Burned (24 page)

‘Mm,’ I said. I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

‘Sounds like I’m outside,’ Coatl said. ‘You going in with Rain?’

Down at ground level, I saw that Maradok was making his way to the exit. ‘I think I need to have a chat,’ I said to Caldera and Coatl. ‘Back in a sec.’ I rose and headed down through the crowd.

I caught up with Maradok before he made it out of the room. ‘Councilman?’ I said. ‘Excuse me?’

Maradok turned. Up close, he looked older than he had at a distance, with a long face and receding hair the colour of dirty straw. He could have been a civil servant, except for his eyes – they were blue, with a certain detached quality to them. He didn’t show any sign of surprise at seeing me. ‘Ah. Mage Verus, is it?’

‘That’s right. Mind if we have a word?’

‘I don’t see why not,’ Maradok said. ‘Let’s find somewhere a little quieter.’

‘So how can I help you?’ Maradok asked.

We were in a side room off one of the corridors. The door was closed, but I could still hear voices from the Keepers in the auditorium. Far enough away to be private, but still close enough to discourage any kind of violence – not that that was very likely in the middle of Keeper HQ, but I’ve learned to be careful about these things. Maradok didn’t seem terribly concerned one way or the other, but I had the feeling that he’d taken the location into account too.

The Light Council doesn’t have an official intelligence service. In theory it’s something the Keepers are supposed to handle, along with all of their other duties. In practice the only Keepers who do any real intelligence work are the Order of the Cloak, and since they specialise in dealing with normals, it’s easy for most mages to forget that they even exist. When it comes to dealing with other mages, Keepers act solely as police, under strict Council control.

But just because the Council’s intelligence services aren’t official, that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. According to rumour, each of the major Council factions has its own private intelligence network, and those networks handle everything from surveillance to information brokering to outright assassinations. I’m pretty sure that Talisid’s involved with one of those networks, even if he’s never told me exactly how. If Caldera was right, Maradok was of the same breed. You’d think that since they were both with Council intelligence, then Maradok ought to be on my side. Pity things don’t work that way.

In any case, I’d had some time to think about how to approach Maradok, and I’d decided to take the direct approach. ‘Could you stop trying to kill me, please?’

Maradok looked at me.

‘This is the part where you’re supposed to say that you have no idea what I’m talking about,’ I said. ‘Then you ask where I’ve been getting these crazy notions, and when I explain, you tell me that you know nothing at all about the events I’m referring to. Given that we’re both busy men, how about we save ourselves some time and skip to the part where we tell each other what we really want?’

Maradok regarded me with those calm eyes of his. I could sense him making up his mind, and the patterns the future made were unusual ones. Normally when someone’s making a decision I see the possibilities shift and flicker. Maradok’s potential futures didn’t flicker; they jumped from one fully formed set of actions to another, with a brief pause for consideration between each. After a moment, the actions settled. ‘That seems reasonable.’

‘Good.’ I paused. ‘Are you going to stop trying to kill me?’

‘That rather depends on you.’

‘Depends on what?’

‘On whether you continue participating in this operation.’

‘I don’t exactly have much of a choice.’

‘Then I’m afraid your odds of survival are not high.’

‘Would you mind explaining exactly what your issue is?’

‘We really have no personal quarrel with you,’ Maradok said. His manner was polite and courteous, rather like a bank manager explaining why he’s not going to increase your overdraft. ‘Personally, I would be quite happy to see you enjoying a long and healthy life in some peaceful location. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be an option.’

‘You think I’m working for Richard Drakh,’ I said flatly.

‘Actually, no.’

I blinked. ‘You believe me?’

‘About your claim to have separated yourself from him? Yes, on the balance of probabilities, I would be inclined to believe it.’

‘Then if you know I’m not helping Richard,’ I said, ‘why are we having this conversation?’

‘Well, therein lies the problem,’ Maradok said. ‘Not
working
for your old master and not
helping
your old master are different things.’

‘Why would I want to help him?’

‘That’s a very interesting question.’

‘To which the answer is that I’m not going to.’

‘Unfortunately, the divinations disagree.’

‘What divinations?’

‘I’m sure it won’t surprise you to know that we’ve had our eye on Drakh for some time.’ Maradok leaned back on to a desk, half sitting on the edge. ‘In doing so, one of the resources we made use of was of course divination. Our long-term divinations consider it reasonably likely that within the next few years, Richard Drakh’s personal power will grow to the extent that it rivals the Light Council. This process involves you.’

I looked up sharply. ‘How?’

‘I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to disclose any details. I will, however, give you one relevant piece of information. You, Drakh and the relic are connected. In some way, you are instrumental to his gaining the power of the creature trapped inside.’

I stood very still. ‘How?’

‘I’m not at liberty to say. The important part, from your point of view, is that you are a necessary component. Without you, Drakh doesn’t get what he wants.’

‘So if I’m dead, Drakh’s weakened,’ I said flatly. ‘Is that about the size of it?’

‘That’s about the size of it.’

‘This is insane,’ I said. ‘You launched an assassination attempt that got multiple people killed because of a divination?’

Maradok raised an eyebrow. ‘As a diviner, I would have thought you’d be more sympathetic.’

‘That’s not how divination works. Looking an hour into the future, sure. Maybe a day. But months or years? That’s nothing but a wild guess.’

‘You seem to be very confident.’

‘I have quite extensive experience with divination in life-or-death situations. You can’t make those kinds of long-term predictions with any kind of accuracy. If your diviner told you that he could, he’s a con-man.’

‘That’s an interesting assessment,’ Maradok said. ‘Would it change your opinion if I told you that the mage responsible for giving this particular divination was Master Alaundo?’

I stopped.

‘And yes, I am aware of the difficulties regarding long-term divinations,’ Maradok continued when I didn’t speak. ‘The potential future in which you enable Drakh to gain access to the creature within this relic is only a possibility. It is, however, a likely possibility. And unfortunately for you, out of the futures in which you do
not
help Drakh in this way, the ones most likely to occur are the ones in which you are no longer alive.’

‘The only way in which I don’t help Richard is if I’m dead,’ I said quietly. ‘Is that it?’

‘Those appear to be the most probable alternatives.’

‘What about the less probable ones?’

‘There are always uncertainties,’ Maradok said. ‘In this case, there is a narrow range of possibilities in which none of the above events come to pass. The probability is low enough that we are disinclined to pursue that as a strategy.’

‘In other words, you think the safest option is just to kill me and be sure,’ I said. ‘Can you suggest some others?’

‘The alternative is that you remove yourself from this operation,’ Maradok said. ‘I’m sure you can understand that given what we’ve just discussed, the prospect of you being closely involved in the Council operation to retrieve this relic is … troubling. Especially given the presence of Drakh’s forces. We would feel very much more secure if you were as far away from this relic as possible.’

‘I
can’t
remove myself from the operation because if I do, the proposal sentencing me to death is going to pass through the Council. Which your boss Sal Sarque voted for. The only reason I’m getting anywhere near this relic is because you’re trying to get me killed to stop me getting anywhere near the relic!’

‘Life is full of ironies.’

I looked at Maradok in disbelief.

‘Let me be clear,’ Maradok said. ‘We want you as far away from that relic and from your old master as possible. Whether that removal is done via geography or mortality is optional. From your point of view, I would recommend the former.’

‘Say I do,’ I said. ‘Let’s say I resign from this operation right now and never go near Syria again for as long as I live. Would Sal Sarque reverse his vote and make sure the proposal doesn’t go through?’

‘Verus, you have an established history of tricking and outmanoeuvring other mages. I’m afraid that a simple verbal promise that you’d stay away from the relic is not enough.’

‘Then what would you need?’

Maradok shrugged.

‘Do you understand just how little choice you’re leaving me?’ I said. ‘If I don’t back out of this operation, you’re going to try to kill me. But if I do back out of this operation, the proposal will go through on Saturday and then the Keepers
will
kill me. I do not have any other options.’

‘You have other options,’ Maradok said. ‘You leave. Pack up and find yourself a new home. I hear New Zealand is very nice this time of year. Or perhaps Argentina. Maybe travel for a while. I’m sure a diviner as competent as yourself won’t go hungry. I can assure you that as long as you remove yourself from the affairs of this country, we will lose all interest in you.’

‘And Levistus’s men?’ I said quietly. ‘Once they have a hunting licence from the Council, you think they won’t track me down?’

‘If that’s your concern, I suggest you contact Levistus to make your own accommodations.’

‘He won’t. He made that very clear.’

Maradok shrugged again. His body language clearly communicated that this was not his problem.

‘How about a third option?’ I said.

‘Such as?’

‘I’ll take part in this operation,’ I said. ‘I’ll get hold of this relic. And I’ll make sure it’s delivered personally to you. If I do that, will you believe that this divination’s wrong?’

‘We do not want you in proximity to this relic,’ Maradok said. ‘Regardless of whom you claim to be retrieving it for.’

‘I don’t care. I’ve had it with people telling me that I’m secretly working for Richard. I’m going to prove you wrong if I have to personally dump this thing in your hands. And when I do, I want a fucking apology from you.’

Maradok just looked at me. I turned and walked out.

‘You told him
what
?’ Caldera asked me.

‘It was the best I could think of.’

The two of us were on standby in one of the transit rooms. There are several of them in Keeper HQ; they’re designed to be used for gate spells, and they’re protected by complex security systems meant to ensure that only Keepers and other mages with clearance can gate in or out. We’d just spent the past hour in secondary briefings with Rain and other Keepers, and now we were waiting for the go order. This was the first chance I’d had to get Caldera alone.

‘Jesus, Alex,’ Caldera said. ‘I know I’m not one to talk, but you think you could manage
not
to piss off the brass?’

‘What else was I supposed to do?’ I said. ‘Maradok wasn’t budging. At least this way if I can get this damn relic there’s a chance he’ll back off.’

‘Assuming you don’t catch a bullet on the way in.’ Caldera frowned. ‘Hate to say it, but have you considered taking his advice?’

‘
You’re
telling
me
to back off and be cautious?’

‘Don’t be a smart-arse.’

‘It’s not an option,’ I said. ‘I have to do this job. And yes, it’s the same reason as before, and no, I’m still not allowed to tell you why. Sorry.’

‘Mm,’ Caldera said. She was giving me a considering look. Caldera is a cop, and like most cops she’s good at ferreting out secrets. Sooner or later she was going to learn what was really going on, and I had the feeling that she had a good idea already.

Movement in the futures caught my eye. ‘There’s someone I need to talk to,’ I said. ‘Back in a minute.’

‘One sec,’ Caldera said. ‘Have you told Coatl?’

‘No.’

‘You okay with me doing it?’

I thought for a second. I don’t trust Coatl as much as I do Caldera, but he’d had plenty of chances to stab me in the back in the past and he hadn’t taken them. Besides, I couldn’t see how letting him know could make things significantly worse. ‘All right. Tell him that if he picks up anything to do with another assassination attempt, I’d really appreciate hearing about it.’

Caldera nodded and I headed out into the corridor. The person I was looking for was nowhere in sight, but I knew where he was … and more to the point, he knew that I knew. I went around the corner, found the right door, let myself in and closed it behind me.

‘Took you long enough,’ Helikaon said. He was sitting at his ease on one of the chairs, an arm resting along the desk. ‘So what have you managed to get yourself into this time?’

Helikaon looks about sixty, though I know for a fact that he’s more than a quarter of a century older. His dress was simple by the standards of the Keepers: worn trousers and an open-necked shirt that left his arms bare. He looked like an elderly workman if anything, which in some ways isn’t that far from the truth. ‘Let’s say that things are a little worse than usual,’ I said.

Helikaon was the second of my two teachers, and while it was Richard from whom I learned the fundamentals of magic, it was Helikaon who taught me what it really meant to be a diviner. Helikaon is a master, and he’s probably forgotten more about divination than I’ll ever learn, not unless I live to at least fifty, which didn’t seem all that likely at the moment. Like Alaundo, Helikaon works on contract for the Council, but unlike Alaundo, he’s never shown any interest in acquiring influence or power. I asked him why once, and Helikaon made it clear that he considered the great majority of Council politics to be nothing more than an elaborate waste of time that painted a target on your back. Helikaon is extremely careful about his personal safety.