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‘Why are we going this way? Why not just use the front doors?’

‘Motion detectors,’ Spence replied. ‘They’ll still pick us up, even when I’m using a glamour.’

‘How often do you guys do this?’

Spence shrugged. ‘The service elevator is like … Like a rite of passage. We’ve both spent almost a year here confined to the buildings – use your imagination.’

‘Right.
’

With that we walked to the edge of the balcony and, despite the two-storey height, jumped off, landing easily before hailing a yellow taxi.

‘Look up,’ Zoe said.

I gave her a dubious glance but followed her line of sight.

‘Oh, my God,’ I whispered.

For the first time, I saw the skywalks connecting –
curving between
– the Academy buildings. Now that I was conscious of them, they shone in luminous gold.

‘Is that …’ I couldn’t finish the absurd question.

Surely not.

‘Yep,’ Zoe said. ‘Josephine built a halo over the city.’

I followed my friends into the waiting taxi, still amazed that Josephine had actually
haloed
New York.

‘Brooklyn Bridge,’ Spence said to the driver.

I wound down the window and sucked in the air that spelled temporary freedom. It was actually kind of dense, but when I looked at Zoe and Spence, both buzzing with adrenalin, I couldn’t fight a smile spreading across my face. ‘Mission Bridge?’ I asked.

They nodded in unison.

‘It’s time to show you
our
New York.’

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

‘Love is a familiar; Love is a devil. There is no evil angel but Love.’

William Shakespeare

‘M
ission Bridge’ turned out to be
under
Brooklyn Bridge.

After the taxi had left us, we stood in front of the massive supporting pillar that held up the Brooklyn side of the bridge. It was a warehouse district but the art community had clearly taken hold – many of the buildings showed signs of recent face-lifts and restaurants spilled onto the streets.

Zoe said the area we had just driven through was called Dumbo. Seeing all the art galleries reminded me of who I was, of the things I loved – the
human
me.

I stared up at the stone pillar noting with surprise that there seemed to be fewer exiles in the area. My shoulders relaxed and I breathed a sigh of relief at not having to work so damn hard to keep the senses at bay.

‘Okay. So … I hate to tell you guys, but I think most of the nightlife was back a few blocks,’ I announced. I looked out over the Hudson and towards Manhattan’s city lights, sparkling on the other side. ‘Though the view from here is pretty spectacular.’

Spence snorted.
‘We’re not here for the view, Eden,’ he said, walking into a dark tunnel that went right through the middle of the pillar. It was the kind of shadowy underpass that the pre-Grigori me would’ve avoided like the plague – one that even the Grigori me wasn’t thrilled about. But when Zoe skipped after Spence with a wink in my direction, what else could I do but follow?

Halfway through the tunnel, which was acting as a shelter for a number of homeless people, I started to feel a familiar buzz.

‘Are there Grigori here?’ I asked, when Spence stopped and knocked on a door that was almost hidden in the midnight black of the tunnel.

‘You could say that,’ he said.

The door opened, and a woman looked all three of us up and down before giving a small nod. ‘Masks or not?’ She didn’t introduce herself but she was obviously Grigori.

‘Masks,’ Spence said.

With that, the woman stepped aside and we walked in. As we passed her, our hair changed colour and she handed each of us a small crystal mask. Spence’s was black, Zoe’s was pink – much to her satisfaction – and mine was gold, to match my top I guessed.

I looked at my new hair – it was still high in a ponytail but when I pulled the ends around they were at least a foot longer and now a dark burgundy. Zoe’s hair was completely pink, another thing that had her beaming, and when we looked at Spence we both burst out laughing.

‘No way,’ he said to the woman. ‘Anything but orange!

’ Zoe and I were in hysterics, gasping for breath and holding our stomachs. The woman at the door laughed too, but must’ve taken pity on him because she waved her hand and his hair changed to marine blue. He put on his mask. It fit so well, like a second skin. If I didn’t know it was Spence, I would never have guessed.

Zoe and I positioned our
own masks.

‘You know the rules?’ the woman asked.

‘No forcing identities, no powers, no photos, masks off only by choice, no fighting, no drawing weapons,’ Spence replied.

She nodded and gestured to a set of stairs. ‘Have a nice night.’

We walked up, the buzz of Grigori now surrounding me.

‘What
is
this place?’ I asked when we reached the top of the stairs. We were now inside the bridge’s pillar, and the space – which was far larger than the impression given by the outside – was filled with people. No,
Grigori
. On the outer edges, tall metal scaffolding spiralled up for what must have been a hundred metres, parting at one point into three separate columns. Overhanging balconies and small rooms embedded into the high walls overflowed with Grigori, all drinking, laughing, dancing, partying. Most with masks, some without.

‘This is
Ascension
. New York’s Grigori-only club,’ Spence said.

‘Why the masks?’

‘Cause this is a place where we’re supposed to be able to let loose. A lot of Grigori are positioned in the military or within the government and don’t want their identities to be common knowledge. Some are the Rogue. Others just like to come here and not have to be who they are in their normal work. This is strictly off-duty. Let’s get a drink. Morgan and Max said they’d meet us at the bar.’

‘We don’t have ID,’
I said, following in starry-eyed amazement. This place would make Dapper salivate.

‘Doesn’t matter,’ Zoe threw an arm over my shoulder. ‘They don’t check ID. Half the Grigori here look like they’re underage and are definitely not. It takes too much time and an all-Grigori club has its own laws,’ Zoe had to yell over the music.

‘Nice,’ I said, my smile growing as the bass beats of the music reverberated through the floor and all around me. The vibe was incredible and I found myself laughing as Spence passed me the first of what would become many drinks. Looking around, I realised for the first time since arriving in New York that no one was watching me. No one knew who I was and no one cared to find out.

Okay, just because a person is Grigori. Just because that means they are warriors that fight to protect humanity’s right to free will and existence – does
not
mean they are responsibly recreational.

My eyes bugged out at some of the things I saw. Once let off the leash, Grigori partied hard. I could understand why. Some of them would have been hundreds of years old, constantly caught up in the battle against exiles. I guess they figured that if they couldn’t completely let go when among their own people, then when could they?

Once I’d managed to sneak off the dance floor – which took a major effort as Morgan, once she’d realised it was me behind the gold mask, refused to let me leave her sight – I set off to explore. The music was a line-up of retro dance at its best, with a few tracks tossed in that I’d never heard before but would now be forever hunting down online.

As I made my way up
the spiral stairs, and along the balconies, I surveyed the cave-like rooms in the walls. Each was lit with either burning candles or chandeliers and each seemed to serve its own purpose. Some were for winding down with pillow-loaded sofas, some were for group get-togethers with tavern-style tables, others – I discovered after some investigation – were behind invisible sound-barrier curtains, and on the other side… a completely different theme and style of music. Ascension catered for all generations. The rockabilly room was like a time warp – and totally amazing.

Taking all of this in, I was halfway up the tower, just beyond the casino rooms, when I started to feel him. If I hadn’t indulged in so many of the mint-delicious, alcohol-fuelled drinks Zoe and Spence had kept handing me, I would have felt him sooner.

What’s he doing here?

I tapped a masked Grigori on the shoulder. She turned away from her conversation to look at me. She was wearing a tasselled red dress and had come out of the high-rollers room – one thing older Grigori were not short of was money.

‘Sorry, but do you know what’s up in the top rooms?’ I asked.

She winked. ‘Private parties, if you know what I mean, hon.’

I swallowed the lump in my throat. ‘Got it.’ I nodded, my smile fading. ‘Thanks.’ I moved back a few steps, or maybe stumbled, leaning over the railing and looking down at the dance floor.

Think.

If I knew Lincoln was here,
it was only a matter of time before he felt me too.

Breathe. Think.

Maybe he was just hanging out with people from the Academy. Maybe they’d been hunting.

But why the private rooms?

The woman had made it clear the rooms were used for the kind of thing that would only break my heart to see. Not to mention my soul.

I had no claim on him.

Damn. I feel sick.

Lincoln had said himself; things with us hadn’t exactly helped him in the action department. What had I really expected? That he’d just wait forever? At best, if I charged up there, I was going to look like some kind of crazy stalker.

The room started to spin. I needed to make a decision. Up or down?

Down, down, down!

I started walking faster, even as I felt the spike in Lincoln’s power. He knew I was near and now he was moving, too.

Move, move!

I made it back to the dance floor and pushed through the people to find Spence and Zoe towards the back. Morgan and Max were nowhere in sight. I pulled Spence close.

‘Can you put us under a glamour?’ I asked, looking around frantically. ‘Lincoln’s here and we’re about to be busted.’

He was getting close. I could feel his agitation.

Spence shook his head, looking around too. ‘No. It’s against the rules. And this is
not
a place where it is good to break the rules.’

‘I think I see
him,’ Zoe said. ‘Or at least, someone his size who’s almost at the bottom of the stairs and looking in our direction. He can’t see you yet through the mask and hair. But he could be here with anyone and if he spots you, we’re toast.’

We all knew that was only a matter of time.

I pushed Zoe towards the stairs. ‘Go, go, go!’

As we ran, I looked back over my shoulder and saw him on the opposite side of the dance floor. Although he was wearing a silver mask and his hair was dark and hanging to his shoulders, I’d know him anywhere and he was looking right at me, shaking his head. I couldn’t tell if he was angry or just disappointed with me. After all his praise earlier on… I’d gone and blown it. I closed my eyes briefly with regret.

‘Eden!’ Spence called out.

I leaped down the stairs and we ran past the doorwoman, throwing back our masks to her on the way.

Spence and Zoe were laughing, on a high from both the near-escape and the drinks, but all I could see was Lincoln’s eyes. We ran up the street at full speed, taking as many turns as possible, losing ourselves until, by luck, we stumbled onto a main road.

Spence slowed to a walk. ‘Well, there’s good news and bad news. The good: we’ve lost anyone who might have followed us. The bad: we just ran off all the alcohol.’

I rolled my eyes. ‘So sorry,’ I said, but my mind was still a livewire trying to work out what I was going to do. Should I race back to the Academy, jump into bed and feign ignorance? Should I confront Lincoln and ask what he was doing? Should I apologise? Get mad? Cry now or later?

Spence pointed to an
all-night cafe. ‘Don’t beat yourself up. You can buy me cake to make–’