Luna met my gaze, and there was something painful in them. ‘Alex—’
And suddenly we weren’t alone any more. Elsewhere changes with who’s in it, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I felt the shift. I looked around to see that the plaza was empty and the birds were gone. ‘We’ve stayed too long.’ I got up, pulling Luna to her feet with me. ‘Back through that door.’
Luna hesitated, and I dragged her along, forcing her to hurry beside me. ‘Wait!’ she began.
‘You need to get back.’ We’d reached the door, and I pulled it open; beyond was the ballroom, dark and empty. ‘Remember: Talisid, the items, the plan. Don’t forget.’
‘Alex!’ Luna tried to pull back. ‘What’s coming? Let me—’
I pushed Luna through the door and slammed it before she could react. Instantly the courtyard was silent. Luna was safe now, back in her own dreams. I took a breath and turned.
The girl walking across the plaza towards me was nineteen years old, and she was dressed in the same clothes she’d been wearing when I’d last seen her. That had been almost ten years ago. She’d been nineteen years old then, too. Smaller than Luna, with short, dark red hair, she looked a bit like a small furry animal, full of energy and movement. I didn’t move as she approached and came to a stop a little way away. She watched me with a smile, one hand on her hip, waiting.
‘Shireen,’ I said at last, and let out a breath. The name sounded strange to my ears; it was the first I’d spoken it in a long time. ‘So you’re dead after all.’
‘C’mon, Alex,’ Shireen said with a grin. ‘When I didn’t call for nine years, that should have been a big clue.’
We stood looking at each other. When I’d known her, Shireen had so often been angry, except for that last time. She didn’t look angry now; she looked at ease. ‘What happens now?’ I asked after a moment.
‘Up to you.’
I paused, then shrugged and walked past her.
Shireen fell into step beside me. ‘What, you’re not going to ask me anything?’
‘I’m curious,’ I said. ‘I’m just not sure what you are.’
‘I thought diviners knew everything?’ Shireen laughed. ‘Okay, how about some proof? Let’s see … How about the time we met? Wait, I know. I could tell you the time you finally turned against Richard. I remember exactly when it happened.’
‘No thanks.’
Shireen sighed. ‘When did you get so serious?’
‘Right now, I want to leave.’
‘Then where are you going?’
I started to answer, then looked around and stopped. The arcade had ended, and the building Luna had vanished into was gone. Instead, we were on a walkway running above a deserted city. On either side, stairways led down to dusty streets, stretching off into the distance. Buildings with empty windows were below, silent and still.
I turned to Shireen. ‘Where’s the way out?’
‘Up to you.’
I hesitated. On either side, flights of stairs led down into the city, while ahead the walkway seemed to go on and on into nothingness. I didn’t like the look of the streets below. I kept walking forward.
Shireen kept pace beside me. ‘Why are you here?’ I said once it became obvious she wasn’t going to say anything.
‘I need to talk to you about Rachel.’
‘You’ve got to be kidding. She doesn’t even call herself that any more.’
Shireen shook her head. ‘You don’t understand. She’s what you could have been.’
‘Yeah, well, I paid the price for that.’
‘You paid the price once. She has to do it every day.’
I sighed. ‘What are you trying to say, Shireen? You want me to feel sorry for her?’
‘It’s not about feeling sorry for her.’
‘Then what
Shireen had stood quietly. Now that I’d finished, she spoke again. ‘Why are you here?’
I turned away and started walking again. Shireen followed. ‘Because someone up there hates me,’ I told her. ‘How should I know?’
‘But it was your choice.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘You could have been safe,’ Shireen said. ‘Helikaon told you. Why did you stay?’
