Stealing Phoenix (18 page)

‘OK. I’ll make sure he can’t get at me. I can help you with yours too if you let me.’

He sounded too sure of himself for my liking. I wondered if he realized that his intellectual skills, which took him to the top of the class in most of the places he hung out, were useless when it came to my world. I watched a water taxi beetling its way towards Greenwich, churning the water to leave a white wake. The roar of the city drowned out most other noise; I could barely hear the boat’s engines. ‘How can you do that?’

‘I can grab energy from the environment and feed it to you so you can reinforce your shield.’

‘Really? That sounds brilliant. But my defences have always crumbled really quickly when I face him.’

‘They won’t this time. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had to learn to control my own gift to stop me blowing up stuff that annoys me so I’m pretty good at keeping a grip under pressure.’

‘Except around me.’

‘Yes, well, I’m working on that. Give me a break—it’s only been a day.’

I sighed. ‘He won’t like me resisting him. Perhaps you’d best not try anything today as he’ll find a way of punishing me if I put up a struggle in public.’ I touched the scratch on my arm, recalling yesterday’s demonstration of power.

My movement brought Yves’s attention to the cut. ‘He did this?’

I shrugged. ‘Indirectly. I wasn’t lying when I said he had no problem hurting us to make us obey.’

Yves struggled with his outrage before clamping down on it by taking a deep breath. ‘OK. Let’s just take this slowly. When the rest of my family arrive we’ll have reinforcements to help you resist. Today we’ll just find out what he has to say.’

‘You won’t like it.’

He swung me round so my back was to the embankment wall and rested his chin on the top of my head. ‘No, I don’t suppose I will.’

‘So we go in. You hear what he has to say and then you leave.’ I spoke to his chest, not wanting to come up for air.

‘Yes, except there’s one little correction:
we
leave.’

‘He won’t allow that.’

‘We’ll see.’

I was scared for him, my sweet, intellectual soulfinder. He didn’t know what he was facing and I had to protect him from underestimating his enemies. I felt I was leading my beautiful leopard right into the range of the hunters’ guns. ‘Look, if it’s a choice between you leaving without me or a fight, please just go. I’ll be fine.’

He looked hurt that I didn’t think he could stand up to them alone. ‘Phee, don’t try to put yourself between me and danger; I won’t allow it.’

‘So what are you going to do? Beat your chest and go all caveman, swinging your club at anyone who threatens me? I’m not a little woman you need to defend.’

His face hardened. ‘That’s exactly what you are: you’re
my
little woman and I’m not having you sacrifice yourself for me.’

‘Back at you, mate, though I’d have to substitute “big man” for the “little woman” dig.’ We were being ridiculous and, deep down, I suspected we both knew it. I took a moment to calm myself. ‘OK, OK, I get where you are coming from because it is the same place for me. Let’s just agree not to risk each other, share the burden.’

‘I’ve got bigger shoulders than you.’

‘And a bigger head by the sounds of it. Stop the “me heap big man” act and be rational. We can only go in there if we are united on the best way forward.’

Yves tapped my nose in reprimand. ‘My dad’s Native American, did you know that? I could have you arrested for perpetuating racial stereotypes with your “heap big man” crack.’

Oops. ‘No offence intended.’

‘None taken. But in return, you have to let me run this show. If we both try to call the shots we’ll end up stumbling over each other into the crossfire.’

I didn’t like it but I could see some sense in his suggestion. My fear often paralysed me when it came to dealings with the Seer; I could allow that he would be more objective on this occasion. ‘OK, I’ll let you lead this once, but only if you say you won’t do something stupid and put yourself in danger. We go in, hear the deal, and then try to leave together.’

He gave me a hug for my grudging concession. ‘Yes, that’s the plan. I won’t push the last point too far and get us hurt, but I want you to know I’ll be aiming for taking you with me. Stand back and let me make the running—I’ll know what I’m willing to concede to get you out safe.’

I closed my eyes briefly. ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this.’

He placed a gentle kiss on each eyelid. ‘Trust me, Phee. We’ll be fine.’

‘You don’t have your brothers somewhere nearby, do you? As, like, back-up?’

He shook his head. ‘I promised I’d come alone this morning. I haven’t even told them where I’ve gone.’

Shame. Part of me wished he hadn’t been so honourable. ‘OK, let’s do this. I’m supposed to make sure you come alone so maybe it’s just as well that they don’t know what we’re up to.’

‘The only ones who might know are Mom and Zed, but they are in the air heading for London.’ He gave a crooked smile. ‘If they do get a future news flash, I’m going to be in deep trouble when they land.’

I squeezed him back. ‘Don’t worry: I’ll protect you from them.’

‘Now that I can allow.’

First through the doors as the Tate opened, we entered an empty Turbine Hall. This exhibition space was cavernous, like an ugly back alley in a giant’s castle. The current display added to the uncanny atmosphere: huge metal spiders crouched splay-legged on the concrete, invaders from space in a 1950s ‘B’ movie poster. Several hung suspended as if about to descend on our heads; tiny ones scuttled up the walls to exploit any cracks in human defences.

‘Nice,’ Yves commented ironically.

We wandered among the metal forest of arachnid limbs, killing time.

‘What makes an artist spend their life making these?’ I asked with a slightly hysterical laugh.

‘Exorcizing nightmares maybe?’

‘And giving them to us?’

‘Phee?’

We turned warily on hearing Dragon call my name. He was alone, standing framed by the pincers of the largest of the metal spiders.

‘Um … hi. Dragon, this is Yves.’

The two glared at each other.

‘We met yesterday,’ Yves said curtly. ‘Let’s hope modern art has a better day.’ He cast a significant look at the suspended spiders, reminding us all of the fate of the mobile at the Barbican.

Dragon gave a gloating smile. ‘Don’t go putting ideas in my head, mate.’

‘I doubt you need my suggestions to cause pointless destruction,
dude
.’

Enough sabre-rattling. ‘Dragon, I’ve brought him here as asked. What happens now?’

With the arm looped casually around me, Yves squeezed my waist, reminding me who was supposed to be in charge of this little confrontation. But if he insisted on picking a fight with Dragon before we’d even got off the ground with the negotiation, then of course I was going to intervene!

‘The Seer is here.’ Dragon folded his arms and nodded up at the wall separating the main body of the art gallery from the Turbine Hall. A couple of floors up, there was a window, a perfect vantage point from where our leader could look down on us, much like he did at home. Naturally, he wasn’t going to put himself anywhere near an enemy; he was too much of a coward, and he always sought to make us feel subordinate.

Yves curled his lip in a sneer at the white-suited hulk of a man surveying us. ‘Is that him?’

I felt humiliated letting him glimpse even this much of my background. ‘Yes.’ I could see Unicorn beside him. Kasia was probably lurking to check we weren’t using telepathy to anyone outside but I had forgotten to warn Yves of this possibility.

‘How are we supposed to talk?’ Yves asked. ‘Megaphone?’

Tell him I will speak through you.

I gasped as the Seer forced his message into my head. ‘Me. He’s using me.’

Yves rubbed my back in sympathy. ‘OK, then, let’s make this as short as possible. We can do without him bouncing round inside your mind. Ask what he wants.’

The details of the members of the Savant Net.

‘And what’s he going to do with that, as if I couldn’t guess?’

That’s for me to decide. Your soulfinder only has to hand them over. Tell him.

I couldn’t imagine Yves agreeing to any deal like that. This was hopeless.

Yves pondered the deal he was being offered. ‘And then what? You’re allowed to leave? He’ll let you go?’

The Seer chuckled at Yves’s audacity.
Phoenix stays with her daddy.
I couldn’t bring myself to tell Yves that part so I didn’t relay it to him and just shook my head.
Explain to your soulfinder that he has to remain within the Net and feed me all the information I require. He will spy for us.

‘And why would I do that?’

Because if you don’t, Phoenix will suffer.

On his signal, Dragon forced a miniature spider from its wall bracket; it rocketed straight for me. With quick reflexes, Yves pulled me down so that it passed overhead to smash against the far wall, leaving a dent in the concrete.

‘You forget: you’re not the only ones with powers.’ Yves stared up at the Seer and smoke began to curl from his suit pocket. As his wallet burst into flames, the Seer and Unicorn frantically tried to put out the blaze.

‘Yves, stop it!’ I whispered.

He reluctantly extinguished the blaze. ‘I went for his heart and that was the nearest I could find to one,’ Yves explained to me with a wicked smile.

We were so going to pay for that—but I had to admit the sight was one to savour for the rest of what was probably now going to be a very short life.

Tell that Yank of yours that he had better produce the goods or you’ll be the one to burn!
screeched the Seer in my mind, his voice like the grating of metal on metal.

‘He’s not happy,’ I glossed for Yves.

‘I bet he didn’t put it quite like that.’

‘No. Not exactly. I’m the hostage for your good behaviour, much as we expected.’

‘And you’ve lived with
that
squatting on your life?’ marvelled Yves, his disgust at the Seer all too apparent. He was sure to despise me if he ever discovered that the man could be my father. I hoped he never found out; I had more than enough points against me as it was.

Under his own set of orders, Dragon stepped forward and attempted to pull me away from Yves. ‘Time to leave.’

Predictably, my soulfinder would not let go. Fury sparking in his eyes, Yves pushed me back and placed himself in Dragon’s way. ‘If you touch her, I’ll singe every hair on your head.’ And he would too—I could see determination in his expression. ‘She’s staying with me from now on.’

‘Not happening. She belongs to the Community.’

‘She belongs with her soulfinder.’

‘Look, mate, I’ve played nice so far. There’re three of us and one of you. How exactly do you think you are going to get out of here with her?’

Yves gave a ripple of a shrug. ‘Tell your leader that if he wants that information, he has to let her go with me, or there’s no deal. I don’t trust you not to hurt her while she’s with you and there’s no point in this for me if she’s not safe. What I do, I do for her.’

‘How touching. I think I’m gonna throw up.’ Dragon rolled his eyes at Yves’s defiant talk.

I wanted to butt in and forbid Yves from promising anything that put his family and the Savant Net at risk but I remembered in time that I’d said I’d let him make the running. It terrified me that he was getting in over his head, but I’d given my word.

Yves stood firm. ‘I’m sure it is not beyond the capabilities of your Seer to put in safeguards to keep her from spilling your secrets, but my interests are only protected when I can see her. That’s a red line for me.’

Dragon must have been reporting what was said for the Seer came back quickly with his counter-offer.

Tell him he can have you for forty-eight hours and then he must bring you and the information to me.

‘Where does he want to us come?’

To the London Eye.