Alex Verus Novels, Books 1-4 (9780698175952) (17 page)

Levistus was watching me with those blank, colourless eyes. “A mercenary, then?”

I looked back at him. “Yes.”

There was a moment’s silence, then Levistus nodded slightly, and I felt the futures ahead of us shift as something fell into place. “The service I require from you is a simple one. You will assist the investigation team in gaining entry to the relic, and you will make your way through the relic’s defences to retrieve the fateweaver. In return, you will have your pick of the other items within.”

“How do I know there
will
be any other items?”

“I can arrange payment in other terms if you wish. But”—Levistus tilted his head slightly—“the chance for first pick of an undisturbed Precursor relic? I doubt you truly intend to pass that up.”

A beat, then I nodded. Down below at the arena, the crowd had thickened, and all of them now seemed to be watching intently. A group of globes arced around, and another round of applause broke out, the men in their suits and the women in their elaborate dresses clapping silently behind the crystal.

“And once you have the fateweaver, you will bring it to me.”

“Wouldn’t the leader of the team be responsible for that?”

“The leader is not your concern,” Levistus said. “I am employing you to retrieve the item. That is what you are being rewarded for.”

“Doesn’t the Arrancar ruling…?”

“The Arrancar ruling states that archaeological finds must be submitted to the Council.” Levistus spoke without
heat or emphasis. “I am a member of the Council; therefore, you will submit it to me. The item’s destination is a Council secret. You will reveal the terms of your employment to no one, not even authorised Council representatives. Should any of the mages on site attempt to take the artifact for themselves, they are to be considered Dark agents and neutralised in any manner necessary.”

My heart stopped beating for an instant, then sped up. What Levistus was asking me to do was just one step away from treason. And keeping it secret…“Does the team know about this?”

“As I said, you are to reveal the terms of your employment to no one.” Levistus’ eyes rested on me, steady and incurious. “I believe it is time you gave me your answer, Mr. Verus. Do you agree to the terms of this contract? Yes or no?”

I needed time to think. “You’re asking for a lot.”

“Which is why you are being paid so handsomely. As I said: yes or no?”

I suddenly realised that the future before me had split into two paths. Levistus wasn’t kidding. He was going to accept only a yes or no answer. And if I said no…

I looked into the future of what would happen, and it was all I could do not to jump. If I said no, Levistus’ air elemental, Thirteen, was going to kill me, right here, right now. She would send her body down my throat and suffocate me as I thrashed helplessly, while Levistus watched with his fingers steepled and half an eye on the people below. Then she would transmute my body to air and remove any trace that I had ever walked into this room. I snapped back to the present and took a deep breath. The room was silent, still but for the movements of the crowd behind the crystal. They were less than fifty yards away but might as well have been on the moon. Trying not to show anything on my face, I looked sideways to see that Thirteen was still standing there, her face blank, and it was all I could do not to shudder.

I’d walked into something out of my league. Levistus wanted this artifact for himself, not for the Council, and he
was willing to kill to keep it. Information wasn’t my priority anymore. Walking out of this room alive was.

“You realise it may not be possible to gain access to the artifact,” I said at last.

“And if so, you will be compensated for your time,” Levistus replied. “However, should the artifact be accessible, I will expect that it be delivered to my hands, rather than anyone else’s. Quickly and discreetly.”

The bout below had reached its climax. The crowd all watched intently as the black and white spheres swirled with dizzying speed. “Will I have any…assistance with this?”

For the first time Levistus smiled, a thin, dry smile that did not touch his eyes. “Oh, I have many agents, Mr. Verus. Rest assured, they will be there, making sure everything goes according to plan.”

The silence in the room stretched out, second passing upon second. “Well, Councillor,” I said at last, my mouth dry. “You make an offer that’s difficult to refuse.”

“Excellent,” Levistus said. “I believe our business is concluded.”

I
barely noticed the blades of the mantis golems as I walked out. My heart was still pounding, and as I came back onto the balcony ring, the chatter of the crowd below was like soothing music. I kept moving, dimly aware of people to either side of me, only caring about gaining as much distance as I could from Levistus and his personal killer.

Someone was calling my name. I didn’t pay attention. A hand came down on my shoulder and I turned to see Lyle’s face frowning at me. “Are you deaf? I need you to—”

Most mages don’t study handtohand fighting; they rely on their magic for everything. I’m not most mages. I’ve been studying martial arts a long time, and while I’m nowhere near a master, I’m a
lot
faster than I look. After you study long enough, the basic moves become reflex. I was on edge, and Lyle’s grabbing my shoulder was all it took to make me snap.

Lyle’s back slammed against the wall hard enough to knock the wind out of him. I leant into him, one arm against his throat, and this time I didn’t go to any effort to avoid causing pain. “You asshole,” I hissed into his face from a few inches away. “Were you in on this? If I hadn’t walked out of that room, what would you have done?”

“What are you talking about?” Lyle choked. His eyes were shocked, frightened.

“How much did you know?”

“You’re crazy! Get off me!”

“How much did you know, Lyle? What did Levistus tell you?”

“I don’t know!” There was panic on Lyle’s face; he was sweating. “He just needed a diviner! That’s all he said!”

“
Do you think I’m that fucking stupid?
Levistus’ pet was about to
kill me
! What were you going to say, that I’d just
gone for a walk
?”

“What? There wasn’t anyone there!”

I glared into Lyle’s eyes for a long moment and saw only terror. He was more scared than he should be, and it was with only mild surprise that I realised that deep down, Lyle was a coward. He could act strong when he was in control, but put him in real danger and he crumbled. It’s funny how you can know someone for half your life, and then some trivial thing opens your eyes. I’d always known safety was Lyle’s religion, yet for some reason I’d never made the connection.

I let go, and Lyle fell back, shrinking into the corner of the alcove. “You’re a fool,” I said quietly. “You’re telling me you didn’t know what sort of man you were working for? I don’t buy it, Lyle. You knew, you just didn’t want to think about it. Just like always.” I shook my head. “You haven’t changed at all.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But Lyle’s eyes were scared. I knew he was lying, and so did he.

I walked away. There were a handful of others up on this section of the balcony, and they’d all stopped to watch. They eyed me as I passed. News of this would spread quickly, but right now, I didn’t care.

The second-floor balcony ran the entire circuit of the hall, and its side was open to the floor below. Arched pillars supported the level above my head and a steel handrail gave protection against falling. After a moment my thoughts
steadied enough for me to realise that I was walking back around towards the dance floor, where I’d last seen Luna. I kept going, hoping to spot her from above, and before long I was within earshot of the band again. The music was captivating, and I felt my pulse starting to slow. I settled into the shadow of one of the pillars and leant on the railing, looking down over the crowd.

As I looked from side to side, my mind flitted back over my encounter with Levistus. I finally understood what Helikaon had been trying to tell me. I’d never liked the Council, but I realised now that I’d been blind to the threat it could be. I’d walked into that room without understanding just how dangerous the competition for this artifact was, and I’d nearly paid for it with my life. Well, now I
did
understand.
Everyone
after this artifact was willing to kill to get it, and if things kept going as they were, I was going to end up in the middle. That was not a safe place to be.

I felt a presence to one side and turned. A man was standing on the balcony a few steps away. “Mr. Verus?” His voice was cultured, polite. “Might I have a word?”

“Depends on the word.” I studied the man. His clothes looked high-quality but nondescript. He had no visible escort or companion, which could mean something, or nothing at all.

The man smiled slightly. “I believe you’ve just had a meeting with Councillor Levistus. I’d like to offer my assistance, should you be willing to accept it.”

“Yeah?” A scan of the future told me the man was no immediate threat. I turned to the railing and went back to searching the crowd for Luna. “I think I’ve had all the assistance I can handle for a little while, thanks.”

“I can understand how you’d feel that way. However, I think you’d benefit from taking the time to listen to what I have to say.”

The last thing I needed was yet another mage trying to take advantage of me. But for the moment at least, this guy was harmless, and I didn’t have time to shoo him off. “Okay, shoot.”

There
. Luna was a little to the side of the dance floor, in the centre of a small crowd. Everyone was smiling, and from a quick glance at the body language the mood looked pleasant. Luna was talking to a woman in a shimmering pink dress who was watching her with her head tilted in interest. She seemed to be holding her own, and I felt myself relax slightly.

I realised the man next to me was speaking. “…be interested?”

“Sorry. Could you say that again?”

“As I said,” he repeated patiently, “Levistus is not the only mage on the Council, and his ambitions are far from being a secret. If you’re worried about the terms of your employment with him, I might be able to offer some assistance.”

I sighed. “Let me take a wild guess. As part of the terms of this assistance, you or whoever you’re representing would get the items inside the relic, right?”

“We would prefer to see any Precursor artifacts in our hands rather than his, yes.”

“I’m sure you would.” I turned to face him. “Look, Mr.… ?”

“Talisid.”

“Mr. Talisid. I’m rapidly losing count of the number of factions out to grab this artifact. What exactly makes you different from the others?”

“For one thing,” Talisid said calmly, “we aren’t threatening to kill you if you don’t cooperate. Or even if you do. I’m sure it’s already occurred to you that being a loose end in one of Levistus’ plans might not be the safest of positions?”

For the first time I turned my full attention to the man. He was a hair under medium height, in his forties, dressed in dark clothes, with a receding hairline. He looked like a blackbird against the peacocks on the dance floor, but there was a steadiness to his gaze that suggested he might be someone to take seriously.

“You seem to know a lot about what was supposed to be a private conversation,” I said at last.

“Diviners don’t have a monopoly on knowledge, Mr. Verus. Deduction can work just as well.”

“You’re with the Council?”

“I represent a faction of the Council. At the moment, I believe our interests coincide with yours.” Talisid moved past me to rest his arms upon the railing, his clothes dark against the metal. “Not everyone on the Council is happy with the Dark mages’ growth in power. And even those sympathetic to their proposals would prefer not to see one of them gain control of such a powerful relic. In this case, the majority is with us.”

“If you’ve got the majority on your side, why do you need me?”

“Unfortunately, while a majority of the Council have a preference for the artifact not falling into the hands of a Dark mage, they have an even greater preference for the artifact falling into the hands of themselves.”

I let out an exasperated breath. “This is ridiculous. Do you guys even know what this thing does? You’re all going to look really stupid if it ends up being a dud, you know that?”

“We’ve got more important concerns than looking stupid, Mr. Verus,” Talisid said patiently. “And as I was saying, we may be able to assist you.”

Something pinged on my danger sense and I looked down. Luna was still talking in the middle of her crowd, but that wasn’t where the thread of trouble was coming from. I scanned up and down, looking through the crowd for movement. Three figures caught my eye. They were spread through the crowd, but linked somehow, and—

Oh
crap
. It was the three Dark mages—Cinder, Khazad, and the masked woman—and they were after Luna. They were surrounding her, closing in steadily from three sides. She was still talking, oblivious, as they moved closer and closer.

I spun and headed for the nearest staircase. “Mr. Verus!” Talisid called sharply.

“Sorry!” I called over my shoulder. “It’ll have to wait!”
I broke into a run, sprinting along the balcony and down the wide staircase. A couple talking close to one other on the landing broke off and pressed themselves to one side as I came flying down. I reached ground level in twenty seconds flat and slowed to a fast walk as I came out into the Great Hall. I knew where Luna was going to be, and I needed to get there first.

I didn’t. As I came within sight of Luna, I saw the three Dark mages surrounding her. The others she had been talking to were nowhere in sight. I caught a glimpse of one disappearing behind a knot of people, throwing a nervous glance back at Cinder. The floor was still crowded and the buzz of conversation drowned out what they were saying, but I didn’t need to use my magic to know that Luna was in danger. I scanned quickly through the futures and found a way to approach without being seen.