The Thousand Emperors

that now.’

‘As for Cripps, my best guess is he came to me because he thought I was in league with you in some way. You told me you’d all left Vasili’s body where it was for a couple of days; time enough for you to wonder when they were going to start accusing you of his murder and look for ways to prove yourself innocent. That’s why you approached Cheng, seeking his permission to bring me here. And it’s obvious Cripps thinks you are guilty, because as soon as he got wind of that decision, he decided maybe I was working with you to cover things up.’

She thought about this for a moment. ‘You’re sure about that?’

Luc shrugged. ‘Alternatively, maybe Cripps was trying to throw me off for some other reason.’

‘Perhaps he did it.’

‘Maybe he did,’ Luc agreed. ‘He certainly acted like a frightened man, and he really doesn’t trust you.’

She let out a small laugh. ‘The one thing I and Bailey Cripps have in common is that we don’t trust anyone. It’s an essential trait for a long career in the Temur Council. I’ll be in touch, Mr Gabion. I’ll do my best to arrange interviews with anyone who might be able to throw some more light on this whole sorry mess.’

Luc watched her turn and stride up the path without another word, then stepped back, the hatch folding back into place.

SIX

When Luc arrived home through the Hall of Gates, it was mid-afternoon in Ulugh Beg. Eleanor came to him later that evening, exploring his new skin with fingers and lips while the setting sun sent shards of orange light slanting through the window of his apartment.

Tell me what happened, she had asked him shortly after appearing at his door, obviously distraught and out of her mind with worry. Tell me where you disappeared to. When you didn’t come back, I really started to think maybe you were gone forever.

But he knew the risks of telling her too much and getting her involved, and her work in SecInt meant she understood the necessity of keeping secrets. She had not really expected him to answer. Even so, he felt a pang, as if by refusing to answer her questions he was in some strange way betraying her.

He lay back, head propped up on a pillow, Eleanor’s own skin limned by the city’s myriad lights as she moved above him, hands kneading his flesh. He noticed again the cosmetic alterations she had recently made to her own body: her hips were slightly narrower than they had been, her breasts fractionally and fashionably smaller. She shuddered, skin glistening, then pressed herself down against him, holding him tight as he came inside her. She held perfectly still for a moment, then slid down onto the bed beside him.

He lay there for a long time, listening to her sleep. He was still wide awake, despite his exhaustion. Sleep was impossible after everything he’d been through.

Sometime in the early morning, he had the overwhelming sense that someone else was in the room with them.

He lifted his head and saw a hunched figure with its hands pushed deep into pockets, staring out the window with its back to him.

The figure turned and looked at him: Cripps. A rainbow shimmer surrounded his outline.

Luc climbed naked out of the bed and pulled on a night-robe. Eleanor, he saw with relief, hadn’t woken. He gestured towards the living room and stepped through. Cripps took the hint, his data-ghost vanishing from the bedroom and reappearing in the living room a moment later.

‘There are laws about data-ghost voyeurism,’ Luc hissed the moment the door into the bedroom folded itself shut behind him. ‘How the hell long were you standing there watching us?’

Cripps shrugged. ‘A minute, no more. I want to know what you said to Zelia de Almeida, after she took you away from Vasili’s.’

Luc dropped into a seat and pushed both hands through his hair, still groggy. ‘Or what? You’re going to threaten me too?’

‘Charming as ever, was she?’ Cripps made a gesture, and Luc felt a flush of outrage when the house AI obeyed him, de-opaquing the window and allowing the morning light to come streaking in. Pioneer Gorge’s street-markets were already busy far off in the distance. ‘I, however, do not need to threaten you,’ he continued. ‘I need only remind you of your sworn duty to the Temur Council.’

‘To the Council,’ Luc snapped, ‘but not necessarily to you in particular.’

‘If you’d prefer, I can arrange to have you taken back to Vanaheim by force, and interrogated there at my pleasure.’ Cripps let his gaze drift towards the bedroom door. ‘Or perhaps I could have Miss Jaq arrested, and see what she might be able to tell us. Would that be preferable?’

Luc gripped the arms of his chair and reminded himself that the data-ghost had no actual, physical throat for him to take a hold of. ‘Does Father Cheng know you’re here?’

‘Father Cheng trusts me to ensure the safety of both the Council and the citizens it serves,’ Cripps replied. ‘To that end, I have an open remit to do whatever proves necessary to ensure the Tian Di’s survival and safety. Who else do you think I report to, Mr Gabion?’

‘All right,’ Luc said heavily, ‘fine. De Almeida checked me out in her laboratory and found nothing particularly wrong with me. I already knew I had lesions on my brain from Aeschere, which isn’t exactly surprising, given the level of trauma I suffered. That’s the most probable cause.’

‘And what else?’