More steps, of course, but not many this time. The stone beneath the snow was old and worn, and I picked my way carefully. If I slipped and broke a leg, no one would ever find me here for I’d told no one of my plans. They led me into a ruined building, a shell with stone walls and wooden rafters. There was a holiness about this undisturbed site, a peace in the depths of the shadows,

  I passed through an archway. Around a central courtyard there were simple rooms leading off, the doors long rotted away. Perhaps it had been a small nunnery at one time, but now was home only to birds and other wildlife.

  I looked back the way I’d come. In the distance, I could see the smog of Beijing and tall buildings, far, far below from where I stood. There were no other footprints in the snow except my own, no signs of human life.

  Yet I knew, right then, somehow, that I wasn’t alone here.

  Twenty-Five

  I paused, and listened closely, but there weren’t any sounds, not even the silence of a held breath. Yet I could feel eyes on me.

  ‘Hello?’ I called out, only realizing once the words were said how silly that was, for if there was anyone there they would speak some dialect of Chinese, certainly not English. ‘Nie how?’ I said in my uncertain Mandarin.

  There was no answer. Had I inadvertently stumbled into another magic cell? I sent hesitant feelers all around me from my mind. God alone knew what could be lurking here in this forgotten foreign territory. Lijiang Alley had been bad enough, and that had been smack dab in the middle of one of the most populated cities on earth.

  My bet would be dragons. I looked again behind me at the silent stone ruins. Could I protect myself from the fire if I accidentally woke one up? I cast my mind back to the dragon I’d created from the clouds over Edinburgh, oh so long ago it now seemed. It had breathed smoke, or at least a close approximation of it, but its teeth had been nothing more that mist. I doubted whether iceballs would have any effect on a real dragon.

  I slowly began a quiet creep back to the arched exit. If there’d been anything to hide behind, I would have run towards it. Instead, I was out in the open, and someone was watching me. Worst of all, there was a creeping feeling of familiarity, a sense of knowing whose eyes they were, as if I’d felt their gaze many a time.

  I stopped in my tracks with this realization. Someone was watching me. Through magic. How rude.

  ‘Hello?’ My voice rang out, not tentative at all this time, because I was pissed and I wanted the watcher to know it. ‘Cate, is that you?’ There was no answer, just the squawking of birds in the tree. I looked to find what had disturbed them, but could see nothing.

  It wasn’t her. I couldn’t sense the feeling of malevolence that accompanied her, that undertone of an axe waiting to fall on me. But if not her, who?

  ‘Hugh?’ My call was much more tentative this time, because he wouldn’t do such a thing. It just wasn’t a Hugh thing.

  ‘Win.’ My voice was flat. If that bitch was daring to play these kind of games with me…

  A single, deep-throated chuckle rippled through the space between trees and ruined stone walls. I searched all around, my eyes caught by every shadow. Oh, yes, I knew that laugh.

  ‘Margaret. Stop it right now. Show yourself.’

  I listened carefully, but there was no answer, not even an echo of my own voice. ‘Well, I know you can hear me, you coward. Listen up. I’m getting blamed for your deeds.’

  Still no reply, but I had the feeling I’d caught her interest. ‘That’s right. The Kin know you’ve committed these curses on Zande and Nachtan. I don’t know why you’ve done this, but you have to quit it right now! Undo those curses.’

  I waited.

  ‘I know you’re guilty, because I saw you in Win’s vision. I saw you leaving Li Minh asleep in her cave.’ I knew I had her full attention now, I knew by the way the birds were now silent, and I knew through the warm breeze that was flowing through my hair.

  ‘For the love of the goddess, don’t do it, Margaret! Leave Li Minh alone, and let the others out from the spell.’ My voice was desperate as I pleaded. ‘You don’t need to prove anything to the Kin. You have everything you want in your life.’

  As a last ditch effort, I burst out, ‘You want to screw over my life? Is this why you’re doing it? Well, it’s working. Your spiteful, hateful actions are ruining my life, taking away my future. If the Kin can’t have you, they’re going to go for me as their scapegoat. Do you get it?’

  Still no reply, that bitch. I couldn’t fight her in her own field, her knowledge of magic far outstripped my own. I scuffed the snow underfoot. ‘Well then, fine. Be like that. But you know what?’ I lifted my head and looked all around me. Not a bird sang, not even a branch waved in that balmy breeze that continued all around me. I loosened my scarf and took off my toque.

  ‘You might as well turn yourself in, because they’re going to get you in the end. How do I know this?’

  I savored the silence, knowing she was hanging onto every word I said. And it was with a feeling of satisfied revenge that I continued. ‘Your nephew Rob is looking for you. He says your trust fund has problems, that the rules and stipulations are primitive and it won’t hold up to a court challenge, not these days. And the Kin are definitely going to grab it from you, you know that.’

  I took a deep breath. ‘And now that Cate and the Kin are aware that Rob is looking for you, they’re going to keep the closest eye on him. Probably have his room bugged. The minute you show yourself to him, bam! They’ll have you.

  ‘How do you like that twist in the story, huh? Hoist by your own petard, as you would say.’

  It felt good to unload all my frustrations and anger on her. That is, until it was spewed out and laid bare to the open air. Then it didn’t feel so good anymore.

  ‘You can’t win this time, and it looks good on you,’ I mumbled. I was still waiting for a response from her, but there was nothing. Nothing, except for the deep chill which suddenly settled in this dell. It formed on the stone walls in glittering frost, and bore right into my bones. It froze my eyelashes and burned my ears.

  That was it. That was her only response. With my words to her, I’d burned any bridges I still had with Margaret, and that witch was pissed.

  I replaced my hat and huddled into my parka and stumbled away. Back through the laneway and down the countless steps, back into the relative warmth of the city below. I walked along the main road until I could flag down a cab and somehow convey to him where I needed to go.

  When I got back to the hotel, I realized only four hours had passed from start to finish. Despite the intense physical effort I’d put my body through, I wasn’t the least bit hungry for lunch.

  Just as well that I wasn’t looking to eat, because Cate sniffed me out the moment I returned to the hotel.

  ‘So?’ She appeared at my side while I waited for the elevator. I said nothing until the brass sliding doors had closed behind us.

  We stood side by side. I watched her in the mirror. She was staring down at me, her arms crossed with impatience.

  What to tell her? She was going to be displeased with every single update, for I’d failed spectacularly on all fronts. There was no way we were going to lure Margaret anywhere near us. Not now that I’d warned her the Kin knew what she was doing, and that they planned to punish her for her deeds. Punished severely with her trust fund removed, even if they couldn’t lay physical hands on her. I would be surprised if the Kin hadn’t started that action already. Margaret might remain free, but she would have no money to finance her lavish lifestyle.

  And I’d managed to scupper any chances of using Rob as bait to lure in Margaret. The lawyer had seen through my deception with his x-ray vision. Perhaps Margaret had probably already reached out to him to give her consent to tighten the rules.

  Not that it would do her any good. The Kin Britannica controlled the banks and the laws of their country. They would do as they wished.

  ‘Rob is out,’ I told Cate. ‘He doesn’t trust the Kin.’ I unzipped my parka and removed my toque. The tiny space was growing warm.

  ‘You must have told him.’ This wasn’t in the form of a question.

  I shook my head. The elevator doors opened onto my floor. I paused before stepping out, waiting for the shit storm.

  But it never came. Cate merely laughed it off, too casually.

  ‘Oh well,’ she said, with a tiny smile dancing in her eyes. ‘Looks like it’ll be your head on the Covenanter’s platter.’

  ‘But Cate,’ I said. I held my hand on the elevator door to keep it open as I tried unsuccessfully to quell the quick flush of anger that ran through me. I took a deep breath, forcing my voice to stay light and level like hers. I had to play the game. ‘You’d vouch for me, though. Wouldn’t you? I mean, surely you have as much to lose as me?’

  As threats go, it was veiled, but she had to know what I meant. Yet she merely laughed again without answering, or perhaps the lack of reply was her answer. Either way, I didn’t feel supported in this environment.

  ‘You missed my presentation last night,’ she said. ‘I was very disappointed not to see you there. I discussed my studies of the past year or so.’

  ‘Music,’ I said flatly.

  ‘Music and magic. They hold the keys to many of life’s mysteries,’ she replied. ‘Too bad you missed it. I think it would have given you food for thought. ’

  She still had her finger on the elevator hold. ‘In fact, it’s really too bad you weren’t there. But I think you’ll have the opportunity to see my work in action very soon.

  Cate was smiling enigmatically as the doors silently closed, leaving me to my fate.

  Twenty-Six

  ‘There you are.’ Hugh’s voice was warm when I walked into our suite. He took me into a large hug. ‘Had a good morning sightseeing?’

  I huddled into him like a feather duvet on a winter’s night. I tried to close my mind to my suspicions of last night, about him and Win. His strong arms gave me the nurturing I so needed right there and then.

  How long would it last, though? Once the Covenanters sounded the cry and demanded their sacrifice? I lifted my head away from that shoulder and searched his face. How would his family feel about us, if the worst came to pass? They were close. Family was everything to Hugh. How strong was his love for me? I somehow doubted the Duke would allow his house to be tainted with ties to a traitor to the Kin, even if the charges weren’t true, even if Hugh knew they could never be true.

  How strong was my love for him, for that matter? I stayed in his embrace for as long as I could. It might be the last one. I might have overstayed my welcome, for after a long moment of my silence, he briskly stepped away.

  ‘Cate’s presentation last night,’ I began.

  ‘You missed it! Too bad, it was quite fascinating. Music and magic. Imagine the possibilities.’

  I shivered, remembering the crystal decorations on the tree she’d brought to his parents’ estate for the Ney Year. The beautiful shimmering notes from each ball, and how one had particularly spoken to me. Until Cate touched it and the note turned sour. ‘Was she talking about the crystal balls, like she gave to your parents?’

  He looked surprised. ‘I’d forgotten about those little toys,’ he said with a fond smile. ‘No, she delved into the deeper philosophy about how music can aid and strengthen personal magic. Very few have worked on this theory before. Amazing ideas, I don’t know if anyone has ever examined it from that angle before.’

  ‘I don’t see how it could work.’

  ‘It is a little complicated,’ he began, hardly pompous at all as he began to mansplain. ‘It has to do with vibrations, and the ability to use these to intensify the magic field.’

  I nodded impatiently. ‘But what’s it used for? I can’t see any application for this.’

  ‘It would be used for, I don’t know, times of war, when one would need to group all one’s energies to direct at a foe, quite obviously.’

  ‘So she’s creating weapons of mass destruction?’

  ‘What, Cate? Nonsense,’ he said. ‘You do see the bleak side of life sometimes, don’t you? No, Cate would never have such an application in mind. Her work is more theoretical.’

  Something was nagging at me, I didn’t know what, but I didn’t want to let this conversation go. Why could Hugh not see the evil side of Cate? Why did he insist that everything about the woman was above board?

  ‘And how would she use the music for her weapons? Is adamantite involved?’ The moment the words came out of my mouth, a light began to dawn inside me, but he didn’t give me a chance to explore that thought further.

  ‘Adamantite? I suppose,’ he said, cocking his head to one side. He glanced at his wristwatch and gave a start. ‘We do have to get ready for the final feast tonight,’ he reminded me.

  ‘But we’re not leaving tomorrow,’ I said. ‘Why would the final feast be tonight?’ I still had my parka on, the cold which had entered me from the shrine was still in my bones.

  ‘True, but the talks are wrapped up for now. Tomorrow will be just for fun.’

  ‘So, how has it been? Any decisions made? What has it accomplished, this whole delegation?’

  ‘We’ve made great strides,’ he said with satisfaction. ‘Beijing has agreed to send out a welcome for all magic practitioners to return, and they will be given full pardons if necessary.’

  ‘And?’

  He looked at me quizzically. ‘Once the new law gets passed, that is. Things don’t move as quickly as we’d like, not when they’re on such a big scale.’

  A wave of horrified tedium slowly rolled over me. This dullness was to be my future. I sat myself down on the sofa and let his words wash around me.

  Hugh took off his shirt and peered into the mirror to examine his teeth. ‘They have also agreed to host another delegation in six months’ time. Yes, we can be quite proud of the work accomplished this week.’

  The future I’d imagined working for the Kin had been one of excitement and magic and overpowering the bad guys like Willem. A future where I would use my power, becoming adept in all things magick, become a hero in my own eyes.

  I thought of Margaret, who had foreseen all this and offered me many chances to escape the utter dullness of this future. She’d known me better than I knew myself, yes, but that bridge was burned.

  And Rob. That quirky, sort of geeky lawyer, he had his head screwed on right, too. It still stung that he’d dismissed me so; even worse, that I’d deserved his dismissal. I hung my head in shame and admitted to myself that I was responsible for every choice I’d made, yes, even for allowing Cate to manipulate me into ‘saving’ the day back in St. John’s, and being foolish enough to trust her in the first place.

  My future yawned ahead endlessly, full of politics and listening to bores yammering on about things which really didn’t matter. This was no fun. This was a life sentence.

  But perhaps it beat whatever judgement the Covenanters were planning. Right? I turned to look up at Hugh, who was now hanging his shirt back up in the closet.

  When I first met this man, he was like a whirlwind of fresh energy, bringing hopes of a new life for me with him, with his talk of the Kin and his exciting work. Once I’d scratched the surface though, he was like any normal guy, like Jack at the Craft Fairs. He was simply a person getting on with his life within the structures he’d been given. A little dull, perhaps, but didn’t the Chinese have a curse – may you live in interesting times?

  Yeah, I had to admit that Hugh had become dull. Or perhaps it was just that I, and my expectations of life, had grown so much.

  My life had been interesting since I’d met him. That meeting had been the turning point of my life, when I found there was hope for a life in magic for me, not just a dreary future in plumbing. Meeting Hugh had been the catalyst, he’d shown me I could be more than just a despised half-blood, that my life had worth.

  Everything else that had happened along the way, well, it was all my own fault. My own choices of action. And their consequences.

  And now. Now I realized that my relationship with Hugh might be the only way I could be saved, my only hope. Only through my connection with him could I possibly hope to dodge the judgement that should be Margaret’s. I hated myself even more now, but I was in survival mode by this time.

  I stood up, drew him away from the mirror, and gave him the lovingest, smoochiest kiss I could. At least that wasn’t false, and he responded in kind. My future would never be boring, surely?

  He drew back with that smile on his face, the smile that used to send thrills right to the deepest part of me. The special smile, just for me.

  ‘We have to get ready,’ he whispered, his voice hoarse. He cleared his throat and let go of me, then continued in his normal tone as he turned back to his hair. ‘Dress in your finest. We’ll be taken to the Forbidden City for a tour. It’s going to be a long afternoon, lots of walking, so wear comfortable shoes.’

  ‘You realize you just gave me an impossible instruction? How can I dress in my finest and have comfortable footwear?’

  He looked down at the strappy sandals I had in my hands, and laughed at the sight of the height of the heels. ‘Didn’t you bring something more practical?’

  ‘Yeah, my running shoes,’ I mumbled as I looked back into the closet. Of course there was nothing there that would suit the bill.

  He came and joined me, staring with me at the sparse offerings of my closet as if to check I hadn’t overlooked anything.

  ‘Hmmm.’

  ‘Yeah, I didn’t bring a lot of choice. I’m just going to have to wear the sandals and grin and bear it.’

  ‘I’ll carry you,’ he promised. ‘When the going gets rough.’

  I bit my lip. If only I could trust that he would be true to his word, because I had a feeling that the going was indeed going to get rough. And not just high-heels on cobblestones rough.

  The grand welcome feast was to be held in the heart of the Forbidden City. Despite Hugh’s advice for me to hurry, I took the time to rifle through the tourist brochures on the desk of our room. The Emperor’s Palace! Even I had heard of the huge compound in the center of Beijing, the former city of China’s rulers.

 

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