Stealing Phoenix (15 page)

Mr New York batted the knife away. It flew into the corner and lay still. ‘Enough, you’ve made your point!’

I pressed a napkin over the cut, staining the white linen with blood. Pushing my chair back, I got up. ‘Excuse me.’

The Seer waved me away. Napkin concealing my cut, I dashed out in search of a refuge.

‘Are you all right, miss?’ My waiter caught me at the door.

‘Yes, yes, just a little accident.’ My heart was pounding and I knew I must look wild-eyed. ‘Where are the … ?’

He caught my meaning. ‘Through those doors, miss.’

I took cover in the plush toilets. Thick handtowels in a wicker basket on the marble top, automatic taps that worked with a wave of a hand, a beautiful flower arrangement, a collection of top-of-the-range toiletries: all so perfect that I had a mad urge never to leave and return to my grubby world outside. I seemed to be spending a lot of time hiding out like this. Approaching the basin, I ran my cut under the spray of water, rubbing in some soap to clean the wound. It was only superficial but it stung. All the pleasure I’d taken earlier in the evening swirled down the plughole with the red-stained water. I may be all prettied up for one night but I was still only a tool to the Seer, now being fashioned into the means of Yves’s destruction. I couldn’t bear the thought that I’d be used to hurt him.

Kasia came in and stood beside me, arms folded. She frowned at the water spots I’d splashed on my dress. ‘I was sent to see if you’re OK.’

‘I’m fine,’ I lied. I didn’t meet her eyes in the mirror.

‘There was no need for Dragon to do that to you.’ Kasia picked up my wrist and studied the cut. ‘It spoils the look. Do you think it is going to start bleeding again?’

I wondered if she was worried for me or for her white gown. ‘I don’t think so.’

‘Probably best to leave it then. A bandage would be very obvious.’

‘And spoil the look,’ I echoed.

She squeezed my fingers briefly. ‘It’s important to please the Seer and not let him down in front of his business contacts.’

He should have thought of that before he ordered Dragon to start carving me up in front of them.

‘Why are you with him, Kasia?’ I found myself asking. She seemed at heart a nice enough woman; what on earth was she doing in this set?

She smiled at me in the mirror, her eyes fever-bright. ‘The Seer is the most wonderful man. You’ll understand in time.’

I understood he had planted the belief in her mind. She was to be pitied as she really didn’t know that she was a prisoner, as I was for different reasons. Of the two, I’d pick my kind of servitude. Patting my arm dry, I wondered if my mother had also held this false confidence in the Seer; I couldn’t remember her well enough to know what she had really thought, but I had no memories of her ever saying a bad word against him. Indeed, she had impressed on me just before she died that I was to try and stay in the Community, making it sound as though it was the only home open to me. And I had trusted her to know. Another false belief planted, this time unwittingly by someone I was sure had loved me. Throwing the soiled towel in the waste bin, I reflected that she was the only one who had. Even Yves was never going to feel real love for me as the situation had been forced on him by fate or genetics, whatever. I acknowledged that I could fall for him, for his gentleness, intelligence and (here I admit to being shallow) to his all too handsome appearance, but what would he find in me to love?

Kasia waved her hand in front of my face, waking me from a daze. ‘Hello. Earth to Phee.’

‘I’m coming.’ I took a final look at the elegant girl in the mirror, the one marred by the scratch on her arm. It didn’t feel like me. Then again, I didn’t know what ‘me’ felt like.

In the car on the way home I held myself apart from the post-match analysis of the meeting indulged in by the Seer and his two sons. They were pleased with how the business had been conducted, congratulating our leader on his wrong-footing of the others by producing me as a surprise star player on his team. Tuning them out, I reflected instead on the waste of food on my plate. I’d not eaten anything but side salad, vegetables and bread rolls—the waiter had kept me well supplied with those so I wasn’t feeling hungry. The men had decided to skip dessert and go straight to brandy and coffee. If I hadn’t already known they were crooks, their aversion to the best part of any meal would have condemned them. I’d managed to swipe a couple of handmade chocolates with my latte but, really, what was the point of dining for the first time in my life at a five-star restaurant and coming away with so little to appreciate from the experience?

I knew I was making myself think such inconsequential thoughts to avoid dealing with the key point of the evening. The Seer had promised to use me as bait for Yves and I was in no hurry to find out what form this would take.

Back at our ‘home bitter home’, I followed the Seer up to the fifth floor, hoping this would be the end of the evening, but I was not to be so lucky.

‘Phoenix, a word,’ the Seer gasped at the top of the stairs. He mopped his sweating brow with a red silk handkerchief.

His court was waiting for him in his lounge, the women all cooing over his smart appearance.

‘Ladies, give us a moment,’ he announced, gesturing for them to leave.

Watching them file out without a protest at their dismissal, I realized he had created a bunch of robotic women to serve his every need, like, what do you call them? Yeah, Stepford Wives. It was obscene. The Seer lowered himself onto his favourite spot on the sofa. ‘I am sure you understood what we want of you.’

I shrugged, wrapping my arms around my waist. ‘I … I think so.’

‘You are to arrange to meet your soulfinder tomorrow. Tell him to come without alerting his brothers. He has to be alone or it will be the worse for you, understood?’

Threats, threats, and more threats. ‘Yes, I understand. Where should I meet him?’

The Seer rubbed his cheek. I hoped it was a sign of the onset of really painful toothache. ‘The Millennium Bridge. That way we’ll see if he really has come alone.’

A suspended footbridge over the Thames between the Tate Modern art gallery and St Paul’s cathedral, it was a good choice for a clandestine meeting.

‘And then what?’

‘Take him into the Tate. We’ll meet in the Turbine hall.’

‘You … you are going to be there?’ I was unable to hide my shudder.

‘Of course. I have business to conduct with your young man. You’re not bringing him back here.’ He shifted, letting out a belch. ‘That reminds me. He’ll pressure you to tell him what this is all about. You must say nothing of what you heard tonight. As far as he is concerned your meeting is only about being his soulfinder. He’ll believe that soon enough if the legend of the soulfinder is true.’

I nodded, appearing to agree as I did not know what else to do while my mind was so confused.

He beckoned me closer and gripped my scratched arm.
You will tell him nothing of what you heard tonight.

I closed my eyes briefly, feeling sick as his power smeared my mind, destroying my free will in this matter.

He let go. ‘Good girl. Now go get some sleep. Contact your soulfinder first thing in the morning and don’t give him long to make the meeting. We wouldn’t want him to have a chance to make counter-plans.’

No, we wouldn’t want that, would we?

‘I’ll have Kasia monitoring what you say, so do not think to double-cross me in this.’

‘I wouldn’t dare,’ I muttered truthfully.

‘Goodnight, Phoenix. Oh, and leave the diamonds with Kasia, won’t you?’

Relieved to be dismissed, I slapped the necklace and earrings in Kasia’s hand and backed out hurriedly before anyone else could try and get something from me. I hadn’t forgotten Unicorn’s attempt to steal a march on the Seer by making me promise yesterday to show him first what I’d stolen. That had proved to be a big zero, but I did not believe Unicorn for one moment had abandoned making other plans for his own benefit if he could think of a way to do so without crossing one of the Seer’s lines of loyalty. Fortunately, the Seer ordered Dragon and Unicorn to stay behind to discuss what to do tomorrow if Yves agreed to meet me. Not invited into this inner circle, my only choice was to return to my room and work out how exactly I was going to keep Yves out of this sordid mess.

Slipping out of my finery, I hung the dress up on a hook behind the door and put on my pyjamas. I lay down for an hour but sleep eluded me. I got up and paced my room like a mouse running a maze in a scientist’s laboratory until three, when exhaustion made me curl up under the duvet. Among my worries was Tony, but I felt too scared to go and see him—any contact I had with my friend only made things worse for him and I guessed he would not thank me for bringing more attention to him. Was I really the cause of him ageing ten years, or had I stopped it before so much was taken from him? Unicorn’s power could not be reversed. No one had yet worked out how to keep someone young or the Seer would have been bottling it and selling it years ago; Unicorn could only speed up nature and make his targets age.

And what was I going to do about Yves? I was going to have to arrange to meet him—if I didn’t do it willingly, the Seer would force me—but perhaps I could warn him somehow when we met as to what was truly going on? I’d be blamed, of course, when he didn’t come to the meeting at the Tate, but that was better than letting the Seer anywhere near him.

I must have drifted off eventually because morning had already arrived when I woke up, the few birds that braved our part of town doing a brisk job of greeting the dawn. Taking a quick shower in cold water—my flat didn’t run to the luxury of hot—I dressed, making each piece of clothing like a bit of mental armour to defend myself against the day. Shirt—I had to protect Yves. Jeans—I had somehow to live through whatever punishment my failure to please the Seer entailed. Shoes—I must allow no more harm to come to Tony. Eventually feeling ready to make the first move, I sat cross-legged on the floor and reached out for Yves. Seven thirty. If I arranged to meet him in an hour, we would have the crowds of commuters using the bridge camouflaging us. That might make Dragon and Unicorn’s job of keeping track of our movements more difficult, something the Seer had not thought about when he proposed the meeting place.

Yves. Hi, it’s me.

Phee? Where the hell are you?
He’d answered on the first hint of a message from me; he had to have been listening all this time.

Good morning to you too.
I smiled, sensing his huff of annoyance mixed with relief that I’d contacted him.

Nothing good about it until I see you.

Excellent—he had given me my cue.
OK then. Meet me on the Millennium Bridge at eight thirty. You know where that is?

No, but I’ll find out. Just tell me, are you OK?

Good question.
Just meet me. We’ll talk then.

Phee!

And come alone. Don’t get your brothers involved in this or you won’t see me.

I cut the connection. He might have a pretty good idea of my direction now I’d reached out to him but I doubted he had the telepathic skill to pinpoint my location.

Dragon, I’ve done as I was asked.
I didn’t like using this method of communication with people in the Community— it gave them too much access to your mind—but I decided talking to Dragon this way was the lesser evil. I could get out without seeing them that morning.

When?
His thoughts in my brain were like the stamp of heavy machinery compared to Yves’s butterfly touch.

Eight thirty. I told him to come alone.

Jeez, Phee, you didn’t leave us much time to get there ahead of you.

The Seer told me not to give him much warning.

He didn’t mean it to apply to us too! And the Tate won’t even be open—did you think of that?

No. But, hey, tough cookies. Not that I said that to him, of course.
Sorry, I didn’t think.

Yeah, yeah, you never think. Still, it’s done. We’ll be in position. The Seer can arrive at the Tate as it opens at ten—that gives him more time.

I’m heading out now. Don’t want to be late.