Page 5

‘Are you okay?’

I laughed. ‘Absolutely fine.’

He eyed me, and I waited. There must have been a reason the ghost led me to him.

‘Maybe,’ he said. ‘Kazik, my boyfriend.’ The corner of his mouth twitched. ‘But how do I know this is not a trick, and you are not a criminal, trying to rob the handsome bartender?’

‘You don’t think a criminal would have at least attempted to come up with a convincing story?’

‘A good point.’ He checked his watch. ‘We are closing in half an hour. Can you wait?’

‘If you could find me somewhere inconspicuous to sit.’

‘Why, are you being chased?’

‘Yes, actually.’

That got a chuckle out of him. ‘And you say you are not a criminal.’ (If only he knew.) ‘Okay, sit around the corner, and I will bring you a drink. On the house,’ he added, before I could turn out my pockets. ‘You look like you need it.’

‘I’m Tobiasz,’ the bartender said, as we walked through the dark streets of Legnica. ‘And you?’

‘Cora,’ I said. ‘Thank you for helping me, Tobiasz.’

I wasn’t sure why I gave that name. It had been a long time since I had last thought of my mother.

‘Well, I had no other tourists to rescue tonight.’ Tobiasz tucked his hands into his pockets. ‘You are backpacking in Europe?’

‘Yes.’ It made for a good cover story. ‘I got separated from my friends.’

‘And where are you from?’

I tried to think of a safe answer. ‘Iceland.’ It was only one letter off. ‘The capital of Iceland.’

‘Reykjavík.’ He looked impressed. ‘I was never in Iceland.’

‘Oh, it’s great. Significant amounts of … ice.’ I glanced over my shoulder. ‘Are you from Legnica?’

‘No, I am just coming south for university in Wroclaw. I live here with Kazik in the summer. Which is where I am taking you now.’

‘What do you study?’

‘Art. I want to be a sculptor, like my grandmother,’ Tobiasz said. ‘Are you studying back in Iceland?’

I was almost lost for words. It was surreal to have a conversation this ordinary, without a single mention of Scion. It made me wonder what kind of life I would have led, had I remained outside it.

‘I skipped university,’ I eventually said. ‘I’m in the demolition business.’

Demolition of sensible plans, old palaces and tyrannical regimes.

As I kept pace, I checked the æther. The suits might have worked out where I had gone, from security footage. Tobiasz had been kind to help a complete stranger, but he was under the impression that I was a lost backpacker, not a fugitive from Scion. The last thing I wanted was to get anyone else caught up in the long trail of destruction my life had become.

We turned into an alley, where he unlocked a door. ‘If you’re going to rob me, this is your chance,’ Tobiasz pointed out.

‘Note that I’ve let it pass.’

He secured the gate behind us and tapped an intercom. When the door opened, he led me up a flight of stairs.

The apartment was neat, with a wooden floor and ivory walls. A whisperer in his early twenties sat at a breakfast bar, a laptop open in front of him, nodding along to soft music.