Luna looked at Martin for a few seconds more and when she finally turned her eyes to me there was something cold in them. “You shouldn’t have stopped me.”
I looked back at Luna for a few seconds before speaking quietly. “I don’t think his life is yours to take.”
Luna held my gaze a moment longer, then stepped back around the corner. As I moved past, I felt the futures of her approaching Martin fade away. I headed for the stairs and Luna followed.
chapter 11
By the time we reached the ground floor, the fighting had died down. The manor was a wasteland of smoke and rubble, small fires burning amidst the smoke, but the stone and concrete had weathered the attacks and the structure was stable. I could sense two or three guards still around, but they were keeping their distance.
As we came up the steps, the radio in my pocket crackled. I pulled it out with my good arm. “Sonder.”
“Alex! Finally! Did you find Luna?”
I turned the radio’s volume up and tossed it to Luna. “It’s for you.”
Luna caught it awkwardly. “Hi, Sonder.”
I could hear the relief in Sonder’s voice. “You’re okay?”
“I’m fine. What’s happening?”
“It’s crazy out here,” Sonder sounded tense. “I saw the back door explode and Cinder fought his way in but— Alex, are you there? Cinder got driven out. He’s fighting on the west slope.”
I was analysing a route up to the second floor. “Fighting what?”
“A mantis golem. Belthas got a mantis golem!” I could hear distant sounds of battle over the radio. “It’s trying to kill Cinder, Cinder’s trying to melt it—”
“Who’s winning?”
There was a pause. “Neither, I think.”
I checked my watch. We had a little over ten minutes. “We can’t wait for Cinder,” I decided. “I’m going after Belthas. Luna, Sonder is up the mountainside from here. You can circle around and—”
“
I looked back at her for a second, then smiled slightly. “Sonder,” I said loudly. “We’re going for Belthas’s sanctum on the second floor. If you can get a message to Cinder, tell him.”
Sonder sounded confused. “Wait—both of you?”
Luna switched the radio off and tossed it to me. We headed upstairs.
We passed several charred bodies on the way up. There were several guards still lurking, but they stayed out of our way. It looked like there’d been some fast natural selection amongst Belthas’s security force and the survivors had been the ones who’d figured out that attacking a mage was a very bad idea. As we climbed, burnt flesh, burnt wiring, and smoke mixed together to make a nauseating stench.
The top floor was luxurious but impersonal, like an expensive hotel. A thick carpet lined the central corridor and I could feel the presence of minor magical effects from behind the wooden doors. All was untouched; Cinder must not have gotten this far. I moved down the corridor, watching for an ambush, Luna a few steps behind.
The corridor ended in an anteroom. Two double doors were set into the far wall and I knew they led into Belthas’s sanctum. Curtains were drawn over the windows, a wardrobe stood to one side, and several tables held curios. I stopped in the doorway and waited. The room was silent. There was no sound from outside; the floor had been soundproofed. Seconds ticked past.
“You might as well come out,” I said to the room.
Silence.
I lifted my gun, letting it make a quiet metallic noise. My left arm hurt a little but it was manageable. “How about I shoot those curtains?”
The curtains moved and Meredith stepped out.
For someone in the middle of a battle, Meredith looked far better than she ought to. Somehow she’d found the opportunity to change clothes and was wearing a black figure-hugging outfit that probably would have been distracting if I’d been in any mood to care. It was her eyes I was watching and I could tell from the look in them that she was afraid. She stood, on edge, trying to watch both me and the gun.
“I know why you’re here,” I said quietly. “Belthas put you out here to slow us down. You said yes because you thought you could stay out of sight till the fighting was over.” I nodded back down the corridor. “Run. Now. If you stay, Cinder’ll kill you. If you get in my way, I will.”
Meredith hesitated, and for a moment I saw the choices branching before her. Then, slowly, she came towards me, keeping her eyes on me. I let her go by. For a moment it looked as though she was about to say something, then she walked away.
Meredith passed Luna without a glance. As she did a tendril of Luna’s curse flicked out over Meredith, soaking into her to leave a faint silvery glow. Meredith walked back the way we came and vanished. I looked at Luna and raised an eyebrow.
“What?” Luna said. She sounded a little annoyed. “It won’t kill her.” She paused. “Probably.”
I glanced down the corridor, then turned away. “What if she comes back?” Luna asked.
“She won’t.”
The double doors to Belthas’s sanctum swung open with a creak.
