I let her get within thirty feet before speaking the command word. The gold discs flared to life and a wall of force appeared, stretching from the discs on the walkway floor out past the railings, along the slope of the pyramid, and up into the air. It was invisible to the naked eye, but there was now no physical force in this world or the next that could cross that barrier.
Deleo came to a halt. Her hands had snapped up as I’d spoken, and now I watched her stare at me through the transparent wall, her eyes hidden behind the mask. As she came to a decision, green-blue light welled up about her hands.
‘Don’t bother,’ I said. ‘You could break it if you were on your own, but not with me boosting it from the other side.’
‘It won’t last for ever,’ Deleo said. Her voice was soft and deadly, and again I felt the venom in her words.
‘So let’s talk.’ I folded my arms, watching her casually. ‘There’s some stuff I’ve been wanting to ask you.’
Deleo didn’t answer. ‘For a start, I’d like to know what your plans were for Luna,’ I went on. ‘But I know you wouldn’t tell me the truth. So I thought I’d ask about something you seem to have more of a personal interest in.’ I cocked my head. ‘Why do you hate me so much?’
Deleo stared back at me from the other side of the wall. The silence stretched out and I’d just opened my mouth to go on when she finally spoke. ‘You couldn’t stay away, could you?’ Her voice was low, vibrating with some intense emotion: hate, pain, anger. ‘I knew you’d be back. It was always you.’
‘Uh,’ I said. ‘Okay, let’s try this again. Why—?’
‘Shut up.’ Deleo’s voice was raw. ‘Don’t talk to me. It was your fault, all of it. Now you’re trying to do it again.’ The light around her hands flared, brightened. ‘It’s people like you that always screw things up, always make it worse. If you were gone I could fix things. The ones who really matter.’ Suddenly, she turned. ‘Stop it!’
I stared, following her gaze. Deleo was looking at empty air, out over the railings. I searched the area and saw nothing. ‘Um,’ I said. ‘Look, if—’
‘You’ve had the dreams, haven’t you?’ Deleo asked. She sounded distracted, like she was carrying on two conversations at once. ‘I can see them. You haven’t escaped, no one does. It always comes back. I’m the only one who can break it.’ She cocked her head, seeming to listen, then snarled. ‘Shut up!’
‘Okay,’ I said. ‘You know what, I don’t want to know any more. You’re nuttier than a bowl of Alpen. Just stay away from me.’
‘You don’t understand.’ Deleo’s eyes stared through me for a second, then all of a sudden they cleared and she was focused on me again. ‘Give me the girl.’
‘Uh, how about no?’
‘You think you can protect her? You can’t. The only way she’ll be safe is with me.’
I actually laughed. ‘Oh, that’s different. I’ll just hand her over, shall I?’
In a quick movement Deleo stepped up against the barrier. Her left hand pulsed against the wall of force, sending ripples through it. ‘I won’t let anyone get in my way,’ she said. All of a sudden, her voice was deadly calm. ‘You were always weaker than me. I know how to hurt you, Alex.’
Deleo and I stared into each other’s eyes from fewer than ten feet away. The barrier was starting to tremble; the amount of destructive force she was pouring into it was staggering. From behind I heard Luna’s voice, calling. ‘Alex!
I stepped back. ‘Don’t come after me.’
‘This isn’t over,’ Deleo said. It sounded like a promise.
I turned and ran. Behind, I could hear the force wall whining under the strain. As I got around the corner of the pyramid, I saw Luna leaning over the railing and Starbreeze floating just beyond it. ‘Time to go!’ I called.
‘Go where?’ Starbreeze asked curiously.
‘Home!’ I grabbed Luna’s hand. ‘Fast!’
‘Okay!’ Starbreeze engulfed us. In a flash we were turned to air and whisked away. Looking back, I had one glimpse of the barrier breaking in a blue-green flash before the tower was shrinking behind us. ‘No fun,’ Starbreeze complained, her voice muffled by the wind.
‘What’s wrong?’ Luna asked.
‘Nothing happened,’ Starbreeze said, sounding disappointed.
The Docklands vanished behind us, their lights merging with the rest of London as Starbreeze lifted us higher and higher into the sky. Already we were far enough away to be invisible to anyone watching. ‘Trust me, Starbreeze,’ I said as we banked and turned north, heading home. ‘It was exciting enough down on our end.’
Starbreeze dropped us on my roof and I gave her something or other and watched her soar away. My shop was dark and quiet. All around, I could hear the sounds of the city again, distant and reassuring. All of a sudden, I didn’t want to deal with magic and mages any more; I just wanted to be home and safe. ‘Want a drink?’ I said, smothering a yawn as we walked through the hall.
Luna shook her head. Her dress was a little disarrayed, but it made her look better if anything. She seemed to be slowly coming down from a high. ‘Stay here for tonight, then?’ I asked. ‘I think there’s a camp bed somewhere.’
‘I think I should go.’
I looked at her, puzzled. Luna nodded down at my chest. ‘Look.’
I stared for a moment before realising. In the excitement, I’d forgotten about Arachne’s ribbon. I looked down to see that almost all of the white ribbon had turned black. Only an inch or so was left.
‘I think my coach is turning back into a pumpkin,’ Luna said, and I looked up in surprise to see one of her rare smiles. Somehow, though, this one seemed sad. ‘It’s okay. You said they can’t find me now, right? I’ll find a place to stay.’ She moved to the door.
