Page 15 of The Dark Mirror (The Bone Season #5)

15

FROM THE DEPTHS

VENICE

6 October 2060

Venice was a city steeped not just in water, but in shadow. There were many well-lit streets – tourist veins, lined with shops and restaurants – but behind that facade, there lay a dark maze of decaying backstreets, a step away from the souvenirs. A maze where shades and ghosts outnumbered the living, and there were doors that no longer existed, leaving only frames.

On paths like those, I felt as if I snapped out of existence between streetlamps. The streets were empty and silent, often deserted. In the maze, Venice went from a living city to a skeleton on the edge of the sea, the breath of life washed from its ribs. Nick and I would enter those intercostal spaces, only to emerge in a busy square, where sound and light returned. I had worked in the darkest layers of London, but Venice at night still unnerved me.

The rain had turned into a downpour, cold enough that I was grateful for my jacket as Nick led me back towards San Marco. All the while, I imagined what I would say to Arcturus.

Two hundred and thirteen days. Neither of us had experienced the whole separation – he had been in that coffin for some of it, while I had been wandering around with a broken memory – but somehow I still felt it.

Calle de la Verona was deserted. There was a lockbox to the right of the door. Nick used a code to open it and retrieve the key, then led me up to the apartment on the highest floor.

I took my time removing my jacket. Arcturus had seen me at my most vulnerable, in every way it was possible to be vulnerable. Now I was afraid to face him. I might yet see blame staring back.

Terebell sat alone in the parlour. The shutters were closed, leaving one lamp to light the room.

‘Arcturus is asleep,’ she said. ‘I would prefer not to wake him.’

‘We can wait.’ I smoothed my jersey. ‘Where are the others?’

‘Lesath and Errai have gone to feed. Lucida wished to take the measure of the city. I will send them back to London tomorrow, to tell the others what happened.’

‘We should be careful,’ Nick said. ‘The Mime Order isn’t impenetrable. We can’t risk Scion knowing we have Warden, or his intelligence will be worthless.’

‘I agree,’ I said. ‘Eliza and the Ranthen should hear it. Maybe the high commanders. No one else.’

‘For now,’ Terebell said.

She watched as I sat down and checked my phone. Ducos had sent a message, informing me of when I was expected for debriefing. I switched it off.

Ver?a and Maria soon arrived, carrying bags of food.

‘It seems that autumn has arrived in Venezia,’ Ver?a said, pulling off her gumboots. ‘This looks as if it could be a bad storm.’ She switched on the lights in the kitchen. ‘Paige, Nick, you really must try some homemade Italian food. I thought we could make dinner together.’

‘Come on, sweet.’ Maria steered me into the kitchen. ‘Mama always said it was best to have difficult conversations on a full stomach.’

Ver?a tasked me with chopping and shredding. I recognised this for the distraction it was, but handled it without complaint, trying not to notice the golden cord, or where it led.

‘Federico must have been terrified,’ Nick said to Ver?a. ‘Have you spoken to him?’

‘Federico is honoured to have been able to help us steal from Scion, even if he is shaken. He’s gone underground in case the Ercole was seen.’ She was melting butter in a saucepan. ‘I’ve told him to keep quiet about what he saw, for his own sake. I trust him. But we need to crack Operation Ventriloquist as soon as possible, to protect the voyants of Napoli.’

‘I haven’t seen anything on the news about us, but I don’t speak much Italian.’

‘There is nothing.’

‘You’d think it was the handiwork of expert criminals.’ Maria glanced at me as she uncorked a bottle of wine. ‘Venice will be good for Warden. Plenty of wine and sea air to refresh him.’

I nodded, but didn’t reply.

We ate at the kitchen table. I cleaned as much of my plate as I could, but my appetite had evaporated, along with my courage. Before I could think better of the idea, I drained a glass of wine.

By the time we all finished, Lesath and Errai had returned to the apartment and hung up their coats. Once we had cleared the table, we joined them in the parlour.

‘Paige,’ Terebell said, ‘I do not know how you saved Arcturus, but you have my gratitude.’

‘Yes,’ Lesath said. ‘On behalf of the Mesarthim, I extend our thanks to you for resurrecting our rightful Warden, Underqueen. Our family is small, but each of us is in your debt.’

Terebell had used my name. I thought it might be the first time.

‘No debt,’ I said. ‘I’m glad it wasn’t too late.’

‘Such a thing should not have been possible,’ Lesath said. ‘How did you do it?’

‘I used my gift.’

Errai looked even stiffer than usual. The thought of my spirit in his dreamscape must be disquieting.

‘If we found other Ranthen who had been starved,’ Terebell said, ‘could you revive them?’

‘I’ve no idea,’ I said. ‘I’d have to try it.’

‘I mislike this, dreamwalker,’ Errai said. His eyes were venomous green. ‘You have downplayed and obscured the power of your gift. What other abilities are you hiding?’

‘Why, Errai, are you scared of me?’

A tense silence gripped the room.

‘Do not be absurd,’ Errai spat.

‘Simmer down, chrome dome.’ Maria gave him a level stare. ‘The Underqueen just saved your best warrior from a fate worse than death. Perhaps you could afford her a little courtesy.’

‘I do not recall addressing you, augur.’

‘I do not recall caring.’

‘Let us try to stay calm, everyone,’ Ver?a said. ‘This is a small apartment.’

Maria pursed her lips, but desisted.

‘Now we have Arcturus back, he will disclose what he learned behind enemy lines,’ Terebell said. ‘Nashira may have shared more than she ought with him, believing that her secrets would be safe once he was latent. We might soon know more of her plans than we have in decades.’

‘We also need him to help Paige with her memories,’ Nick said. ‘To work out why she was captured.’

‘If voyants survive spirit shock, they wake up amaurotic,’ I said. ‘Arcturus went through something like that – complete severance from the ?ther. Can he even use his gift any more?’

‘His aura is exactly as it was,’ Terebell said.

‘Even still, we should give him time to recover. He might not want to—’

‘Arcturus knows the importance of this war. He will give his report now,’ Errai cut in. ‘He is not some frail human, requiring months to recover from a splash of water.’

Maria stared at him with open disgust. I could only let out a huff of laughter.

‘Errai,’ Nick said, ‘I would take that back, if I were you.’

‘Do not imagine that you can threaten a Rephaite, oracle.’ Errai looked at Terebell. ‘I warned you it was dangerous to send Arcturus to mind her. Her weakness has enfeebled him.’

‘Fuck you, Errai,’ I said.

Before anyone could stop me, I left the room. Errai was someone whose company I could only take in tiny doses at the best of times, and now I was down to one strained nerve.

Nick gave me time to cool off before following. By that point, I was standing by a window, arms folded, watching rain seep down the glass.

‘Paige.’ He came to stand behind me. ‘Don’t give Errai the satisfaction. You’re not weak.’

‘It’s not just him.’ I tightened my arms. ‘After I was tortured, I had time to mend in Paris. I’m afraid no one will give Arcturus that, because we all need him. Domino needs his intelligence on Scion. The Ranthen need him to keep fighting. And I need him to—’

A door opened to our right, and we turned. Arcturus stepped into the hallway.

‘Warden.’ Nick cleared his throat. ‘Good to see you awake.’

Arcturus wore his usual black clothes. His brown hair was awry, the way it always was when he woke up. It was the only part of him that ever looked untidy.

‘Nick,’ he said. ‘Paige.’

I was too aware of my breathing, the tender skin around my collarbone, the brush of a stray curl against my cheek. The light in his eyes had returned to gold, with a greener tinge than usual.

‘Sorry if we disturbed you,’ Nick said, saving me from having to speak. ‘Everyone is waiting for you downstairs, but there’s no hurry. We can always come back.’

‘Time may not be in our favour,’ Arcturus said. ‘Sooner or later, my absence from Capri will be noted.’

‘If you’re sure.’

Arcturus nodded. His aura skirted mine as he passed, leaving me stippled with goosebumps.

Nick and I followed him to the parlour. Terebell beckoned him to sit beside her on the couch, speaking in low Gloss. Maria made a point of pouring wine for everyone but Errai.

‘Warden, this is my girlfriend, Veronika Norlenghi.’ She corked the bottle. ‘She’s a Domino recruiter.’

‘Hello, Warden. I’ve heard so much about you.’ Ver?a offered him a glass and a smile. ‘I’m sorry for your poor welcome to Italy, but I hear you like wine, so you’re in the right country.’

Arcturus took the glass. ‘Thank you, Veronika.’

‘Ver?a is fine.’ She glanced at Maria. ‘I’ll leave you to it. See you back at Domino?’

‘All right, love.’

Ver?a swung on her raincoat and left. I settled on the window seat beside Nick.

I still felt almost nothing from the golden cord. At first, I had thought it was overstretched to the point of shock. We had been so far apart, for so long.

Now I realised the obstruction stemmed from his end of the cord. He was making a concerted effort to conceal his emotions from me, in a way he never had before. I sensed his intent, and it punched me in the gut.

‘Are you comfortable with us being here, Warden?’ Nick used his bedside voice. ‘If you’d prefer some of us to go, that’s fine.’

‘No,’ Arcturus said. ‘You should all hear, as members of the Mime Order. Ask what you wish.’

‘Paige has already told us about the night you were captured, but we’d like to hear your side.’

‘Take your time,’ Maria said.

Arcturus nodded.

‘The Vigiles came to the safe house when I was sleeping, armed with the windflower,’ he said. ‘After the confrontation in Versailles, I was weaker than my wont. Paige had left, so she was not taken.’

I looked away.

‘To hide my position from her, I was dosed with alysoplasm and driven to the outskirts of Paris,’ he said. ‘Nashira arrived in due course. She reminded me that I had once sworn to serve her, and she meant to hold me to my oath. Of course, I could not return to being her consort, given her belief that I have been … intimate with Paige.’

Errai made a sound of disgust. I kept my face blank as memories came, unbidden.

‘Nonetheless,’ Arcturus said, ‘Nashira has always tried to bring her enemies back into the fold. My crimes were grave, but if I endured my punishments and aided her in the conquest of Earth, she assured me that I would not be sequestered or starved. I could be forgiven.’

Nashira was famous for this. She went to great lengths to avoid executing her fellow Rephs, but that meant she had to twist and hammer them into a shape that suited her needs.

‘For my first act of penance, I was to help her destroy the Mime Order,’ Arcturus said. ‘I had a visitor in my cell – a human I had once known as David Fitton. His true name is Cadoc Fitzours.’ I stared at him. ‘I had thought him an oracle, but I soon learned that he is a dreamwalker.’ His eyes met mine. ‘There is another, Paige. And he is strong.’

A terrible chill swept over my skin.

‘Cade.’ I finally spoke. ‘Cade is a dreamwalker?’

Maria frowned. ‘Who?’

‘No. He sent me a vision in Oxford,’ I said to Arcturus. ‘He’s an oracle.’

‘Jaxon sees clairvoyance in fixed and distinct categories. We must not fall into that trap,’ he said. ‘It is possible that Fitzours can project visions like an oracle and possess like a dreamwalker. Since both abilities are exceptionally rare, he must have relied on ignorance to evade detection.’

Now I thought about it, it was more than possible. I had often been mistaken for an oracle myself.

I hoped someone from my order would be a good ally . My chest tightened as I remembered Cade saying those words in Oxford. Birds of a feather, and so on.

He had been screaming the truth in my face, but Jaxon had taught me I was the only dreamwalker, and I had been fool enough to believe it. I had missed what was right under my nose.

‘Again,’ Maria said, ‘who are we talking about?’

‘Cadoc Fitzours. He was in my Bone Season,’ I said. ‘I saw him in Paris.’

‘Cadoc Fitzours.’ She grimaced. ‘Of all the self-important names, that one takes the cake.’

‘Do continue, Warden,’ Lesath said, dealing us a stern look.

We fell silent.

‘The next evening, Nashira set the stage,’ Arcturus said. ‘I was positioned in a building on the ?le de la Citadelle to await Paige. Nashira wanted me to convince her that I had been a Sargas spy since the start of our alliance. The intention was for her to panic and instruct the Mime Order to move, driving it from a refuge that had eluded Scion for several months.’

I had done exactly that.

That was why Nashira had let me leave that night. With perfect accuracy, she had anticipated my reaction and thrown me like a grenade at my own people.

‘Fitzours would be in my dreamscape to guarantee my cooperation. He is adept in possession – I suspect he was trained from a young age – but even he could not keep indefinite hold of a Rephaite,’ Arcturus said. ‘I had to participate in the deception to ensure its success.’

‘I can’t imagine you doing that without a good incentive,’ Nick said. ‘Did they blackmail you?’

‘If Paige did not believe the lie, she would be imprisoned, tortured and mutilated. Nashira intended to force the Mime Order out by holding its Underqueen to ransom,’ Arcturus said. ‘I had no intention of allowing Paige to return to their custody. I knew I had to make her leave, no matter the cost. They stopped giving me alysoplasm, to ensure that she would be able to find me.’

I stiffened, knowing what came next.

‘The act began,’ he said. ‘I disrupted it only once, when Fitzours took drastic action to persuade Paige that I had betrayed her. He made to strike her, but I could tell that he had gravely misjudged my strength. The blow he aimed at her would have been fatal. I stopped him.’

Even with gloves, I will not dirty my hand.

‘So Paige was allowed to leave,’ Nick said, when Arcturus was silent, his gaze dull. ‘To scatter us.’

‘Yes. Nashira had a dreamwalker; she could afford to risk the other. Fitzours had offered his services in exchange for immunity from execution. She was also confident that Paige would return of her own accord – either to free me, if she realised the deception, or to punish my betrayal. She had no fear of losing Paige for good while she had me.’

She knew me well.

‘Cade,’ I said. ‘Is he alive?’

‘Yes,’ Arcturus said.

‘Nashira always meant to kill me, steal my gift. What entitles him to immunity?’

‘Perhaps his loyalty. If he demonstrates that he is worth more to her alive than dead, she has no need to take his gift yet. For all intents and purposes, it is already hers to wield.’

‘Why on Earth would he trust her not to execute him?’ Maria said.

‘Nashira does have a knack for convincing humans to do things,’ I said quietly. ‘She convinced Lord Palmerston to hand the whole of Britain over on a silver platter.’

‘The motive hardly matters,’ Lesath said. ‘What matters is that our greatest tactical advantage – a dreamwalker – now has a disciplined rival. Our bodies are no longer our own.’

‘It doesn’t make sense for her to spare him,’ I said, frustrated. ‘Surely she could reactivate Senshield with his spirit, if nothing else.’

‘I cannot yet explain her mercy on that front,’ Arcturus said.

He refused to look in my direction, even as he answered me. I didn’t know if I was grateful for it.

‘Paige did order us to evacuate, but we guessed it was a ruse, thanks to Nadine. She spoke in your defence,’ Nick said to him. ‘We stayed put.’

My jaw set. I wanted to leave, but I willed myself to keep to my seat. I deserved to hear this.

‘Good,’ Arcturus said. ‘Nashira had anticipated the airstrikes, thanks to her allies with precognitive gifts. She hoped the Mime Order, frightened from its hideout, would suffer heavy casualties in London. I am relieved to hear that you remained in the deep shelter.’

‘The night of the airstrikes,’ Maria said, seeing my face. ‘Where were you by then, Warden?’

‘In the crypts of the ?le de la Citadelle. The next day, I was taken to a secure bunker. Although Nashira had foreseen the London bombing, her heir – Vindemiatrix – had not been able to ascertain who was behind it. She had also not known about the simultaneous attack on Paris.’

‘You said Vindemiatrix worked in the free world,’ I said. ‘Is her network called Grapevine?’

Arcturus nodded. Even though he was clamping the cord, it had loosened enough for me to feel his exhaustion.

‘Fitzours brought Nashira a hostage,’ he said. ‘Prior to the masquerade, he abducted Luce Ménard Frère, to neutralise the rising threat of disobedience from Inquisitor Ménard. Now Ménard cannot move against Nashira without endangering his spouse and child.’

‘So Cade was talking shite about wanting to help Ménard,’ I said. ‘He worked for Nashira.’

‘So it seems,’ Arcturus said. ‘She must have indoctrinated him in Oxford.’

‘He switched loyalties.’

Maria sighed. ‘You really do meet the most deranged people, Paige.’

‘The next thing I don’t understand,’ I said, ‘is why Nashira wouldn’t just kill Ménard on the spot.’

‘Ménard is popular, and his tenure as Grand Inquisitor has kept France strong and stable. I imagine that she has left Tj?der in place for the same reason,’ Arcturus said. ‘If she executed two such prominent figures, especially after the loss of Burnish, the denizens of Scion would lose their sense of security. Nashira believes in the enduring power of appearances.’

‘Frère must have given birth in captivity.’

‘Yes. She was still a hostage when I was last conscious, kept in the cell beside mine. Fitzours took the infant, Victoire.’

Frère and I detested each other, but I had never doubted that she loved her children. Having her newborn wrenched away must have destroyed her. ‘Is Cade the father, like he told me?’

‘Frère insisted otherwise to me. She claimed the child was amaurotic, conceived with Ménard.’

It was surreal to imagine them talking about that sort of thing, not least because Frère despised Rephs. I could barely imagine her with a hair out of place, let alone in a prison cell.

‘I saw the child,’ Arcturus said. ‘She is not voyant.’

‘You can’t usually tell until they’re older,’ Maria said. ‘Can you?’

‘Our eyes can see what yours cannot,’ Terebell said. ‘Even infant voyants have auras.’

‘I suspect that Fitzours invented the affair to convince Paige that she would have power over him in the H?tel Garuche,’ Arcturus said, ‘which, in turn, allowed him to lure her inside.’

Entering that place was the most reckless and short-sighted decision I had ever made, and that was quite the achievement. I had been exhausted, traumatised and racked with pneumonia, but nothing excused that degree of stupidity. Cade had played me like a fiddle – though to what end, I had no idea. He had never hurt or crossed me in there.

‘In Oxford,’ I said, ‘I questioned why he was trying to befriend me, and he made up a story to throw me off the scent. It didn’t work, but he clearly thinks he’s got the gift of the gab.’

‘From observation,’ Arcturus said, ‘he attains a sense of superiority from manipulating those around him.’

‘Oh, good. Another unscrupulous bastard,’ Maria said. ‘We needed more of those around here.’

‘We have to find out where Frère and her child are, or Ménard is just a dangerous puppet,’ Nick said. ‘Paige worked hard to forge an alliance with him, even if it wasn’t built to last.’

‘Nashira moved several times during my captivity, but always kept to France, to oversee the Iberian Peninsula and keep watch on Ménard,’ Arcturus said. ‘She took strongholds in Léaz and the Jura Mountains. Frère may be in one of those locations.’

‘Where did she keep you?’

‘Carcassonne, where she could confer with her commanders in Spain. During this time, I was tortured for information about the Mime Order.’

He delivered this statement in a toneless voice. I had known – of course I had known – but the confirmation still broke something in me.

‘My access to aura was restricted, to ensure I was too weak to escape,’ he said. ‘On the Day of the French Republic, I took advantage of the celebrations to invoke a psychopomp. One of my guards assisted me.’

Terebell spoke: ‘Who?’

‘Situla Mesarthim.’

That was a surprise. Situla had always seemed staunchly loyal to the Sargas, but now I thought about it, she had stopped just short of killing me in Versailles. I had thought it was because Nashira wanted to do it.

‘Our cousin has made the right choice,’ Lesath said.

‘Nashira discovered her betrayal. She was sequestered for helping me.’

Lesath absorbed this.

‘Another of us gone,’ he said, ‘but for a good cause.’

Arcturus was silent. I could only imagine how he was feeling. As rightful Warden of the Mesarthim, he was their guardian, and most of them had already been lost during the civil war.

‘Nashira has always had a certain respect for you, Warden, despite your differing views,’ Lesath said. ‘It is why she fought so hard to break you over the centuries. She would not have bothered with a lesser adversary.’ Arcturus glanced at him. ‘Did you learn anything of use from her?’

It was refreshing to have a Ranthen-aligned Mesarthim in the group. Lesath looked at Arcturus with a clear, straightforward respect I had rarely seen other Rephs afford to him.

‘It is true that Nashira has never quite let go of the idea that I could be moulded into a loyal consort. That she could make a true and lifelong ally of the Warden of the Mesarthim,’ Arcturus said. ‘That would be a far greater victory than merely claiming me as her trophy.’

You will never be a war trophy to me.

My own words echoed in my mind. I had meant them with every sinew of my being.

‘After a time, I allowed her to believe she was convincing me, hoping she might share her plans. She told me she meant to conquer Italy,’ Arcturus said. ‘And she told me how.’

Nick leaned forward, his face intent. After all, this was the official reason we had rescued Arcturus.

‘Cadoc Fitzours is her weapon,’ Arcturus said. ‘Using his gift, he can compel world leaders to do his bidding. With a dreamwalker on one hand and Grapevine on the other, Nashira can force countries not only to convert, but to appear willing, ensuring she does not violate any secret treaties or international laws. She can grow her army, but avoid open war.’

There was a long silence.

‘Well,’ Maria said, ‘it seems you’ve cracked Operation Ventriloquist for us, Warden.’

I said nothing, sick to my stomach.

‘I don’t understand,’ Nick said. ‘Does he … possess them?’

‘Fitzours begins with an outspoken politician. Someone with a history of opposing Scion,’ Arcturus said. ‘He commits a crime in their body in front of witnesses, or leaks evidence to law enforcement.’

‘Helen Githmark.’ Maria snapped her fingers. ‘She was arrested for a hit and run.’

‘Githmark was the first victim of Operation Ventriloquist. Once Fitzours has destroyed one politician, he threatens others with the same fate. He bypasses their security and demonstrates his abilities in private. With the knowledge that their bodies are no longer their own, they are vulnerable to coercion. In this way, Fitzours can break a government from within. He can also cause the politicians to ingest poison, or to otherwise injure themselves, if they do not comply.’

‘Of course,’ Maria breathed. ‘If Scion invades a country, there’s a risk that others will move to defend it. The airstrikes taught the anchor that. This way, the country seems to convert of its own accord. But he’s the one pulling the strings.’

I had never been so ambitious with my gift. In three months, Cade had conquered Norway.

‘He must have threatened Sala and Rinaldi,’ I said. ‘That’s why they handed the islands over.’

‘Yes,’ Arcturus said. ‘Beatrice Sala and Lorenzo Rinaldi were certainly targets of Operation Ventriloquist, and the islands were the first step in the conquest of Italy. They are a token of troth – a guarantee that Italy will convert, once Scion is ready to initiate the anchorisation and subdue any local resistance. It will be some time before the Second Inquisitorial Division can depart from the Iberian Peninsula.’

‘We need to find President Sala now. More importantly, we need to get rid of Fitzours,’ Nick said. ‘A dreamwalker on their side is far too dangerous.’

I was starting to shiver, even with my jersey.

‘Warden,’ Maria said, ‘after you heard all of this, how did you end up on Capri?’

Arcturus dropped his gaze.

‘After the Ranthen raid on Carcassonne, Nashira deemed that the risk of keeping me outweighed the benefits,’ he said. ‘She decided I could be useful to her once more. I was chained in the coffin and starved. As I lost my grip on the ?ther, she told me that she meant to lay my body as a trap for my allies. I would be the death of anyone who came for me.’

‘Ah.’ Maria paused. ‘Were you … still conscious when you went into the water?’

‘Yes.’

Nashira was never wasteful. She used her foes to her advantage, even when they were defeated.

‘Lugentes Campi was a trap, chiefly aimed at Terebell, while Orcus IV is another Rephaite haven,’ Arcturus said. ‘I also learned of three more prison cities. There is Tuonela III, which will be in the Swedish town of Visby, and two others, code name Erebus, in Scion East.’

‘Tuonela III is dead in the water. I went to Visby,’ Nick said. ‘Tj?der has stalled the conversion.’

‘That would fit with the current picture of events. Tj?der is still free to act, to some degree, while Ménard no longer is. During our time in Paris, Paige learned that she despises Rephaim.’

Every time he said my name, my skin tingled with fresh awareness of him.

‘Nashira confided in you,’ Terebell said. ‘Did she tell you any other plans, aside from Operation Ventriloquist?’

‘Not in full,’ Arcturus said, ‘but the last intelligence I gained is perhaps the most disquieting. ‘Nashira has turned her attention back to ethereal technology.’

I closed my eyes.

‘Don’t tell us she’s rebuilding Senshield,’ Nick said.

‘Senshield is still incapacitated, to my knowledge. This new technology is called Deathwatch,’ Arcturus said. ‘It will calculate and monitor the number of drifting spirits on Earth.’

‘Why would she create something like that?’

‘She did not tell me its purpose, but it means the Sargas are taking a greater interest in the veils between the planes of being, and in the ethereal threshold. It ought to concern us.’

Terebell narrowed her eyes. Nick and Maria exchanged blank looks, but I knew about the ethereal threshold.

Ideally, we would have an advisory role in your world, to keep the number of spirits in check and establish a fair balance of power , Arcturus had told me in London. If we cannot do this, we fear there will be chaos.

What sort of chaos?

If the Netherworld can fall, so can Earth.