the cork from the bottle. “Drink?”
Mazzi shook her head. “No. I have to go and meet a friend. Look, what you did down there was stupid. I’m not talking about the Fae part, I’m talking about the environmental stuff.”
Sam poured a large glass for himself. “I could have said a lot more. It’s important to me.”
“That’s the stupid part. They could see that.” She came over to him, stood close enough for him to smell her musky perfume. “These are the wrong people to make into enemies.”
He stepped away and took a large swig of the wine. “I’m pretty certain they’re the wrong sort of people to make into friends. Present company excluded.”
“Fine. I get it. You’re not one of us. Not yet.” Mazzi headed for the door after collecting her jacket and case, looking thoughtful. “What are you doing next Wednesday?”
“The diary knows, not me.”
“Clear the day. I’m going to help you.”
“To do what?”
“To understand what it is to be one of us. Amir thought he was doing the right thing by keeping you ignorant, but I don’t think it was. I’ll pick you up, okay? 10 a.m.”
Sam nodded and watched her go. Even after the glass was empty he didn’t feel any better. Was she telling the truth about Amir and what she knew about the Fae and the Sorcerers? Whatever game Mazzi was playing, it was clear that no one else in that room had known what he was talking about.
And she was right about him being stupid. Not because of what he’d said; because of what he hadn’t said. He’d had the opportunity to really drive home what those bastards were doing to the Earth and he’d let himself be intimidated out of it by some stern faces and privilege.
Sam’s phone rang and the number displayed made him smile. “Cathy! God, it’s good to hear from you.”
• • •
Max’s leg was throbbing with pain by the time he reached the street the gargoyle was waiting on. It was hiding in a bush across the road from the large Victorian villa it had tracked the Peonia to, taking care to keep out of sight.
The house was detached and set back from the road, surrounded by a high wall. It wasn’t an anchor property that Max recognised, so he walked round to the side, checked that no one was watching, and got out the Peeper to check the house was reflected into the Nether. The new version of the tool looked quite similar to Ekstrand’s: a small telescope in two sections that could be twisted. Rupert’s was made of some sort of Bakelite, rather than brass, and felt much lighter. Max pressed one end against the brick of the garden wall and twisted the casing until a tiny green light flashed on the side. The Sorcerer seemed to have a fondness for little green lights.
Max peered through the lenses, seeing the Nether beyond the wall. Satisfied, he pulled an Opener from his pocket and stuck the pin of the door handle into the brickwork. After one last check to make sure no innocents were nearby, along with a check from the gargoyle’s position too, Max turned it.
The outline of a doorway burned its way into a rectangle until a new door appeared and Max stepped through. The Nether’s silver sky was now above him and he glanced back into the green and blue of Mundanus before pulling the Opener out and letting the door close and disappear behind him.
He took a couple of steps towards the house, knowing from the gargoyle that the Peonia had gone in through the back door and was unlikely to be looking out of the windows. There was no sound of cars or birdsong any more, but the silence was broken before he reached the house.
A horse-drawn carriage was coming down the Nether street and pulled up outside the gates. Max carried on. If the visitor was unaware of the crime in progress they would be a distraction that could give the Peonia the chance to get the baby into Exilium. If the visitor was the one taking delivery, Max would be ready.
Max heard the gate open as he reached the front door. A footman was holding the gate open as the passenger got out of the carriage. Disinterested, Max tried the handle of the front door. Like most reflected properties in the Nether, it was unlocked, so Max carried on inside and let the door close behind him. He didn’t want to