Page 26 of The Dark Mirror (The Bone Season #5)

26

TABLE TURNING

Orvieto was cold on the day we left. My breath came in clouds as I stood on the balcony, taking in the misted hills, as buttoned up as a Reph. I would probably never come here again, unless we succeeded in defeating Scion. I wanted one last sight of the place where I had taken what I wanted, and accepted being wanted in return.

When I sensed Ducos, I locked the balcony door and crossed our room. We had laundered the sheets and remade the beds, as if we had never been here. No one else would ever know.

Arcturus was downstairs, sitting on the couch with red eyes. Now he could use my aura without hurting me, I had insisted he do it again. When I gave him a nod, he stood, dressed to leave. I checked that I had everything, including my knives, which I slotted into my holster.

‘You trained me for a good while,’ I said. ‘If it comes to single combat, do you think I can beat Cade?’

‘Yes. Fitzours is disciplined, but I believe your potential is greater. You were strong even in your early days in Oxford, before I began to instruct you in earnest. You brought Suhail to the ground by instinct. If you can do that, you can overpower a fellow dreamwalker.’

‘Why do you think my potential is greater?’

‘Because you are driven by your emotions, while I suspect Fitzours is not. What does drive him, I cannot guess, but from what I observed, he suppresses all compassion for his targets.’

‘You criticised my lack of restraint in Oxford.’

‘I feared that your unvarnished anger might provoke the other Rephaim. But I have never judged you for embracing your rage or fear when you dreamwalk,’ Arcturus said. ‘You should trust your instincts, Paige.’

He had so much faith in my abilities. I hoped I could inspire Sala to have even a fraction of his confidence in me.

Ducos knocked on the door. I kissed Arcturus once more, a stolen indulgence. We took a final look at the room, and just like that, we left Orvieto.

It had only been a dream.

Ducos looked as if she hadn’t slept in a week. She must be in pain from the broken rib, and it was cold enough that she needed to put the heating on.

‘President Sala has agreed to update Domino after this meeting,’ Ducos said. ‘As a precaution, we’re moving some personnel to our sanctuaries in Orvieto and Matera. If Scion has its customary reaction to defiance, we could be facing an invasion within a few days.’

‘They’re not ready for an invasion. If they threaten that, it’s a bluff,’ I said. ‘Vance claimed that all resistance would be like fighting smoke. That’s all Operation Ventriloquist is. Just smoke and mirrors.’

‘I hope you’re right.’

Arcturus sat in the back. I caught his gaze in the mirror, then looked away before Ducos could see. When we reached the outskirts of Rome, we took our alysoplasm.

The Eternal City soon reappeared. A thick mist had descended, straining the glow of sunset, and the temperature had dropped even more. Ducos parked outside the Chiostro del Bramante.

She waited in the car as I got out with Arcturus. ‘I might be gone for a while,’ I told him as we entered the building. ‘Do you know when Terebell is arriving?’

‘Very soon.’ He offered me a vial. ‘It is still possible that President Sala means to collude with Scion. Should you need your gift to defend yourself, drink all of this at once. It is ectoplasm mixed with hypertonic saline, and will counteract the alysoplasm in your blood.’

‘Thank you.’ I fastened it into my jacket. ‘What did I ever do without you and your vials?’

‘Hm.’ His gaze darted over my face. ‘Be safe, little dreamer.’

‘I’ll do my best.’

When he leaned down to kiss me, it swept me to the previous autumn, to London. I had been so hopeful about where our relationship was heading then, and I felt that same hope now, as I returned his kiss. A hope that we could outlast anything that lay in store. He pressed my hand and went to his room, while I got back into the car.

‘His eyes were red,’ Ducos said, a question in her tone.

‘He’s fine.’ I fastened my seatbelt. ‘Shall we go?’

Ducos drove the short way to the Roman Forum. As I started to get out, she caught a glimpse of my holster.

‘Make sure you declare those weapons,’ she said. ‘Sala is a world leader. Her safety will be prioritised in there.’ I nodded. ‘Do you have an entry token?’

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Are you staying in Rome?’

‘For the time being. I’ll be at the Chiostro del Bramante with Match, another member of Command. We’ll see you afterwards.’

She took off, leaving me alone at the entrance to the Forum. I approached the guards and showed them my gold pendant. As expected, they confiscated my weapons, including the knife I kept in my boot. Only then was I allowed to pass under the archway.

Candles and flaming torches lit the Forum. They must not have got the electricity going. I crossed the cobblestones, reminded of Oxford.

Nick and Maria waited outside the Basilica Arcana, wearing identical tokens to mine. They embraced me between them, Maria using her good arm.

‘You look much better,’ Nick said. ‘How was Orvieto?’

‘Good,’ I said. ‘Got some training in.’

Maria had a twinkle in her eye. ‘And how is Warden?’

‘Better for the rest, but I didn’t want him to come here. I don’t believe Jax isn’t tipping Scion off.’

‘It really is a sick joke that he’s here. Sala and Carter don’t seem to grasp the danger he poses.’

I looked at Nick. ‘Did you talk to him?’

‘Yes. He’s giving the impression that the Council of Kassandra has been his only concern for years,’ Nick said grimly. ‘Carter seems to like him, and we have no solid proof of anything he’s done to hurt voyants. You were the only person who saw him in the Archon.’

Ver?a came down the steps to join us, wrapped up in a warm coat, like the others. ‘Welcome back, Paige,’ she said, with a tired smile. ‘Did you go to the Pozzo di San Patrizio?’

‘I did, thanks. It was beautiful.’

‘Good.’ There were dark circles under her eyes. ‘The atmosphere in there is very tense. Whatever Sala has decided, every voyant in this country will be under threat, and we all know it.’

‘Paige will stop this,’ Maria said.

‘Let us hope. We should take our seats,’ Ver?a said. ‘The meeting is about to start.’

From the looks of the Basilica Arcana, it was the first part of the Forum to have been resurrected. The interior was a single vast chamber, about two hundred feet long. As my group walked between the columns of the inner arcade, a marble floor gleamed underfoot, lit by chandeliers, the candlelight dancing across a coffered wooden ceiling. A few people mingled in the upper arcade, their conversations echoing.

A table ran down the middle of the chamber, dwarfed by it. Sala sat at one end, with Rohan Mistry and Antoinette Carter on either side of her. From her drawn appearance, Sala was taking the alysoplasm I had left for her.

‘Imagine the Mime Order having a place like this,’ Maria said. ‘Instead of having to hide in sewers.’

In truth, I found it all daunting. I must have lived in Scion for too long, to have grown so comfortable in hidden places. Still, the Basilica Arcana was breathtaking, and I could see why it could mean a lot to Sala, to conduct voyant business in such grand surroundings.

The floor was covered in detailed pictures from the tarot. The rays of a sun spread out around the table. Noticing us, Jaxon sauntered over, his face sharpened by the candlelight.

‘How are we, my fellow runaways from Scion?’

‘Always worse for seeing you, Binder,’ Maria said icily. ‘Have you brought us here to sell us?’

‘Oh, Maria. We ruled our adjoining sections cordially for many years, despite our disagreements.’ He folded both hands on his cane. ‘Surely we can be friends in the free world.’

‘Binder, you peddled voyants to the Suzerain. You did nothing while Paige was tortured.’ She kept her voice too low for anyone to overhear. ‘You might have tricked Sala into liking you, but we all know exactly what you are.’

‘I doubt that.’ His smile was frigid. ‘Come along. We have grave matters to discuss.’

He went back to Carter.

‘Stay calm around him,’ Nick said quietly. ‘He’s up to something.’

I believed him. He knew Jaxon better than anyone.

The chairs had plaques in front of them, which told us where to sit. Opposite me was a slender woman whose plaque identified her as Kafayat Ekundayo, the barrister mentioned in the dossier. She wore an emerald head tie and tapped her matching nails on the table. Mistry gave me a polite nod, which I returned.

When everyone had arrived, President Sala stood. The chamber fell silent.

‘Honoured guests and members of the Council of Kassandra,’ Sala said. ‘A few weeks ago, Italy became the target of a covert Scion military assault called Operation Ventriloquist. A dreamwalker named Cadoc Fitzours infiltrated the Quirinale and forced myself and the Prime Minister to surrender two Italian islands to the Republic of Scion. With one of our colleagues’ lives at risk, we agreed that Italy would join the empire. This was the secret Treaty of Orcus.’

Every face was grim. Her expression flickered, but she maintained her composure.

‘Scion has this treaty. There will be consequences for breaking it.’ Sala lifted her chin. ‘But I have called you all here to inform you that Italy will not give any ground to Operation Ventriloquist. From this point on, this country is at war with the Republic of Scion.’

A few worried murmurs followed. I released my breath.

‘I understand your fear. We know how Scion treats our kind, and I have kicked the hornets’ nest,’ Sala said. ‘But there will be no more appeasement. Scion does not take kindly to resistance, as some of you know from experience. If you wish to flee, I will do all I can to help.’

‘As an Italian myself,’ Ver?a said, ‘I would prefer to know if you have a plan, President Sala.’

‘I do.’

It didn’t do much to ease the tension, but everyone was listening. This was not the Unnatural Assembly.

‘Yesterday morning, the Prime Minister announced that the populations of Capri and Ischia would be allowed to return to their homes, breaking the conditions of the treaty,’ she said. ‘This news soon reached Scion. Fitzours contacted me and ordered me to meet him at the Quirinale in two days’ time. What he does not know is that I have a shield. A dreamwalker who arrived in Italy just a few weeks ago, and is willing to help us fight.’ She pointed me out, causing everyone to look. ‘This is the Underqueen of the Scion Citadel of London.’

Ekundayo raised her eyebrows. ‘You are Paige Mahoney?’

I nodded.

‘My plan is as follows,’ Sala said. ‘The dreamwalker can possess anyone within a mile of his body. That is the radius we must establish around the Quirinale. We’ll set up a perimeter to ensure he can’t escape this zone. When he inhabits the host, Paige will dislodge him, driving him back to his own body, which we can then destroy, stripping Scion of its weapon. Whether or not Scion will retaliate, and how swiftly, we do not yet know. They may bluff; they may not. This could mean war. Either way, we must make a stand.’

‘You want our support, yet gave none to Portugal,’ a white-haired voyant said. ‘President Goncalves was amaurotic, but there are many voyants in my country. Where was Italy when we called?’

‘I regret that we could not help Portugal,’ Sala said, ‘but my priority has been to keep Italy strong and stable, to ensure it can support this ambitious endeavour, financially and otherwise.’

‘Spoken like a true politician.’

‘I will not apologise for that, Osvaldo. This war will be fought on many fronts, potentially over many years. We need politicians, just as we need fighters and intelligence agents,’ Sala said. ‘Scion cannot be allowed to succeed in taking Italy, or the Rephaim will be virtually unopposed in Europe. They are the most urgent threat to our kind, as we have all agreed.’

That was not what I had expected her to say. A whole table of people who knew about the Rephs.

Cordier had been right. The secret was bursting its bounds.

‘If Scion does strike, we have allies in the syndicates of anchorised Europe,’ Sala said. ‘There are other avenues of support.’

‘Indeed,’ Jaxon said, silken. ‘Perhaps you’d like to tell everyone about your Rephaite allies, Underqueen.’

His words spread like frost over the table. There was an appalled silence, during which everyone stared at me.

‘You are working with these creatures?’ someone asked. ‘You, the Underqueen of London?’

‘There are two factions,’ I said. ‘The Sargas family founded Scion. I work alongside their enemies, the Ranthen, who lost the Rephaite civil war before they came to Earth. They don’t want to subjugate humans. They’ve been providing the Mime Order with financial backing, and—’

‘You’ve taken their money, made yourself dependent on them?’

‘Our alliance with the Ranthen has been useful,’ Nick said. ‘When London was placed under martial law, we wouldn’t have survived without—’

‘They feed on our auras,’ Carter cut in, her nostrils flaring. ‘What help can they possibly give us?’

Nick gave her a cautious look. I could tell he was trying to fathom her out.

‘Respectfully,’ he said, ‘what help have you given us?’

Carter turned to Sala. ‘Did you know about this, Beatrice?’

‘I did,’ Sala said. ‘Our instincts may oppose this alliance, but I believe we can lever it to our advantage. Jaxon claims these creatures’ blood enhances our abilities when ingested. Is that true, Underqueen?’

‘Yes,’ I said, after a pause.

‘Then we can use it to strengthen our forces against Scion. Perhaps it could even allow my amaurotic soldiers to tap into the ?ther.’

It was such an extraordinary idea that it rendered me speechless. Nick looked as disturbed as I felt.

‘Beatrice.’ Ekundayo looked stricken. ‘You think we should give amaurotics the keys to the ?ther?’

‘It may not be possible,’ Sala said, ‘but if so, it would only be a temporary measure, Kafayat. We will need every possible advantage over the Second Inquisitorial Division.’

‘I’m not convinced it would give us one,’ I said. ‘Even if it worked, you would need … a lot of ectoplasm.’

‘Perhaps the same amount the Suzerain provided to forge Senshield,’ Jaxon said. ‘During my time as a double agent in the Westminster Archon, I observed her providing her own ectoplasm to power the guns. Perhaps your Ranthen companions would do the same.’

A double agent. The brass neck on him. He must be framing his entire sojourn in Scion as the act of a rebel. Only a thin strand of self-control kept me from leaping across the table and shaking him until his teeth rattled.

‘The Ranthen would never agree to give their ectoplasm to jack up thousands of soldiers, and I can’t blame them,’ I said coolly. ‘I imagine they’d be insulted if I asked.’

‘Then don’t ask. They deserve no respect or quarter from us,’ Carter said, losing her patience. ‘You baffle me, Paige. It would be one thing if your alliance with the Ranthen was to glean information on these creatures, but the more I listen to you, the more I think you have sympathy for them. The Rephaim have taken everything from us. Even your Ranthen stood by and watched while Ireland fell. Why shouldn’t we take from them in return?’

Her obvious displeasure stung.

‘The Ranthen had no part in the Dublin Incursion,’ I said firmly. ‘I value my relationship with them, Antoinette. And if you think we can take anything from them by force, you are mistaken.’

A few glances were shared around the table. Jaxon smiled like a cat with the cream.

I didn’t quite know why, and it chilled me.

‘I understand your position, Underqueen,’ Sala finally said. ‘We do have other allies, including the Domino Programme. Its agents stand ready to sabotage the empire.’

Many looks of mistrust lingered on me. Even with my sixth sense buckled down, I had my primal instincts, and I was starting to feel scrutinised in a way I didn’t like.

And I really didn’t like the way Jaxon was smiling.

‘While most of Domino is amaurotic, it employs many voyants as civilian personnel, including our new sibyl,’ Sala said. Ver?a nodded. ‘It has also given us a great boon. We recently learned of a data storage device that contains priceless intelligence from deep within Scion. The data was collected by a deceased Domino agent and brought here on her behalf by a courageous member of the Council of Kassandra. Once Domino has decrypted the data, we suspect it will expose numerous vulnerabilities within Scion, aiding our resistance. Thank you for your service, Jaxon.’

I looked slowly down the table.

‘Of course,’ Jaxon said. ‘Anything for the cause, Beatrice.’

The pennies dropped, one by one, as if into that well. Each one sent cold ripples through my being.

Jaxon had spent at least a month in the Archon, working alongside Burnish. When Nashira had dispatched him to France, Burnish must have asked him to take the stolen data away from London.

Burnish had been living on borrowed time. She could only have been utterly desperate, to give the cache to a man like Jaxon. So she had told him how to contact Cordier, her sister, who knew where I was staying…

Now I was back in the flooding quarries of Paris, too weak to climb any farther, the water rising to devour me. A silver-haired man lifted me into his arms, saving my life.

I know you , I whispered, seeing his eyes in a strange face.

No, darling. You never did.

I saw it all then.

Scarlett Burnish was the one who had given him the dissimulator. She hadn’t been able to get word out, so Command had still ordered me to assassinate him, not knowing he had been recruited. Not knowing he possessed an item of such value, he could exchange it for anything. Now my gaze was fixed on him, and he was looking back at me, his smile growing as the truth sank into my bones.

Jaxon Hall, the Lepidopterist.

He was the one who had coerced Cordier into abducting me, forcing her to betray Arcturus to Scion.

But I didn’t know why.

I couldn’t work it out.

Nick touched my elbow. ‘Paige?’

I must have turned white. If my gift had been working, Jaxon would already be dead. Instead, my spirit was straining against the poison, only hurting me. A migraine bloomed, turning my stomach, and a thread of blood leaked from my nose. My lips parted, but I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t utter a word to explain the realisation I had just made.

Quick footsteps distracted us all. With a dull roar in my ears, I turned in my seat with the rest. A newcomer had walked into the grand chamber.

‘Ah,’ Jaxon said. ‘There you are, my dear. Just in time.’

Nick stood up. I stared, at an utter loss.

Since I had last seen her, she had cut her golden hair, so it hung in waves to her shoulders. She wore a long skirt with a collared blouse and polished boots.

A slash ran from the right corner of her mouth to her temple, shot through with a railroad of stitches, and she had a black eye. A shallower wound crossed the other side of her face, from the left side of her nose to her cheekbone. She wore red tint on her lips, like she always did.

‘Paige. Nick,’ Eliza Renton said, her voice a rough whisper. ‘You’re alive?’

She rushed across the chamber, and before I knew it, she was embracing me and Nick, one arm around each of us. Nick clutched her at once, while I was stiff as a mannequin.

‘I can’t believe it. You’re here.’ Eliza crushed us to her, in tears. ‘I missed you so much.’

‘Eliza,’ Nick breathed. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘You must be the interim Underqueen,’ Sala said. ‘There has been a development, as you can see.’

‘A development?’ Her gaze snapped to the table, landing on Jaxon. ‘You said Paige was gone.’

‘Apparently not. The Pale Dreamer cheats death yet again.’ Jaxon rose. ‘What a portentous reunion. Four of the Seven Seals, reunited in Italy. Are we not fated to be together?’

‘You called me here. You told me—’

‘Eliza.’ I finally managed to speak. ‘What do you mean, he called you here?’

She drew back, so I could see the fear dawning on her face.

‘Paige, I’m so sorry. I thought—’ Her throat bobbed. ‘We thought you died in the airstrikes.’

‘Eliza is here to formally offer me the position of Underlord, as agreed with the Council of Kassandra.’ Jaxon paced towards us. ‘After all, you were missing in action.’

Nick held me against him. ‘Jax, what have you done?’

‘Wait a minute.’ Maria shot up. ‘This is a coup. That’s what you’re doing, isn’t it, Binder?’

Even as she said it, I understood, the last few coins hitting the bottom.

Jaxon had blackmailed Cordier into capturing me, all so he could usurp me. So he could not only defang me for good, but convince everyone I was dead. So he could take back the citadel I had stolen from him.

I don’t remember exactly what happened in the moments that followed the realisation. All I knew is that I was suddenly on top of Jaxon, pounding him with both fists. The whole chamber erupted as Nick grasped my arms, trying to restrain me.

‘You evil bastard,’ I screamed at Jaxon. ‘You ripped us apart. You, you’re the Devil—’

Several pairs of hands were on me, pulling me away from him, but I fought back, spewing the worst abuse I could muster. Jaxon wiped his bloody lip, eyes glittering with triumph.

‘Take her to the Tullianum,’ Carter shouted.

That was the last thing I heard.