The Masked City (16 page)

Silver shrugged. ‘I was delivering warnings - I’ll admit it - and there are no laws against that. My advice to you would be to cease meddling in my affairs, or you’ll come to regret it.’

‘As will you, if you continue to interfere with mine.’ There was a whole new quality of iciness to Vale’s voice. ‘Or if you simply continue to play your games with the lives of others.’

‘But why would I play such a game, do you think?’ Silver tapped one nail against his glass, and the crystal chimed prettily. ‘Surely that should be your question, under the circumstances.’

Vale stopped his pacing for a moment to turn and look at Silver. ‘The paper used for the note - purporting to be from Mr Strongrock’s family - was tainted with Fae glamour.’

Silver waved a vague hand. ‘Anyone could have done that. Johnson? Couldn’t you have done that?’

‘No, sir, but I can bear witness that many people in the Embassy might have done so,’ the man murmured.

Vale stalked over to put his hands on Silver’s desk, leaning forward sharply, like a hound coming to point. ‘I suggest that you deliberately intended to involve me in this matter. The note was to alert me that something was amiss about Strongrock’s absence. You have deliberately schemed to bring me and Winters here - to you in particular - as the next step in our investigation. The question is why. Is this some perverse game between you and the Guantes?’

‘Partly,’ Silver allowed. He put down his glass on the desk with a click - Irene thought she saw a twitch pass across Johnson’s face as the glass touched the bare mahogany - and leaned forward, his eyes suddenly alert. ‘I’m glad to see you justifying your reputation, detective.’

‘And did you set your minions on Winters here as well, to involve us further?’ Vale demanded.

‘That would be overdoing matters,’ Silver said. ‘Lady Guantes set the minions on Miss Winters here. Lord Guantes … has already left this sphere.’

Confirmation at last. ‘And he took Kai with him,’ Irene murmured from the shadows.

‘Miss Winters is correct,’ Silver said, still gazing at Vale. ‘Lord Guantes has taken the dragon with him. By now they are beyond your reach.’

‘You underestimate my reach,’ Vale said.

‘Your influence may hold in the East End of London, detective, but not beyond this sphere.’

‘His may not,’ Irene said, stepping forward, ‘but is Lord Guantes prepared to answer to Kai’s father?’

‘An interesting question,’ Silver agreed amiably. ‘Lord Guantes’ actions are his own, after all. I am sure that if his misdemeanour could be proven, he and his beloved wife must admit responsibility.’ There was a muted undertone of pleasure to his words, the almost gloating pleasure of watching an opponent - or a pawn, Irene reflected - move to a weakened position.

‘You are the Ambassador,’ Vale stated. ‘You have authority over him.’

‘One that he disputes. And in any case, he is not here.’

‘Then where is he?’ Irene asked. ‘In what sphere?’

‘Elsewhere,’ Silver said. ‘Venice. Well, an alternate Venice, in a sphere of masks and illusions. The name of the world would mean nothing to you. It’s far beyond your ambit.’

‘And,’ Irene said, feeling her way, ‘no doubt this would be towards the more - well, chaotic end of the universe?’

‘Indeed,’ Silver said. ‘For one of the great dragons to venture there would be an act of war.’

Vale drew in his breath sharply. ‘Surely you exaggerate. If Mr Strongrock was taken there against his will—’

‘Irrelevant.’ Silver rose to his feet, as tall as Vale. The light seemed to centre itself around the two of them, drawing the eye. ‘But even if it is true, it doesn’t matter. And his family will know that.’

Vale cast an apologetic look at Irene, and she returned a brusque nod.
Yes, I did try to tell you. And here’s your proof - if you can’t take my word for it.

Irene ignored the trick of the light: it was just one more show of Silver’s glamour. ‘To business, Lord Silver. You have said that the great dragons cannot interfere there. You have implied you won’t intervene yourself. However, you have deliberately drawn our attention to Kai’s situation, and made us fully aware of what is taking place.’ She could hear the ring of certainty in her voice. ‘You want us to go, don’t you?’

Silver’s mouth curled up at the edges, into a smile as sweet as ice-wine and as sharp as vodka. ‘Why yes, Miss Winters, my dear little Librarian. That is precisely what I want
you
to do.’

‘Her?’ Vale demanded. He’d caught the emphasis in Silver’s voice, just as Irene had.

‘You cannot go, detective,’ Silver said dismissively. ‘The chaos of that sphere would be too strong for you. You could not endure its power. But the lady is sealed to her Library. Her nature would be unaffected.’

‘Let her go alone?’ Vale said, at the same moment that Irene said, ‘You can take me there?’

‘Precisely,’ Silver agreed. He smiled, stepping back from the desk to stretch. Irene could see the lines of his body through his shirt and had to suppress the sudden treacherous warmth in her own veins. The feelings he provoked were lies. And so were the ease and certainty of his smile. There was something hurried behind it, something uncertain and panicked.

‘I would be less inclined to trust you, were you not so obviously driven by desperation,’ Irene said softly.

Silver froze, dropping his arms to his sides. ‘You are mistaken,’ he said icily.

‘Hardly. The great dragons cannot reach the world where Lord Guantes has taken refuge. However, they can come here, and will take great offence at one of their children going missing.’ Irene paid out the words like the strokes of a clock in the silent room. ‘Perhaps his family wouldn’t cause a war by destroying this other Venice, but what would they do to
this
world, the seat of your power?’

The colour had drained from Silver’s cheeks. ‘You are merely guessing,’ he said without conviction.

‘I don’t need to guess,’ Irene said calmly. ‘I’ve spoken to his family. I know.’

‘This world means nothing to me!’ Silver snarled, but Irene wasn’t convinced.

‘And what about Lord Guantes? Does he matter - Lord Argent?’

Silver sat down hard in his chair and lowered his head to his hands. ‘He will destroy me,’ he said, his voice muffled. ‘We have crossed swords before, many times. And our own lords have forbidden us to war against each other again. The damage to the others of our kind was too great. But if his power should grow to far outmatch my own, then they will not object to him destroying me. I can imagine the favour he will gain through holding a dragon captive, the power - and even if I escape this world, he will hunt me down. He doesn’t even want me as a rival. He wants to end me.’

‘But why?’ Irene demanded. ‘Why are you two fighting like this?’

‘Oh, there was some reason,’ Silver said vaguely. ‘I dishonoured his sister, or he attacked my mother, or something of that sort. I can’t say that I remember, it was all so long ago. But you must understand that vengeance was
necessary
. He’s a plotter, a devious manipulator, and his wife is worse. The two of them have no sense of art, no interest in living. They care about power, nothing but power, but their use of it contains no
style
. We simply cannot understand each other - and I, for one, have no wish to,’ he added petulantly.

‘And thus your wish to send Miss Winters on a possibly suicidal mission, so she can sort out this mess, after you’ve done nothing to prevent it.’ Vale snorted. ‘Pitiful behaviour, even for one of your kind.’

Silver lowered his hands and looked up at Vale. ‘Think what you like,’ he said slowly. ‘Insult me as you will. But unless Miss Winters does as I suggest, you, I and your friend the dragon will all face irretrievable ruin. I give you both my sworn word that I am not doing this out of any intent to trap or destroy Miss Winters. My own interests are paramount, and I need her alive and capable to help me carry them out.’

Irene was becoming impatient with Silver’s dramatics. Kai was in real and serious danger. She would gladly stand around and trade insults with Silver later, but not
now
. At least if he was willing to give his sworn word, then he was sincere. Fae might stretch their formally given oaths, but they wouldn’t break them. ‘Explain your plan, Lord Silver. How else are we to judge it?’

Silver sighed. ‘Here it is, then. Lord Guantes has the power to cross between spheres while taking with him one of your friend’s nature. My own power is less than his - I could only carry humans at best, or others of my kind - and Lady Guantes is weaker still. Lord Guantes has made bargains to ensure that anyone who wants to witness his triumph can travel to this alternate Venice. He has summoned the Horse and the Rider, who are among the great ones of my kind, so they can carry as many passengers as they wish. They will appear as a train in this world. Yes, that form should provoke the least comment.’ He paused to consider. ‘I will be travelling on that train with several servants, and shall take the lady along in disguise. She will then pretend to have boarded at a different transit point, posing as another of my kind. When we reach Venice, she may rescue the dragon and escape in whatever way best pleases her.’

‘You consider that to be a plan?’ Vale demanded.

‘I am not aware of the Librarian’s full capabilities,’ Silver said loftily. ‘No doubt she has many strange powers that are unknown to me.’

‘So I am to go alone,’ Irene said, checking to make sure she had this absolutely correct, ‘to a world at
your
end of reality, surrounded by your kind, and will have to rescue Kai with no assistance - I take it you
won’t
be able to assist me?’

Silver shrugged. ‘Only if I can do so without being observed, my little mouse. And of course Johnson will be able to provide you with the usual services: coffee, tea, your boots blacked, your mask polished, your revolver loaded, and so on.’

Irene nodded. There was a sort of relief in knowing the worst. She very nearly felt light-headed with it. After all, the plan was utterly ludicrous. And if this was Silver’s idea of developing a story-form, she didn’t like his taste in adventure fiction. But it was still a chance to get Kai back. She smiled. ‘And then I will have to escape that place, possibly with Kai in less than perfect condition.’

‘I’d keep him drugged, if it were me keeping him hostage there,’ Silver commented helpfully, ‘though of course the atmosphere of that sphere will be highly uncongenial to his nature, so he might be unconscious anyhow.’

Definitely the worst. There was really nothing Irene could do but try not to laugh. When the course of events became quite so impossibly dangerous, the best thing to do was to ride with it. ‘And then finally I must restore Kai to his family. Or at least to a safe place.’

‘I would have said that this world is safe enough,’ Vale said. He looked around him, his face weary. He already seemed to have given up. ‘But events suggest otherwise.’

‘Well.’ Irene took a deep breath. ‘When does the train go?’

‘Winters,’ Vale began, ‘you cannot be serious about going alone—’

‘Vale,’ Irene cut in. He hadn’t believed her when she’d tried to explain the danger to his world. It had taken Silver to convince him. But she had to be the one to convince Vale now, to stop him from getting himself killed. He didn’t know, couldn’t accept, just how dangerous a high-chaos world actually
was
. People who had no protection would be swept along in any current narrative that a Fae was managing, their personalities rewritten to suit the needs of the Fae. And they didn’t have time for debates. ‘You can see yourself that Lord Silver is desperate.’ That drew an angry twitch from Silver. ‘But even despite that, he’s said it would be too dangerous for you. He has every motivation to send you along with me, if there’s the slightest chance of preserving his own existence.’

‘Well, yes,
obviously
,’ Silver said, as though it was too plain to need pointing out. ‘But please don’t think I’m trying to save you out of any misguided notions of charity. You’re simply too entertaining an adversary to waste.’

‘There you have it,’ Irene said drily. ‘Straight from the horse’s - forgive me, straight from the Fae’s - mouth.’ She folded her arms, feeling her anger rising. ‘Look what he’s doing to
me
. Why should he lie to
you
? I would …’ Her next words unexpectedly caught in her throat. ‘I would have appreciated your help. But I don’t want you to destroy yourself, and Kai wouldn’t thank me for it.’

Vale looked at her for a moment as if he wanted to say something, then turned sharply away from her. ‘Pray spare me your excuses, Winters. Your decision is quite clear. I have no wish to hinder your expertise, or to impede your path. I will merely be sure of the details from Lord Silver here, before I leave you to your little games. I can only hope that an innocent such as Strongrock will survive it.’

Irene felt the colour flare in her cheeks. Something in her heart shuddered at his words. That hurt. It really, genuinely hurt. She’d hoped that he’d accept her decision, but to have it thrown at her like that … She turned back to Silver, choosing to convert her anger into focus. ‘It seems Mr Vale is clear on the subject. When is this train? And what sort of disguise will I require?’

Silver touched his fingers to his lips, failing to conceal a smile at Irene’s capitulation. ‘We will leave within the hour, and Lady Guantes will also be waiting at the station. I will take care to have other retainers who are also cloaked, so that we can smuggle you on board amongst them. As to costume - you must dress as a traveller from some other sphere. I will look in my cupboards.’

Irene didn’t bother answering. She merely drew her cloak open to reveal her anachronistic business suit.

‘Yes,’ Silver said, his eyes stroking up from her ankles to her knees. ‘That will do very nicely. I will give you a small token of my power - not enough to damage you, my little Librarian, but simply to allow you to pass for Fae. We cannot tell from a mere glance that you are of the Library, and my token will ensure that nobody thinks you are to be played with like a toy. Johnson wears one. Show Miss Winters, Johnson.’