'It's Tuesday. I thought you were going to sleep all week. Are you hungry?'
My stomach growled in response. 'Starving.'
'I'll go and see if I can rustle up some food for you.'
She made to stand, but I caught her hand, despite the tubes taped to my arm. 'Stay.'
She eased herself down again and I rested my hand on hers. Just the touch of her was a kind of therapy.
'I was sure I'd lost you,' she said, quietly.
'I had a plan,' I told her. I explained how I had planned to slip beneath the water and then use the sixty-first nail to transfer the hammer across beneath the surface of the river and emerge victorious on the other side.
'That would never work. The hammer is iron. It's about as antithetical to magic as you can get.'
I let her explain what, for her, must have seemed like an elementary mistake, mainly just for the sound of her voice. She was amazed that I been stupid enough to try it.
'Well, how else did you think I was going to cross?' I asked her.
As soon as the words came out, I knew it was a question I should have left unasked. It silenced her and the shadow of it moved behind her eyes like something lurking in the depths. The answer was simple. She hadn't.
I squeezed her hands under mine and she did not look away.
It struck me that she had let me make my decision and been prepared to live with the consequences, but still she had waited, hoping against hope for a miracle.
Perhaps I had been granted one.
'What happened in the tunnels?' My memory of it was fragmented and strangely unreal.
'After you went into the water, we waited for what seemed like an age. Raffmir started pressuring for me to call an end and I kept trying to put him off. It was getting to the point where I was going to have to concede when you appeared on the other side. After you pulled yourself up the rungs on the far bank, Solandre lost it completely. She faded into spectral form and reached across the river towards you. Raffmir tried to stop her but she was obsessed. She was going to kill you. I did the only thing I could think of. I pulled the Dead Knife from my pocket and made it as hot as I could and then stabbed her.'
'I thought she couldn't be hurt physically.'
'I thought so too, but the heat might have hurt her enough to get her attention away from you.'
'And did it?'
'It did more than that. Ben told me that if powders get spread into the air at a certain density, they can ignite. Fire spreads though them like a chain reaction, superheating the air and causing a shock wave. Effectively, she exploded.'
I tried to take in what she was saying.
'What about Raffmir?'
'There was nothing he could do. He was hurt slightly in the explosion; nothing lethal, unfortunately, but by the time he realised what had happened it was all over. His sister had broken the laws of trial and he knew her life was forfeit. He was forced to accept the outcome and the fate of his sister, though he didn't like it.'
'Did he say anything?'
'Very little. He conceded the trial and said he would honour the outcome. Then he said that if the formalities were concluded he would take his leave. He's such a prig. His sister's just been blown to bits and he's discussing formalities.'
'So he left.'
'Her ashes either drifted away on the water or blew away on the breeze. He just climbed back up onto the gantry and vanished into the dark. I expect he'll have some explaining to do when he returns to his world, but they will have to honour the outcome as he has. It's our way.
'Ben had been thrown into the river by the force of the blast but fortunately for you, he can swim. He climbed up the rungs after you and hauled you up onto the side. He pumped as much water as he could out of your chest and put you into the recovery position. It was all he could do. By that time I'd crossed the river and could take over.'
The shadow reached her eyes again.
'What?' I asked her.
'I made him finish the knife, Niall. I want you to know that. I couldn't carry you out of the tunnels alone, but I made him finish the knife before we carried you up together and called an ambulance.' Her eyes were dark and haunted by the decision.
The security we had all fought for was dependent on finishing the knife and restoring the ceremony. Without that, every sacrifice would have been meaningless.
'It's OK. I would have done the same. And I'm still here, aren't I? You can't get rid of me that easily.'
A little of the haunted look dissolved. There was a hint of a smile and I smiled back. She leaned forward and pressed her warm lips to mine in a long languid kiss. I shifted, sending shooting pains down my back and grunted at the pain. She stopped and drew away; worried she had hurt me.
'Don't stop,' I whispered.
She kissed me again, this time warming me in a way that was completely incompatible with my physical state. When she stopped, her eyes were filled with promises. She squeezed my hand.
'I really should let them know you're awake. The policeman let me stay in here on condition that I promised I would let him know as soon as you woke.'
'Policeman?'
'We brought you up out of the tunnels, but I couldn't revive you. Your lungs were still waterlogged and I had no idea how long you could hang on for. Your glamour had completely faded and you looked like you did when I first met you. That worried me more than anything else.'
I put my hand to my cheek, feeling the stubble where I was unshaved, knowing my face was my own.
'We called an ambulance and Ben told them he'd dragged you out of the Thames from one of the piers. He's a convincing liar when he has to be. The ambulance crew found your wallet and your driving license on the way to the hospital. By the time I'd caught up with you at the hospital, they knew who you were and the police were here waiting for you. There's been an officer on the door ever since.'
'Can we slip past them? Get away before they realise I'm awake?'
'Well we could, but I think your daughter might be upset if you did.'
'Alex?'
'The police called Katherine and told her you were in hospital. They returned yesterday morning and came to see you while you were still unconscious. Alex was very grown up about it, but you could see she was worried. I don't think you can just vanish without seeing her.'
'But what about the police?'
'If you run now, they'll never leave you in peace.'
She stood slowly and left me with that thought while she went to tell the officer I was awake and to try and rustle up some food for me. As soon as she'd gone, the officer came into the room, nodded once to me and then stood by the door, looking blank and impersonal.
'Am I under arrest?' I asked him.
'Not at the moment, sir. But the senior officer would like to speak with you regarding our enquiries.'
'So I can leave if I want to?'
'I think it would be better if you stayed, sir. There's a doctor coming to check you over and the investigating officer is on his way.'
I rested back against the pillow, trying to organise my thoughts ahead of the interview I knew was coming.
The doctor arrived before either Blackbird returned or the police arrived. She was a well-groomed, middle- aged Asian lady who spoke with a light Birmingham accent.
'I'm Dr Agraval. I've looked after you since you were brought here on Sunday. How are you feeling?' She held a torch up to look into my eyes.
'Not bad considering.'
She took my hands in hers and turned them over, looking at the palms of my hands which were criss-crossed with a lattice of newly formed scar tissue. 'Do you always heal this quickly?'
