ I raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you trying to tease me?’

‘Am I succeeding?’

It surprised me enough that I smiled against my will, hiding it behind my hair.

He could still be trying to break my guard. I had heard the way they laughed – this had to be the same mimicry, to convince me he was human. I couldn’t let him win my trust like that, with false promises.

But he had burned the pamphlet.

‘I’d like to visit the Rookery,’ I said. ‘Do I get my red tunic yet?’

‘Not yet. You have one more test to pass.’ Before I could ask, he turned away. ‘You should finish your supper and coffee. After that, you may go.’

Now it was summer, the performers were shaking and airing their bedding, drying their clothes on lines they had strung between the shacks. The city was still cold and hazy with fog, but they were trying, as if they could make the seasons matter by sheer force of will.

The Rephs were on to me. They had read my body like a map, down to the nicks I had from fighting off rival gangs and thieves.

But only Warden knew for sure. Without the damning pamphlet, I still had an inch of room to manoeuvre.

Liss was in her shack, wrapped in the blanket I had got for her, cooking one of her foragers’ stews. When I came in, she released her breath.

‘What happened to your wrist?’

‘I fell on it,’ I said. ‘It’s broken.’

‘There was a rumour you took your test,’ Liss said. ‘Did you pass?’

‘By the skin of my teeth. Can I join you?’

‘You’ll get no love from the red-jackets for associating with harlies.’

‘I don’t care about them.’

Liss gave me a tired smile and patted a cushion. Once I was settled, she offered me a bowl.

‘You keep it,’ I said. ‘Warden just gave me something to eat.’

‘He must be pleased you passed,’ Liss said. ‘You should get plenty of food now, to keep your strength up for patrolling Gallows Wood.’

‘He said I won’t be stationed there.’

‘Where will you be, then?’

‘Here, I hope.’

‘That’s nice to know.’ Liss reached for a ladle. ‘The red-jackets have been … confrontational, of late. We’re not doing so many shows while we prepare for the Bicentenary. They’re getting bored, and when they’re bored, they make their own entertainment in here.’

‘I’ll stop them.’

‘Just be careful. The Rephs can always revoke your red tunic.’

‘At least I’ll have used it for good.’ I adjusted my splint. ‘How’s training?’

‘Hard work, but at least it’s indoors. Now we’ve all prepared our routines, we’ve moved from the Fell Theatre to the Guildhall.’

‘Where’s that?’

‘Magdalen Walk, up near the House. That’s where the Bicentenary will be. Beltrame wants us to get used to that space.’

Julian ducked into the shack, holding two cups. ‘Paige,’ he said, looking relieved. ‘I overheard David saying you took your test. Did you pass?’

‘Just.’ I held up my left hand, snug in its splint. ‘With a broken wrist.’

‘I’d say you got off lightly, from the injuries we see around here.’ He handed a cup to Liss. ‘Do you think I should take my test, or refuse?’

‘I don’t know what yours will be like. I had to get back to the city while being stalked by a Buzzer.’

‘Paige, keep your voice down,’ Liss said under her breath. ‘You’re not supposed to tell us.’

‘My test was controlled,’ I said, quieter. ‘You might have to fight or hunt one. If they tell you to do that, I’d get the yellow streak and come out here. It’s not worth your life, Jules.’

Julian nodded slowly. ‘Why was yours controlled?’

‘Nashira wants to execute me herself. Warden confirmed it.’

Liss stared at me. ‘He did?’

‘Yes. You were right. She plans to kill me for my gift at the Bicentenary.’ I drew my knees to my chest. ‘If she does it then, I’ll have been here for half a year when I die. It’s poetic, really.’

‘Why?’

‘That’s how long a farmer waits to send a lamb for butchering.’

My father had told me that, one dark night when despair overwhelmed him. There had been a slaughterhouse a few miles from our dairy farm. It had been knocked down by the time I was born, but my father had walked near it on his way home from school.

‘Warden has been training me so Nashira can absorb my gift at its best,’ I said. ‘He’s the one who decides when I’m ready.’

Julian grimaced. ‘So if you want to live longer, you need to get him to … like you?’

‘Fat chance of that happening.’

Still, Warden didn’t seem to hate me quite as much as he once had. By burning On the Merits, he had severed my link to the underworld, protecting my privacy. He wanted us to trust each other.

‘I’ll find you something for your wrist,’ Liss said. ‘Jules, could I have a few minutes with Paige?’

‘Of course.’ Julian stood. ‘Jos wanted to go looking for berries, anyway.’

‘You might find raspberries in the old physic garden opposite Magdalen. It’s not usually guarded, but it is overgrown.’ Liss passed her clippers to him. ‘Make sure you don’t go near the glasshouse. Duckett grows his aster there, and he’ll not be happy if you tamper with it.’

I lifted an eyebrow. ‘Do the Rephs know about it?’

‘Aye, I think so. They mostly tolerate Duckett.’

‘Noted,’ Julian said.

He left the shack. Liss went into her stocks of herbs.

‘Still no willow bark, but I did find some comfrey,’ she said. ‘They call it knitbone.’

Liss set about making a poultice. With care, she soaked the leaves in boiling water, then cut and mashed them as much as she could, slathered the pulp on my swollen wrist, and wrapped it in strips of cloth.

‘Leave that on for the rest of tonight.’ She touched my elbow. ‘How are you feeling about the Bicentenary?’

‘I still haven’t found a way out of here,’ I said. ‘My only hope is to fight.’

Liss looked me in the eyes.

‘You said you’ve never heard your cards read,’ she said. ‘Would you like to see your future?’

‘Now?’

‘Aye.’ She paused. ‘Have you ever had any sort of reading?’

‘No,’ I admitted.

I had been tempted once or twice, but I had never been convinced that glimpsing the future was a good idea. Even though I had met cartomancers before, I had only ever used cards – unclaimed ones – for games of tarock and tarocchi.

‘Go on,’ I said.

Liss took her deck from its box and placed it between us. This was her favoured numen, one she had used exclusively for years. I could feel the strength of the bond.

‘Give me your hand,’ she said.

I held out my good one. Liss grasped it. An expression of intense concentration took over her face as her fingers dipped into the deck. One by one, she removed seven cards and placed them face down on the floor.

‘I use the ellipse spread,’ she said. ‘While your aura is in contact with mine, I choose seven cards and interpret them. Not all broadsiders will give you the same interpretation of a card, so don’t be too nervous.’ She released my hand. ‘The first one tells us something about your past. I might get a glimpse of your memories.’

‘You see memories?’

‘Just sometimes.’ Liss allowed herself a faint smile. ‘Not all of us get visions, but some do. Even On the Merits acknowledged it.’

She turned over the first card.

‘Five of Cups,’ she said, closing her eyes. ‘You lost something when you were very small. There’s a man with auburn hair. It’s his cups that are spilled.’

‘My father,’ I said.

‘Yes. You’re standing behind him, speaking to him. He doesn’t answer.’ Without opening her eyes, Liss flipped the next card. It was upside down. ‘This is the present – King of Wands, inverted.’ Her red lips pursed. ‘He controls you. Even now, you can’t escape his hold.’

‘Warden?’

‘I don’t think so, but he is an authority figure – a man shaped by cruelty. His expectations of you are too high. You’re afraid of him.’

Jaxon.

‘Right.’ I cleared my throat. ‘Can you see him?’

‘I see his wand – a staff of bone.’ She was falling into a trancelike state. ‘He wears a crown of many secrets, and the shadows are his throne.’

I needed to confess. It was too hard to hold it inside any longer.

After this reading was over, I would tell her the name of the King of Wands.

‘Next is the future.’ She turned the card, drawing a sharp breath. ‘The Devil. This card represents a force of hopelessness, restriction, fear – but you’ve given into it yourself. Whatever power this person will have over you, you will be able to escape it.’

‘Is that Warden?’

‘I don’t know.’ She opened her eyes for a moment, offering a smile. ‘Don’t worry. The next card will tell you what to do when the time comes.’

I looked down at the fourth card. ‘The Lovers?’

‘Yes.’ As Liss closed her eyes again, her voice dropped to a monotone. ‘I can’t see anything, but there’s tension between spirit and flesh. The card has weight. This will be a pillar of your life.’

Her fingers crept towards the next card. I pushed my hair behind my ear, waiting.

I really hadn’t expected the Lovers. The Major Arcana wasn’t always to be taken literally, but that card did often represent an intimate relationship, from what little I knew about it.

‘External influences,’ Liss said. ‘Death, inverted.’ She showed me the skeletal rider. ‘Death crops up in most voyants’ readings, but not usually in this position.’ Her eyes flickered beneath their lids. ‘This far ahead, my sight gets hazy. I know the world will change around you; death itself will work in different ways. By delaying the change, you’ll prolong your own suffering.’

‘Can I avoid any of this?’

‘That is beyond our ken,’ she said. ‘The sixth card points to your hopes and fears.’ She picked it up, ran her thumb over it. ‘Eight of Swords.’

The card showed a blindfolded woman, bound in a circle of upturned swords.

‘I can see you.’ Her voice cracked, her skin glowing with sweat. ‘You can’t move in any direction with ease. You can stay in one place, trapped and stagnant, or feel the pain of the swords. All paths lead to anguish.’

This was a nightmarish spread. I wasn’t sure I could stand to see the last card.

‘And now the end.’ Liss reached for it. ‘The seventh.’

The æther trembled.

‘Wait.’ I caught her wrist, my nerve failing. ‘Liss, I need to tell you something.’

‘What is it?’

‘The King of Wands.’ I spoke in a whisper. ‘I think it represents my boss.’ Liss shook her head, frowning. ‘I’m in the syndicate.’

‘Okay.’ Liss was out of her trance now, her face softening. ‘It’s all right, Paige. I thought you might be, with your gift. We all do what we must to—’

‘No. You need to know who I am,’ I forced out. ‘I’m not just a member of the syndicate. I’m a mollisher. My mime-lord is the White Binder.’

She stared at me, her lips parting.

‘What have we here?’

I let go of Liss. Three red-jackets had just sauntered into the shack. One of them seized her by her other wrist, yanking her to her feet.

‘Hello, Silks,’ he said. ‘Reading for your guest, are you?’

‘Emil, I was just—’

‘You were just using the æther in private,’ said another, a woman, with the air of a committed jobsworth. ‘You only read for your keeper, 1.’

‘You know I have no keeper, Kath.’

‘Gomeisa still calls you. Your gift is only for his use.’

‘Leave her alone,’ I said.

They looked at me.

The woman had thick mousy hair, drawn into a bun, showing that one of her ears had been cropped. The two men looked so alike that they could only be twins, sharing the same dimples and blue eyes. The only difference I could see was that one of them was missing half a forefinger.

They were all in their twenties or early thirties, with a good number of scars. None of them were from my Bone Season.

‘There you are,’ one of the men said. ‘We heard you passed your second test. We’ve been hoping to run into you, 40.’

‘Have you, now?’

‘Suhail told our keepers that we couldn’t find you, that day you missed the curfew. They beat us.’

‘And you’ve been sore ever since.’ I sighed. ‘Sounds like you’ve a problem with the Rephs, not me. I didn’t beat you.’

‘They’re good to us.’

‘Yes, they sound it.’

Liss shook her head, still restrained by the other man. I stared them all down.

‘You don’t deserve the honour of a red tunic,’ Kath sneered. ‘You show up here like you own the place – throwing your special gift around, using it to attack the Rephs. Warden didn’t even discipline you, from the looks of it.’

‘I didn’t ask to come here,’ I pointed out. ‘Your keeper take that ear off ?’

‘It was the price I paid.’

‘We’ve been here for years,’ one of the men said. ‘This is our place.’

I smiled. ‘So, what, you’re here to put me in mine?’

‘You understand.’

‘Well, look at you. The big man.’ I arched an eyebrow. ‘Nashira will crop more than your ears if you kill me. You sure you want to try?’

‘We’re not here to kill you, brogue,’ Emil said, with a short laugh. ‘Since the Warden didn’t take your ear, we thought we’d serve justice ourselves.’

‘It’s only fair.’ Kath unsheathed her own blade. ‘It won’t hurt for long.’

Hector had tried to intimidate me when I first joined the underworld at sixteen. He had wanted the pleasure of introducing me to its violence. It was only the arrival of a poltergeist that had stopped him.

‘Give it your best shot,’ I said.

Kath took a step towards me. I stood to meet her, reminding myself to be careful. This woman had been training for a decade. She was tall and strong, and must have survived many patrols in Gallows Wood.

Emil and his brother were both mediums, while Kath was some kind of augur. I had a feeling none of them were going to use their gifts.

They wanted blood.

‘Warden isn’t here to save you,’ Emil said, keeping hold of Liss. ‘What are you going to do, 40?’

His brother reached me first, going straight for my broken wrist. Quick as a flash, I jabbed my other fist into the hollow of his throat, making him reel away.

‘Oliver,’ Emil barked.

He shoved Liss aside and flew at me, grabbing me hard by the neck. Before I could so much as choke, I sliced both my arms upward between his, forcing his elbows apart, and shoved him back far enough to kick him in the chest. A flicker of surprise crossed his face as he went sprawling.

They must think Warden had pampered me for three months. Nick had taught me to fight long before that. My wrist throbbed as I backed away.

This space was too small for a scrap, and I was outnumbered. I ducked a furious swing from Oliver before Kath clutched a fistful of my hair and drove my head into the wall. Next thing I knew, she was on my back, and the knife was at my ear. I managed to roll her off me and pin her, only for her to do the same to me. I caught hold of her wrist, stopping her blade an inch from my cheek.

Kath screamed through her teeth. My arm shook. I reached up and tried to gouge her eye, but her elbow was on my head, the knife at the top of my ear. I felt the hot pull of it through my skin, the blood.

With full intent, I threw my spirit, striking her dreamscape with the force of a clapper against a bell. She rolled off me with a strangled cry.

‘Fucking brogue—’

‘Oh, get a new one,’ I ground out.

‘Kath, stop it!’ Liss tried to haul her away from me. ‘Has Kraz made you this cruel?’

‘He’s my keeper,’ Kath said, glaring at her. ‘I owe him this life.’

‘He took your ear!’

‘And gave me a second chance! I refuse to be like you, living in my own filth, content to be nothing,’ Kath spat. ‘You’re pathetic, Liss.’

Liss lifted a hand to her cheek. I couldn’t bear to see the hurt in her eyes.

‘We’re not done,’ I said to Kath.

She stiffened. The moment she rounded on me, I drove my fist straight into her chin, snapping her head to the side.

Kath stumbled and made a grab for my broken wrist, twisting it as she pulled me with her. Eyes watering, I dug my nails into the skin between her thumb and forefinger, my pain so bad I was almost retching.

Oliver was on me next, trying the exact same move as his brother, trying to choke me. I clamped my good hand on the back of his neck and cracked my forehead straight into his nose, drawing a shriek of pain. I tried again to get to Liss, only for Emil to flatten me with a punch to the face, bursting my lip like a grape.

‘Paige!’

Julian was suddenly there. From his bloodshot eye and swollen cheek, they must have reefed him before they even reached the shack. Seeing me on the floor, he wrapped a chokehold around Emil.

‘This how you grubbers get your kicks?’ It was the first time I had ever seen him angry. ‘This what you do when you can’t laugh at dancers?’

‘You’re bones, 26,’ Emil wheezed. I got back up. ‘Wait until Aludra hears about—’

‘Tell her. I’d sooner be dead than be one of you.’

Julian yanked him around and socked him upside of the jaw. Jos appeared in the doorway, looking fearful. A few other performers gathered behind him.

‘Rymore,’ Cyril called.

‘Jos,’ I said thickly, ‘run to Magdalen and get the Warden. Tell him I’m in trouble.’

‘Don’t even think about it,’ Kath shouted at him. ‘You find Suhail, do you hear me?’

Jos looked at me, then at Liss, then at Kath. His stare became defiant.

‘I’m going to get the Warden,’ he said.

‘You little traitor,’ Emil bellowed as Jos bolted. ‘Suhail will deal with all of you!’

Kath lunged at me. Still disconcerted from using my spirit against her, I buckled under her furious charge. Liss came rushing to help, but Kath lashed out with her knife, making Liss yelp. My chest jolted. I shoved myself straight up off the floor, intending to disarm Kath.

‘Hurry up, Kath,’ Emil snarled, still wrestling with Julian. ‘Just do it!’

But Kath had frozen, staring at Liss, whose arm was bleeding. Oliver moved instead, taking me down at the waist. His weight crushed the breath from my chest. As I wrestled against him, a yellow glow flared in the corner of my eye.

The stove. Someone had knocked it over, and flames were racing across the floor.

Liss saw, her eyes widening. Julian and Emil fought in a fury, teeth bared. Unless we could stop this, we were all about to burn to death together. Desperate, I grabbed at Oliver, finding his hand on my shoulder; I tried to roll out from under him, but he was thick with muscle.

A grey haze of smoke was filling the shack. Liss scrambled to gather her cards, scraping the deck back together. Kath got to one of them first.

‘Oh, look.’ She waved it at me with a laugh. ‘I think this one’s for you, 40.’

The card showed a man lying flat on his front, staked to the ground by ten swords.

‘No,’ Liss said hotly, trying to snatch it back. ‘That wasn’t the last—’

‘Shut your trap,’ Kath shouted at her. Oliver had me in a headlock, which I writhed and kicked to escape. ‘Useless shitsayer. You think it’s so hard to dance for your keep while we’re out there getting eaten alive?’

‘You didn’t have to go back. We had a life here,’ Liss said, tears springing. ‘Kathy—’

‘Shut up!’ Kath was beyond anger now, heedless of the spreading fire. ‘Every night I’m out in the woods, trying to stop the Buzzers ripping out your worthless throat, all so you can sit on your nancy and play with cards and ribbons. I’ll never be like you again, you hear me?’

I used to share this place with a friend, but she couldn’t bear the shame of being a performer. After a bad winter, she convinced her keeper to give her one more chance. My eyes stung from the smoke, the frustration. She’s been a bone-grubber ever since …

Julian hauled Emil outside. ‘Paige,’ he shouted at me. ‘Paige, the fire!’

It was raging now, licking up the walls, the bed erupting into flame. This place was about to go up like a tinderbox.

I risked using my spirit again. Oliver let me go with a scream, as if I had scalded him. I dived for the cards, but Kath got there first. Her boot clipped the side of my head. She seized the deck and let out a joyless laugh. Liss watched her in absolute terror, the fire reflecting in her eyes.

‘We are not the same,’ Kath hissed at her. ‘We will never be the same, Liss Rymore.’

She flung the entire deck into the fire.

Liss let out a gut-wrenching scream. Every hair on my nape stood on end.

The cards burned up like dry leaves. As the images curled, the æther strained. As Liss lunged for them, I finally reached her, catching her wrists.

‘It’s too late, Liss—’

She had already plunged her fingers into the fire. Weeping in denial, she watched the cards blacken, one numen consuming another.

‘Liss, come on,’ I said, coughing. ‘Come on!’

Kath had frozen again. Liss stared up at her, tears on her cheeks. I pulled her limp arm over my shoulders and towed her out of the shack.

In the Rookery, half the performers were saving their meagre supplies, while others were running for water. Eyes raw from the smoke, I tried to carry Liss, whose strength was already failing. Julian met us in the food shack and lifted her. We shouldered and shoved our way from the settlement and ran towards the Townsend.

‘Paige,’ Julian called over the din, ‘what happened to Liss?’

‘Kath torched her cards.’

Julian put her down gently on the steps. Her face was already tinged with grey, her lips with shadow. She choked out heartbroken sobs, her red hands trembling. I cradled her to me. Her small body heaved.

‘I’m sorry,’ I whispered.

‘Paige,’ she sobbed out.

I stroked her tangled hair. She had been using those cards for at least a decade; they might even have belonged to her father. Without her favoured numen, she could no longer connect to the æther.

Liss was about to go into spirit shock.

The Rookery was ablaze. Kath stumbled from inside, soot and disbelief on her face. Behind her, Terebell and Graffias appeared. Graffias summoned a huge spool of spirits and sent them into the settlement, while Kath bore down on us, still with the knife in her hand.

‘None of that had to happen if you had just taken your fucking punishment,’ she said hoarsely to me. ‘Get up, 40. I’m not done with you.’

Julian took charge of Liss. I stood, facing Kath.

‘I know you’ve been here for a while,’ I said coldly, ‘but what happened to you in Scion that you would take that much pleasure in power?’

‘I put Liss out of her misery. What is the point of living like her, with no hope, no ambition, nothing?’ she burst out. ‘She’s – she’s pointless.’

Kath had barely finished speaking before her nose started to bleed, and her face purpled with an influx of pressure. When she touched her nose and saw the blood on her fingertips, she stared at me.

‘Say it again,’ I said quietly.

Her brow tightened. ‘What are you?’

Before I could show her, Warden arrived in a sweep of black cloak, followed by Gail and a breathless Jos. Gail ran straight for the fire, armed with an extinguisher. Warden saw me and strode towards us.

‘What has occurred here?’

My jaw shook. All my pressure was still locked on Kath.

‘Stand down,’ Warden said to me. ‘Temper your spirit.’

I drew a slow breath and managed to settle it, but I couldn’t unclench my fist.

Liss was starting to slump over. Julian wrapped her in his arms, cupping her lolling head to his chest. If the Rephs realised she was on the brink of spirit shock, they might see her as a lost cause and kill her.

‘Three red-jackets set fire to the Rookery,’ Julian said to Warden. ‘They wanted to punish Paige.’

‘For what?’

By now, a crowd of performers had gathered by the steps. Several red-jackets sprinted from Exeter and Balliol, straight into the burning Rookery.

‘Go on, Kath,’ I said, my voice dangerously soft. ‘Care to tell the Warden to his face why you ambushed his tenant?’

Kath was turning white to the roots of her hair, as if everything she had done was finally sinking in.

‘Fine,’ I said. ‘I will.’ I looked up at Warden. ‘Kath is of the opinion that you let me off lightly for missing the curfew in April. She thought she’d do your job for you and crop my ear for my offence.’

Warden looked at her. ‘Is this true?’

Kath swallowed.

Suhail Chertan now emerged from the Residence of Balliol, along with a hysterical Overseer. Kath suddenly went to her knees before Warden.

‘I ask your forgiveness, Warden,’ she said, trembling. ‘It wasn’t my place.’

‘Your keeper is Kraz Sargas, is it not?’

‘Yes.’

‘Fortunate that he is here, else I would be forced to punish your insolence.’

A Reph with enormous muscles to spare had come to see what the fuss was about. He had the features of a Sargas, with golden hair down to his waist. Kath looked as if she might faint; I couldn’t blame her.

Kraz Sargas had seen us, too. He approached at a slow pace, adjusting his long gloves. The performers made way for him, giving him a wide berth.

‘Arcturus,’ he said in a rumbling voice. ‘What seems to be the problem?’

‘Our tenants have come to blows,’ Warden said. ‘We should resolve the matter in private, Kraz.’

‘Here is as good a place as any.’ Kraz cocked his head. ‘What have you done, 62?’

‘She set fire to the Rookery,’ one of the performers shouted. ‘She’s burned us out of house and home, like they don’t take enough from us!’

‘It wasn’t just her,’ Julian said. ‘There were two others. They attacked 1 and 40.’

‘The famous 40.’ Kraz looked at me. ‘Since this disagreement is between our tenants, perhaps we should have them fight it out, Arcturus. I believe their kind used to force animals to do battle for their amusement. We could make a new sport out of it – human baiting.’

Warden moved in front of me. I had never seen more fear in the performers’ eyes.

‘I beg you, blood-heir. It wasn’t my idea.’ Kath turned to him, desperate. ‘It was 16 and 17. They told me the Warden hadn’t punished 40.’

‘Allow me to be sure I understand,’ Kraz said, his tone almost polite. ‘You questioned the blood-consort’s decision – his authority, by extension?’

‘She attacked Suhail,’ she said weakly. ‘Why should she have a red tunic?’

‘It is not your place to have thoughts, 62.’ His eyes were a pale yellow, making him look wolfish. ‘I gave you a second chance, but a third would be indulgence. Stand up.’

Shaking, Kath did as she was told.

Kraz gave her a soulless look. A moment later, he raised a massive hand and struck her, hard enough that she was dead before she hit the ground.

Gasps and cries went up at once. Some perverse instinct made me step closer to Warden. His gaze snapped to me. I wanted to kick myself.

‘There. The matter is resolved.’ Kraz clasped his gloved hands in front of him. ‘I trust you are satisfied with this outcome, Arcturus.’

‘Nashira may not be,’ Warden said. ‘A decade of training has just gone to waste.’

‘A disobedient human is a purposeless one. Surely you would agree.’

Warden replied with a small nod, but I saw the tightening in his jaw.

Kath lay still on the cobblestones. Ten years of toil and suffering in this hell, and her keeper had cracked her skull without a second thought.

‘Slovens and cravens,’ Suhail roared at us. ‘Come and extinguish this fire!’ The shaken performers hastened to obey, leaving their possessions by the steps. ‘If I find out this was your doing, you will pay for it, 40!’

‘Come,’ Warden said, softly enough that only I could hear. ‘Let us not tempt his ire.’

‘Wait.’ I went to Julian, breathing in his ear: ‘I broke the lock on the Old Library. Hide Liss in there until the dust settles. Keep her alive, Jules.’

‘I will.’ Julian grasped my elbow. ‘Go on, before Suhail makes a scene.’

Liss made a faint sound. Her aura was already starting to flicker. I pressed her cold hand one more time before I followed Warden.