Taken

Luna thought about that for a second, then grimaced. “Creepy.” She held up a hand before I could speak. “I know. Don’t judge by appearances, right?”

“Well . . . maybe just this once it wouldn’t be a bad idea.” I leant against the cold stone, studying the building opposite. “I don’t know much about rakshasas, but none of what I’ve heard is good. They were supposed to be . . . I guess the word would be malevolent. They loved power, especially over thinking creatures. They ruled India once, if the stories are true. They lived in palaces built by their slaves, lords of everything they could see.”

“But that might not be true,” Luna said. “I mean, the apprentices say stuff like that about all magical creatures. Even Arachne. I’ve heard them. And he’s looking after Anne, right?”

“I admit I’m very curious as to what two apprentices like Anne and Variam would be doing with a rakshasa.”

“Maybe there are things he can teach them.”

“Oh, there would be,” I said. “Rakshasas are powerful. The old stories say they were partly divine, not fully bound by the laws of the physical world. I don’t know if it’s true but everyone agrees they’re master shapeshifters. They can change their appearance and form, give themselves abilities that shouldn’t be possible.”

Luna stood quietly for a second. “So . . . how well do they usually get on with mages?”

“Have a guess.”

Luna sighed. “Badly.”

I nodded. “For a long time there was a secret war across the Indian subcontinent. The rakshasas won most of the battles but there were never enough of them. Mages could replace their losses; rakshasas couldn’t. In the end there was a treaty and both sides agreed to leave each other alone. But rakshasas are supposed to hold grudges like you wouldn’t believe. This one, Jagadev, was probably alive for that war. Maybe alive for all the others before it. I doubt he’s forgotten.”

“Oh,” Luna said. She paused. “And this is the guy whose home we’re visiting.”

“Yes.”

“This is going to be one of those eventful nights, isn’t it?”

I finished my search and pulled my attention back to the immediate future. “We’re in the right place. Let’s go.”

*  *  *

Two drunks slumped in a doorway watched us blearily as we passed. I walked past without a glance as Luna skirted them more carefully. Concrete stairs and a railing led down to a basement level and an open door.

Inside was an anteroom with three security men. Heavy-duty pieces of work, layers of fat covering rubbery muscle, their faces all broken noses and scowls. I came to a stop in front of them. “I’m looking for Jagadev.”

The one at the centre looked at me with shark’s eyes, flat and cold. “Name?”

“Alex Verus.”

He studied me a moment, then jerked his head towards a doorway.

The corridor beyond was old concrete, stained and ugly. “Alex—” Luna whispered.

“Cameras,” I said under my breath.

Luna glanced up. Electric eyes were watching us from both ends of the hall. The door at the end was padded and looked soundproofed to me, but I could feel a vibration through my feet. I opened the door.

Noise washed over us, deafening, the pounding beat of music. We were looking down over a club floor crowded with hundreds of people dancing and moving. The room was huge and dimly lit, red and blue and green lights flickering and clashing, painting some of the room in primary colours and leaving other parts in shadow. There was a wide semicircular balcony above, but it was darkened and anything within was invisible against the flashing lights below. Everything was noise and motion.

Luna said something. “What?” I shouted over the music.

“This is supposed to be a palace?” Luna shouted.

I looked around, scanning the floor. It was too chaotic for divination to be much use, but as I focused I could sense something else. “It’s the right place,” I shouted back.

Luna looked at the crowd. “How do we get through?”

“Follow me.”

We descended into the swirling crowd. Noise pounded around us, the harsh beat of industrial music, a singer chanting words that were lost in the throbbing of the bass. I could have pushed through but Luna couldn’t, not without getting too close. “Hey!” I shouted over the music. “Move!” People turned and I got a lot of angry looks, but enough of a path opened for Luna to follow after. With my mage’s sight I could see the silver mist of her curse swirling tightly around her, held in check by her willpower. The people around us fell back, and Luna and I became the centre of a small empty circle on the dance floor. The clubgoers were young, teens and twenties, wearing clothes that ranged from ragged T-shirts and jeans to goth outfits. Luna and I didn’t exactly fit in but we didn’t look out of place either. Arachne’s good at what she does.

Thin beams of green light danced over us as we made it to the bar. I managed to catch the eye of the barman, a bad-tempered looking guy with greasy hair and a leather jacket. “I’m looking for Jagadev,” I called. The music was a little quieter here—still enough to give you a headache, but it was more or less possible to talk.

The barman flicked a glance at me. “Never heard of him.”

I studied the barman for a moment. “Bullshit.”

The barman shrugged and turned to another customer. I looked around to see that the crowd was looking at us. Not everyone, not even most of them, but a good couple of dozen of the guys and girls had stopped dancing and