Fated

‘No.’ The woman took a step forward. She was taller than Luna, with short blonde hair. ‘If you know what’s good for you you’ll keep it that way. Where’s the cube?’

‘Sorry?’

‘Don’t play games with me.’ The woman’s voice was cold and dangerous. ‘A crowd won’t protect you. Give me what I want or I’ll take it from you.’

Luna stood very still. The sounds of chatter around seemed to fade away. When Luna finally spoke, there was a note in her voice I’d never heard before. ‘I don’t think I like your attitude very much.’ All of a sudden Luna sounded much older. ‘If you want something, ask without the threats.’

Even with danger close at hand, I felt a sudden surge of pride. Even under pressure, Luna had recognised the woman for what she was, and done exactly the right thing: stood up to her without showing fear. All the time that I’d been talking to her she had been listening, and she’d shown she could do it under pressure. In that instant I realised that, despite everything that had happened, and even though she wasn’t a diviner or even a mage, I did think of Luna as my apprentice, and I was proud of her.

Of course, it wasn’t going to stop her from being abducted in exactly fifteen seconds. But that was where I came in.

‘You, little girl, just made a big mistake,’ the woman said after a long pause. She made a signal with two fingers. ‘Let’s see exactly what you –’

As she spoke, Khazad glided behind Luna. I’d thought the small man looked like a bird the first three times I’d seen him, but he moved now with a sinuous grace, more like a snake. A needle gleamed in one hand, catching the light as he brought it towards the bare skin of Luna’s shoulder.

It never got there. As Khazad moved, so did I, and as he came up behind Luna I stepped in beside him. My right hand closed on his wrist, and as he made his move I spun him around, redirecting his momentum so that the needle sunk into his own arm. There was a faint spark as the spell discharged and Khazad’s head jerked in shock. Luna, Cinder and the woman all turned in the same instant to stare at me. Luna’s eyes lit up; Cinder’s darkened. ‘You!’

‘Hey, Cinder. Nice to see you again.’ I turned my gaze to the woman with a smile. ‘She did warn you.’

The woman stared, speechless. I turned to Luna, offering my hand. ‘Sorry, I got held up. Shall we go?’

Luna took a glance back at Cinder and the woman, then took my hand with barely a pause. The other two stared after us as we walked away, Khazad in tow.

‘That was awesome,’ Luna said once we were away. All traces of how she’d been outside were gone; she looked alert and glowing.

‘Are they following us?’

‘No – yes. Through the crowd.’

‘Okay. Break left … now.’ We slipped behind a group of people. From the other side I could just hear hurrying footsteps as Cinder and the woman came walking quickly after us, fading away as we doubled back.

Khazad was still walking aimlessly by my side, guided by my arm around his waist. Luna tilted her head to look into his eyes, then waved her fingers in front of his face. He didn’t respond. ‘What happened to him?’

‘Same thing he was about to do to you.’ I lifted his right hand and pointed to the needle clutched in his fingers. It was about eight inches long, made of some kind of silvery metal, tipped with a dot of blood where it had driven into Khazad’s arm. ‘Enchantment effect, kind of like magical Rohypnol. They were going to use it on you, then walk you out the front door.’

Khazad’s eyes were vacant; without me to guide him, he just stood there. Relaxed, his face was harsh and cruel. Luna peered over to look at him while I went through Khazad’s pockets. He was carrying another of the needles along with a few other things that looked like weapons, but no written instructions or anything that would give me a hint as to which spell they’d been using to track Luna. Damn.

‘Can he hear us?’ Luna asked.

‘Probably.’ I glanced back over my shoulder. We’d swerved away from the dance floor towards the other side of the hall and had ended up next to a fountain of steel and stone that bubbled with clear water. A minor illusory effect played over the water causing it to flicker through the colours of the rainbow: red to yellow to green to blue and back again. ‘We’d better dump him before he slows us down.’

I sat Khazad down on the edge of the fountain and slapped him in the face twice, hard. A few people gave me curious looks but you can get away with a lot if you’re blatant enough. I’d just gone through his pockets in full view of all the guests and gotten nothing more than a few funny looks. ‘Khazad,’ I said clearly. ‘Can you hear me?’

Khazad’s eyes were still vague, but I could sense a presence behind them this time, something looking at me with a distant hatred. This was the second time I’d gotten the better of him and, even with the magic scrambling his thoughts, I could feel how much he wanted to kill me. ‘That’s twice you’ve tried,’ I said. I looked into his eyes as I spoke, keeping contact. ‘This is your last chance to walk away. You understand? One chance. Pull anything like this again, on either of us, and I’ll see you dead.’

Khazad glared at me, unable to speak. I could sense the two Dark mages approaching from behind. I straightened and walked away, and the two of us disappeared into the crowd, the noise and bustle swallowing us. The music of the band faded as we put some distance between us and the dance floor.

‘Are they still coming?’ Luna said once we were away. She was craning her neck, trying to look in every direction at once.

‘Yeah.’ Now they weren’t heading straight for us I couldn’t predict their movements so easily, but I knew they’d be back.

‘How did they find me?’

‘They spent today at your flat. Could they have found anything from your body? Hair, nail clippings, blood?’

‘No – yes. Some hairs from my pillow, maybe the bathroom …’