staring at Suki.
‘Come away from the edge,’ Retra said to her friend.
‘Usually it’s me that’s saying that sort of thing to you.’ Suki’s eyes were dark with eyeliner, and melancholy. ‘Do you think he’s dead?’
‘Who? The boy … the one that the Night Creatures …’
Suki nodded.
Retra didn’t know what to say. ‘You saw what we saw. The blood and everything …’
‘Maybe they don’t kill you. Maybe they just keep you out there with them.’ She shivered. ‘That would be worse.’
‘Did you find out anything?’ asked Rollo.
‘I saw Cal. She said Markes was with the Youth Circle.’
Rollo gave Retra a charged look.
‘We should hurry. Do you know where they meet?’ asked Retra.
‘Switch to the Danskoi line and get off at a station called Syn. That’s all I know,’ said Rollo.
Hearing the grinding of the cables, Retra pulled on Suki’s arm. ‘Come away. Let’s go.’
They changed kars at Illi and sat together in silence as the kar climbed the mountain. Retra stared out the window. In the clear air the lights shimmered in their brilliant night rainbow formation. It should be … could be … beautiful if she could forget what she’d seen – what she’d heard – in the dark.
When the kar stopped, Retra got off first, followed by Suki and then Rollo. The sign hanging on chains from the stair rails read ‘Syn’.
‘It’s Latin, you know. Means “together”,’ Rollo said. ‘You know Latin?’ asked Retra.
He shrugged, embarrassed. ‘Sure. All pre-councillors know that stuff. You can’t quote the law without it: abusus non tollit usum.’
‘I know some too,’ said Suki. ‘Kiss my bama.’ She tapped her backside.
The pair burst out laughing and slapped hands high in the air. Retra didn’t join in.
They walked down the platform’s stairs and stopped in front of a wood and iron door. Rollo pushed open the door for Suki and Retra with a mock bow. Instead of a club or church, though, it led them into a plain, wood-panelled room which narrowed off into a rocky passage.
Rollo took the lead, stooping to avoid hitting his head on the overhead rock. Every few steps, the three had to press against the wall as others squeezed past them, coming out.
The cramped passage began to slant downward and Retra and Suki took off their heels so they wouldn’t stumble on the uneven floor. They walked like that until Retra’s back began to ache from bending and Suki had begun to curse under her breath.
The end came quite suddenly.
Around the curve of rock lay a majestic but eerie cave lit by hundreds of candles. The cooler underground air smelt of wax, and layers of volcanic red stained the walls as if seeping blood. Altars set into shallow recesses punctuated the perimeter of the cave. People sprawled on them, chatting.
‘What are they doing?’
Rollo shrugged. ‘Waiting for the meeting to start? How should I know? I’ve never been here before.’ He sounded tense now that they were here.
‘Where do we go?’ asked Suki.
‘Over here, I think.’
They walked to one end of a narrow stippled carpet bordered by red guide ropes. It ran down the centre of lines of pews; enough seating for a large audience. The carpet ended at the centre of the cave, where a rough, rectangular-shaped slab of rock larger than the cable kar platforms stood. On the rock was a table adorned with ornate, gilded handles and motifs that reminded Retra of the coffins she had seen at Grave funerals. She counted ten seated figures but only one caused her heart to leap.
Lenoir!
‘Five Ripers and five of us,’ whispered Suki as if reading her thoughts.
‘You mean five Ripers and five of the Circle,’ corrected Rollo.
‘Same thing.’
‘No it’s not,’ said Rollo. ‘Circle are not us. Plenty think they’re spies.’
‘Who’s plenty?’
Rollo glowered at her. ‘The gangs.’
‘Yeah. Kero the great,’ said Suki sarcastically.
Retra listened to their soft bickering but it was Lenoir who captivated her gaze. He sat at the head of the table with Test at his side.
A girl with hair that fell past her knees, and a red mask painted across her eyes, appeared next to them. ‘Would you like to view the Circle meeting, baby bats?’
‘Sure!’ Rollo gave her a wide grin.
His manner irritated Retra. How did he so easily switch to being charming?
‘I’m Jaime. Follow me,’ she said. ‘You’re lucky. They’re about to begin a new discussion.’ She unhooked a section of the guide rope and ushered them onto the hard wooden seats. A young man lay drowsing with his eyes open on the pew in front of