The Relic Guild (31 page)

‘Marney,’ he said. She felt the wave of affection he sent her, and returned it. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘Good,’ she said honestly. ‘Ready to confront Ambassador Ebril.’

Denton placed a finger to his lips, nodded to the few other diners in the eatery, and his voice entered her head.

I’m glad you’re filled with
a sense of duty, Marney, but let’s save the
shop-talk until after breakfast, shall we?
‘Come – sit down,’ he said aloud. ‘Order whatever you like. My treat.’

Marney didn’t feel particularly hungry, but she knew this could be a long day, and it was best to keep up her strength. So when the waitress came over to the table, she ordered some bread and preserves, along with a pot of coffee.

‘Food just isn’t the same anymore,’ Denton bemoaned as he cut into a fat sausage. ‘Before all these damned embargos, food was fresher, tastier. Now it’s all dried or powered or preserved, and the flavour of everything seems bland – not that I suppose you’ve noticed. You eat less than a mouse.’

Marney shrugged and bit into a slice of bread smeared with fruit jam.

Denton sipped his coffee and shook his head. ‘A love of food is a love of life, Marney. When this war is over, I’ll take you to a restaurant I know on the Island of Remember When. They serve a steak fried in a fungus butter that will invigorate even your taste buds.’

‘I’d like that,’ Marney said with a smile. ‘I’d like that very much.’

Denton appraised her for a moment, seemed pleased, and then resumed devouring his breakfast.

The conversation remained on a fair-weather level until the morning meal was finished. Denton insisted on paying the bill, and then the two agents caught a tram into the western district. There were far fewer passengers than there had been on Marney’s previous journey. They rode in silence for a while, and Marney gazed out of the window.

Have you seen the paper
today
? Denton thought to her.

Marney shook her head, and the old empath took his newspaper from the pocket of his coat and passed it to her.

It seems Gideon
has decided to go public with our cover story.

Marney unrolled the newspaper and read the headline:
WILD DEMON
IN LABRYS TOWN
– Denizens warned of infection …

Below the headline was an artist’s impression of the demon: a lumbering, misshapen silhouette lurking in the shadows of a back alley.

Marney thought back to her earlier journey, and the concerned words the mother on the tram had addressed to her daughter.

I thought Gideon wanted to avoid panic. How does
this help?

There’s more method than madness to this,
Marney,
Denton thought to her as he took the newspaper back.
With the denizens on their toes, Fabian Moor will
find it a little harder to move around town without
drawing attention. That article also explains a little about the
virus, but not everything. The denizens are ordered to isolate
anyone who shows signs of infection and alert the authorities
. But they are also assured the problem is being dealt
with. Most will think this is happening to other people
in some other part of town. The populace has been
made aware, at least to some degree.

Marney nodded.
Selective
information. It could help to stop the virus spreading … you
know, if it comes to that.

Let’s hope it
doesn’t.
Denton turned his grim expression to her.
If
the denizens ever discover the wild demon is really a
Genii, panic would spread far quicker than any virus.

Marney felt a chill.

But that’s a problem for
another day
, Denton continued with a cheerier delivery.
Right now,
we have to remember our best manners, Marney. An Aelfirian
Ambassador and the western district await us.

Marney nodded and gazed out of the window again, to watch her small world going by.

The tram was already deep within the west side of town.

Like many of her fellow agents, Marney had been raised in an orphanage. As a small girl, she held to a fantasy that one day her long-lost parents would return to collect her. They would be rich, highly respected, and they would take their daughter to live a life of luxury in the western district. Of all the privileges in Labrys Town, that was where the best could be found. At least, that was how it used to be, and probably would be so again once the war ended.

It was easy to tell this was a wealthier part of town. The buildings appeared better maintained; the streets were wider, freer, less cramped and squashed than in the other districts. Even the air seemed fresher, cleaner. Fewer denizens bustled through the streets, for fewer denizens actually lived in the area. When Marney and Denton arrived at their destination they were the only two occupants left in the tram.

‘Is it just me,’ said Denton as they walked along the street, ‘or does the sun shine a little brighter in this district?’

Marney smiled as the old empath removed his worn and patched coat and slung it over his arm.

‘Now then, Marney. Tell me what you know of House Mirage.’

Marney thought back to her lessons in Aelfirian history at university. ‘Not a great deal,’ she admitted. ‘It’s a desert realm. One of the few remaining trading posts outside the Labyrinth, as far as we know, but smaller than us.’

‘Very good. And … ?’

Marney pursed her lips. ‘It’s run by bureaucrats and politicians. There’s no royalty as such, though there is a line of succession that runs through the family of the current High Governor.’

‘High Governor Obanai, that’s right,’ Denton said. ‘Anything else?’

She shrugged. ‘They denounced Spiral and the Genii, but also abstained from fighting in the war. That’s pretty much all I know.’

‘Which is probably more than most of your fellow agents,’ Denton beamed. ‘High Governor Obanai claims to be a pacifist, but others would call him a bet-hedger or fence-sitter. Either way, House Mirage has never given anyone cause to doubt its loyalty to the Timewatcher.’

‘Until now,’ Marney replied.

‘Perhaps, but don’t be so quick with your judgement, Marney.’

They turned off the main street and headed down a wide and deserted road where the tramlines did not run. It was lined with lush gardens and grand houses, and Marney knew she had entered the merchants’ quarter of the western district, the most expensive area in which to live in Labrys Town. The watchful eye devices sat atop evenly spaced pedestals, full spheres like those outside the Nightshade. Marney had never been to this area before; she looked at the size of the houses and realised the stories of its grandeur were in no way exaggerated.

‘Caution and care must be taken on this mission,’ Denton told her. ‘We have reasonable cause to suspect Mirage’s involvement with the artefact, but Ambassador Ebril and his entourage were by no means the only Aelfir to be stranded in the Labyrinth when the war began. Remember, we only have the word of a dying criminal to suggest that this Ursa belonged to House Mirage at all.

‘Diplomacy and observation will be key here, Marney. But for now, let’s hide ourselves, shall we?’

Up ahead, in the near distance, three police officers stood in a group outside the gates to a house. They chatted among themselves and looked bored. Marney felt Denton project his emotions to form a concealment shield around him, and she did the same. Denton continued the conversation mentally as they made their way towards the unsuspecting officers.

Although Mirage
abstained from the fighting, it has not remained entirely neutral
in the war. It might be a small House compared
to the Labyrinth, but it is an important supply line
for the Timewatcher’s armies. Mirage remains connected to four
other Houses – the Floating Stones of Up and Down, Green
Sky Forest, the Burrows of Underneath and Ghost Mist Veldt.
There used to be others, but they sided with Spiral.

However, the Burrows of Underneath and Ghost Mist Veldt are
vast realms, Marney. There, the Aelfir have been fighting the
Genii since the war began. Two years of hostilities, and
the armies of both sides number in the millions. The
Timewatcher only knows how many deaths those Houses have witnessed.

Denton paused to allow the gravity of his words to settle. Marney puffed her cheeks as she walked – millions of Aelfir fighting a brutal war against creatures of higher magic, and for two years solid, without respite. She couldn’t imagine such hardship.

But with Mirage as a supply route
, Denton continued,
Green Sky Forest can keep our troops fed,
while the forges and laboratories of the Floating Stones of
Up and Down
can restock weaponry. Now consider – Mirage isn’
t guarded by the Timewatcher’s barrier like us, Marney.
If High Governor Obanai has switched allegiance, or if the
enemy could fight through to the portals at any one
of the connecting Houses, then Spiral could cut off a
vital supply line, and four very important allies would fall.

That Ursa had sympathies for Spiral, that he is most
likely affiliated to House Mirage … well, you understand what kind
of delicate situation we may or may not expose here
.

The two agents approached the three police officers, slipped by them, unnoticed, and headed through the gates they were guarding.

A long and wide paved driveway stretched ahead, flanked by extravagant gardens. At the end of the driveway a huge, three-storey manor house stood. Marney was decidedly impressed as her mentor led her towards it.

Let me tell you
something of the man you’re about to meet,
Denton said.
Ambassador Ebril is an old and experienced politician. You
will find him charming, welcoming and, for the most part
, very good company.
However, like all Aelfirian ambassadors, he
has been schooled in some form of magical art. And
most assuredly, he will be prepared for this meeting.

Every
expression on Ebril’s face may or may not be
genuine. The emotions he projects might be visceral or misdirecting.
The words he speaks can and cannot be believed. His
every action will be calculated.

Denton grinned at his protégé.
Ebril will not trust you. He will not like you.
But always he will smile for you, Marney. Now, I
think it’s time to announce our arrival. Drop your
concealment.

What?
Marney stopped walking.
We’re going to let
him see our faces?

Denton chuckled.
Ebril has seen my
face a hundred times, Marney. He is not some denizen
or blabbermouth. He is an Aelfirian Ambassador with every right
to know the identities of the Resident’s
men
.
As
does the merchant who owns this place. This household knows
the importance of secrecy
,
so don’t fret, and
follow
my lead …

Evidently, the household was waiting for the Relic Guild agents.
No sooner had they dropped their emotive cloaks then the ornate front doors opened and a smartly dressed servant stepped out to greet them.
He was human, not Aelf; undoubtedly employed by the merchant who owned the house, and not one of Ebril’s entourage. Marney felt naked and exposed with her face revealed to him, but if he was curious about her identity, or if he actually knew she was an agent of the Relic Guild, he gave no sign.

With a warm smile, he said, ‘Welcome. The Ambassador is expecting you.’ He bobbed his head humbly. ‘If you would care to follow me …’

The interior of the house impressed Marney further. She and Denton entered a roomy hall, where a wide staircase of milky, black-veined stone led to the upper floors. Every door and ornament around the hall looked expensive and expertly crafted.

Like all the other Aelfirian refugees, the members of House Mirage had been lodged with the town merchants as respected and honoured guests. The Aelfir didn’t mingle with the denizens, and were rarely spotted in the other districts, though they did, of course, have the free range of Labrys Town. The merchants pretended to be honoured to house them, but the refugees were a drain on resources as they had long ago depleted what finances they had brought with them, and had no means of gaining more. But the merchants grinned and bore the situation, focusing on the recompense that would undoubtedly come when peacetime arrived.

With another genial smile, the servant stopped and faced the two agents.

‘Sir, miss, if you would be so kind as to wait here, I will announce your arrival.’

‘Of course,’ said Denton.

Opening a door, the servant slipped through, and closed it behind him. As soon as he was gone, Denton’s voice entered Marney’s head again.

Gideon and the police watched
this house all night, but they monitored no unusual activity
. Not that I really expected Ebril to do anything unusual
. If he’s involved with Fabian Moor at all, he
certainly wouldn’t meet him here. It’s too conspicuous
. Moor would find better places to hide within the town
’s underworld.

The door opened and the servant reappeared, once more wearing a humble smile. He stepped to one side and motioned to the doorway.