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Thane’s brow creased with worry. ‘Tiddles is little more than a kitten. I can’t stay out all night. She needs me.’

‘Exactly.’ I growled and thumped my fist against the bars in frustration. I didn’t have time for this shit.

I sighed deeply, marched to a corner of the small cell and sat down on the edge of the bed.

I hadn’t expected to be in any sort of danger today so I hadn’t left my usual letter on Dave’s doorstep with instructions for if I didn’t return.

I crossed my fingers and hoped that he’d notice that I wasn’t there and he’d take care of the cats.

There wasn’t much I could do about Tiddles, though.

‘We’ve met Montgomery before,’ I said. ‘He takes his job seriously. We won’t be kept here for long. ’

A languid voice echoed towards us from another cell. ‘You wanna bet? You’re not the only ones in here waiting to be questioned. We’re all waiting for Captain Montgomery. The turnkey told us he’s on the other side of Coldstream.’

My shoulders slumped. Thane looked furious. This could be a very long evening.

The first hour passed slowly, punctuated only by the arrival of trays of beige and brown slop that I supposed was meant to pass as food. Thane and I spoke little, aware that not only were the other detainees listening but quite possibly the MET were too.

While Wilberforce Montgomery hadn’t struck me as a bad sort when we’d met late last year, the MET weren’t known for either their intelligence or their integrity.

I wasn’t willing to yield any information to them until I knew exactly who I was dealing with, and what they were planning to do with it.

We certainly couldn’t risk anyone alerting the witches’ council about Daniel Jackson; they’d close ranks in a heartbeat and we’d never find the truth. The smart thing to do was stay quiet.

About three hours after we’d been brought in, we heard a door open and heavy footsteps began treading in our direction. I brightened: that hadn’t been so bad.

I got to my feet but it wasn’t Captain Montgomery’s face who appeared in front of the bars, it was the damned MET officer who’d brought us our poor excuse for food. ‘We need to get out of here,’ I pleaded.

He shrugged. ‘Not my call. You can’t go until Captain M says so. And Captain M ain’t here.’

Goddamnit.

‘Why are you here bothering us, then?’ Thane asked.

He pointed at me. ‘You’ve got a visitor.’ He motioned towards someone who was standing out of our sight. ‘You’ve got five minutes.’

‘I only require two,’ said an unfamiliar voice with an oddly stilted accent.

A remarkably thin figure wearing a bright-green velvet suit appeared. I blinked at his mottled skin and yellow eyes: a spriggan. Typically their kind worked for the Fae, who rarely made an appearance in Coldstream. What the hell was one doing here?

‘Boris,’ Thane said. ‘I should have guessed.’

I stared at him. ‘You know this guy?’

‘Oh yes. He works for Mallory.’ Thane grinned. ‘When I say “works”, I mean he owes her a very large favour and is working it off. How long do you have left in her service?’

‘Two years, five months and twelve days,’ Boris said. ‘Barely any time at all.’

When you were practically Fae, that was probably true, though it wasn’t the sort of long indenture I fancied. Thank goodness Mallory had placed a twelve-month limit on what I owed her.

‘I have your blood contract,’ the spriggan said to me, holding up a rolled-up parchment. ‘I need you to sign it before Mallory can proceed. I would have been here earlier but,’ his grin was coldly amused, ‘it took some time to track you down.’

That was fair. I took the parchment from him, unsealed the wax and opened it. It was standard fare and contained no surprises. Thane glanced at it over my shoulder then said, in a low voice, ‘You can still change your mind. You can back out until you sign it, Kit.’

I was well aware of that. However, matters had progressed since I’d spoken to Mallory that afternoon and I still wanted to know what the witches’ council were up to.

For one thing, that would tell me whether Fetch Jackson was working on his own behalf or as an official council representative.

Besides, a verbal agreement was as good for me as one sealed in blood and I’d already agreed to this.

I had plenty of faults but I liked to think I was honourable.

‘It’s fine,’ I said.

The MET officer had patted me down and taken my lovely curved dagger when I’d been arrested but it appeared that Boris had come prepared. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small knife. ‘You can’t give her that!’ the officer barked. ‘She’s a prisoner!’

‘I have to draw blood,’ I said patiently.

The officer was unmoved. I considered and then, against my better judgment, stuck out my hand so the spriggan could make the cut for me. ‘You’d better clean that blade,’ I warned.

He tutted. ‘I have no interest in the likes of you.’ He sliced expertly across my finger so only a bead of crimson blood oozed forth. I marked the contract while Boris made a show of wiping the blade.

‘If you are still in custody tomorrow night,’ he said, ‘Mallory will come and find you to fulfil the terms of the contract. Otherwise she will stick to the original plan and meet you at the restaurant.’

‘I will not be in custody.’

The MET officer barked a laugh. ‘We’ll see.’

I glared at him. ‘Where is Captain Montgomery? He should be here by now.’

‘He’s a busy man. He’s scheduled your interrogation for tomorrow morning. The two of you are here for the night.’

What?

‘You can’t do that!’ Thane glared, unable to disguise his anger.

‘Can’t I? Oh, I’ll let you go then,’ the officer said sarcastically.

‘Our families?—’

‘Yeah, yeah. You need to feed your kids. You’ll have to make alternative arrangements for them.’

Thane’s green eyes spat fury. ‘How are we supposed to do that from here?’

I glanced at the spriggan. I didn’t want to owe any more favours, not if I could help it.

‘Ask your lawyer,’ the officer suggested.

‘Huh?’

Boris went out, only to be replaced by a second figure.

‘Good evening. Quite a mess you two have got yourselves into, isn’t it?’

My shoulders dropped. ‘Hi, Trilby.’

They grinned. ‘Hi, Kit.’