The Serpent's Shadow

'It will be easier than you think,' Scott said by way of encouragement, as Lord Peter straightened his back and braced his feet a little apart, closing his eyes as he did so, and tilting his head back a trifle. 'You've been working here for some time, and you'll have actually done some cleansing without realizing it.'

Maya closed her own eyes for a moment to orient herself, and 'saw' that Peter Scott was right; in the immediate area of the Fleet Clinic the general 'feeling' of the earth was nothing like as polluted as it was outside the walls. Encouraged, she plunged her spirit deep into the earth beneath the Fleet and pulled up strength from the enormous source she found there. Then, as if she poured what she found into a waiting vessel, she passed that energy to her two companions, who received it and transmuted it instantly.

It didn't take very long; the Peters worked with a unity she could only marvel at and envy, and in the time between one breath and the next, there was a shell of power standing between the Fleet and the rest of the world, a shining barrier of protection that swirled with opalescent color and light. When they no longer needed her, Maya relinquished her hold on the Earth Magic she'd called, and opened her eyes on the real world.

Almsley opened his eyes, grinned, then settled his collar and cuffs quite as if he did this sort of thing every day, as Peter Scott ran his fingers through his hair in a gesture that betrayed his nerves.

'That was a good day's work, I think,' Almsley said cheerfully. 'Now, is there any chance of a cab out here at this time of night, or must I see if my abilities to defend myself against footpads are up to the task?'

He looked so absurdly eager, as if he actually hoped for a chance to try his self-defense skills against the thieves and drunks outside, that Maya had to stifle a laugh behind her hands.

'Sorry to disappoint you, my lord,' she replied, with mock regret that made his eyes gleam at her friendly insolence. 'But I'll have to deny you that pleasure. I do believe I hear my friend's hansom pulling up outside.'

'Ah, well, in that case I shall kidnap my twin and bid you adieu, then send him back for you and the other young lady. Come along, Scott,' he added imperiously. 'We have a report to make to the Old Man.' What Old Man? she wondered, but didn't have a chance to ask. Peter only had a moment to press her hand and whisper, 'May I come by tomorrow?' and accept her nod before Almsley whisked him off into the darkness.

SHIVANI sat comfortably in lotus position on her tiny cushioned 'throne,' as the Englishman she had recently annexed to her service stood before her. He shifted his weight from foot to foot uneasily, but made no move to seat himself before her, and thus put her head above his. He was so careful of his position, this sahib, and yet did he but know it, he might as well be in chains before her; he had forged them himself, of greed, desire, and ambition. This 'Simon Parkening' could be very useful to her. She had learned much more about him since he had last brought her the list of names and addresses she had commanded. These had been culled from among the employees in the firms where he worked, and were all denoted men who had served in the Raj and thus were her enemies, and the enemies of her land. Those who would not be immediately missed had been marked out. Her thugee would seek them some dark night, and more enemies of India would fall, quietly, unregarded. She had learned he could be even more useful to her. It transpired that his uncle was the head of a great hospital in London. This place could be the source of information on more enemies. Many retired soldiers and civil servants from the Colonies and Protectorates passed through the portals of his uncle's hospital for treatment of various tropical ailments they had contracted over the course of their careers. He was hi a position to find out addresses and other details; he was also in a position to spirit some of them away and into Shivani's possession, were he inclined to cooperate.

Soon or late, he would cooperate.

'I trust that the Goddess has made all smooth for you with your uncle, as I promised?' she asked— knowing that of course She had. Or rather, Shivani had. The mere altering of a memory or two in the unguarded mind of a fat, foolish sahib was nothing, and never mind that he was supposedly an all-wise doctor. A spell, a word of power, a whisper on the wind, the clue of a strand of hair, and the Serpent slid into the old man's mind and swallowed a few memories of an unpleasant altercation over a vanished patient.

'Uncle doesn't recall a thing,' Parkening replied, a gloating smile on his sensuous lips. 'I'm back in his good graces again. I wish, though, you could get him to dismiss that damned Irishman; I'm sure he was the one that spirited Jenner out of there. He's too arrogant by half, that O'Reilly.'

Shivani frowned behind the black cloud of her veil. She didn't like to admit that there were things she couldn't do, especially not to this barbarian. 'If the Goddess had ample evidence of your commitment, something might be done,' she temporized, her tone made sharper with an edge of accusation. 'No!' she corrected waspishly as his hand moved slightly toward the wallet pocket in his jacket. 'Not money! How often must I tell you that the Goddess requires coin of another color?'

'She'd have had it, if I'd been able to get my hands on Jenner,' Parkening muttered, coloring angrily under her gaze.

Shivani only laughed at him; he was so easy to manipulate. 'And what makes you think that a damaged sacrifice would have been acceptable to Her?' the priestess taunted. 'You have access, means, and money, which latter you seem to believe can solve every dilemma. Your first gift was