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When the echoes had faded, silence descended on the valley. I looked around to see a tall woman step into the firelight, dressed for the cold, a sniper rifle in her grasp. She took in the two bodies, then me.

‘Well,’ she said, ‘I see you remain a force of infinite chaos, Flora Blake. I can’t say I missed it.’ She held out a gloved hand. ‘But it’s comforting to know some things don’t change.’

‘Ducos,’ I said, with a laugh of relief.

My former Domino supervisor gave me a firm tug back to my feet. ‘I am going to kill you,’ Isaure Ducos said, her dark eyes reflecting the fire. ‘Later.’

‘Thank you. I mean, yes, fine.’

Maria suddenly hissed, making Ducos raise her rifle. ‘Yoana,’ Verca said, ‘what is it?’

She fumbled a torch from the snow and shone it on Maria, revealing the hilt of a knife, protruding from her sleeve.

‘Oh.’ Maria let out a pained chuckle. ‘I probably should have noticed that sooner.’

6

CITY OF MASKS

The rest of the night was a merciless slog. The collapse of the bridge would have drawn every Italian drone and patrol in the area, which gave us a chance to get clear of the Alps without being detected. Verca supported Maria, while Ducos led us onward, keeping to cover as much as possible. Two burning spirits lit our way, sticking close to Maria.

Ducos refused to answer questions (‘Just walk, please, Flora’), so I fell back to check on Maria, plodding over rocks and snow with a combat knife in her upper arm. I had draped my jacket over her shoulders to warm her.

‘Hey,’ I said. ‘How are you holding up?’

‘I’ve had worse.’ She gave me a wan smile. ‘You’re usually the one with the dire injury.’

The smile didn’t reach her eyes. She had ruled her section of London with an iron fist, but she had never relished bloodshed. Now she had been forced to kill two people in one night.

‘I’ll let you steal the spotlight just this once,’ I said. ‘Are you all right, Verca?’

‘I’m fine, thanks to you,’ Verca said. ‘I can’t believe you hung off the bridge, all to separate me from Harald.’

‘Oh, Paige has done bolder things in her time. She possesses the loyalty of a beagle and the chaotic abandon of a headless chicken,’ Maria said. ‘It’s a dangerous marriage.’

‘You’re a riot, Hazurova,’ I said.

‘I know.’

‘Less talking,’ Ducos called from some way ahead. ‘More movement, please.’

Maria sent an exasperated look after her. ‘Yes. Movement is easy.’ She sucked in a deep breath before taking another step. ‘How do you know this mysterious sharpshooter, Paige?’

‘Ducos was my supervisor.’

‘The one who kicked you out?’

‘She’s sound. Just takes a while to warm up to people. And doesn’t like arson.’

‘We’ll get on like a house on fire, then.’

‘Please.’

‘She must have come looking for you, Paige,’ Verca said. ‘Domino supervisors often go to great lengths to find agents or associates who disappear.’

I looked after Ducos, wondering.

Morning soon lit the summits of the Alps. At last, we stepped over the brow of a hill to see a wide green valley, most of it still cast into the shadow of the mountains. This must be the end of the pass. Ducos looked through a pair of binoculars, hair ruffling in the wind.