City of Halves by Lucy Inglis

the way?’
    â€˜Gupta didn’t drill it home to you? She’s—’
    â€˜The daughter of the Serpent King,’ they said together, then laughed.
    â€˜Yes, I got that. But . . . you know . . .’
    He nodded. ‘She’s sixteen and looks human enough, but she’s got the snake eyes and an odd way of talking. Lispy. She’s also a stone-cold killer. Makes me look like a pacifist.’
    â€˜But she’s the same age as me . . .’ Lily began.
    â€˜You think that makes a difference? It’s just the way she was born. She can also regenerate herself.’
    â€˜Like you?’
    â€˜Different. If I lost a limb, I’d heal, but I’d still be a limb short. Mona could regrow it.’
    â€˜What?’
    He nodded. ‘I know. Amazing talent to have. The Serpent King’s children come out of some mountain every ten years. Farmed out to foster families all over India. The world. They’re taught to be great warriors by men like Gupta, and how to behave themselves, as far as that’s possible. Then they’re recalled to fight tribal wars at home. Mona’s the first daughter in five centuries. She’s deadly, the most talented of all of them. In India she’s like some princess deity. When her father finds out she’s missing, we’re in big trouble. He’ll send an army, and they won’t care what’s in their way.’ He looked at her. ‘You seem pretty calm about all this.’
    â€˜Calm about what?’
    â€˜Yesterday, you didn’t even know we existed. Now you’re asking questions about the daughter of an obscure Hindu god.’
    Not that calm, no .
    He ducked to catch her eye. ‘What are you thinking?’
    That my mother may have been abducted by the government and the first guy I’ve ever met who . . . and he’s not human .
    She shrugged.
    â€˜What does –’ he shrugged exaggeratedly –‘ that mean?’
    Lily glanced away. ‘I don’t know.’
    He turned his empty cup round by the rim with long fingers, shaking his head. ‘When we were talking about abilities I’m pretty sure I should have mentioned that psychic wasn’t one of them,’ he said to the air.
    She ignored the comment. ‘So what do we do now?’
    He chewed his lip, thinking. ‘This paramedic sounds like our best lead on balance. What’s the matter? You look worried.’
    Lily hesitated. ‘Like nurses, I always just thought paramedics were good guys.’
    â€˜It doesn’t mean they can’t be infiltrated. Maybe the Agency have convinced these people they’re doing the right thing.’
    She looked into her cup. He touched her shoulder. ‘Don’t turn around right now, but look over the road from the station. In a minute.’
    She drank her tea, then eventually turned around as if stretching. A paramedic was sitting on a bright yellow-and-green motorcycle, in a specially designated traffic island opposite the station.
    â€˜We don’t know that’s him, though,’ she pointed out.
    â€˜No,’ he agreed.
    â€˜CCTV, that’s the way to find out. It’s everywhere around here. You can’t move without being on camera.’
    He said nothing. Lily pulled out her phone and opened the internet browser. ‘Shoreditch local information says here that there are two paramedics on motorcycles in this area at any one time.’
    â€˜So that means at least . . . what? What’s a human shift? Six on shifts through the week, maybe?’
    Lily shrugged. ‘I suppose. So any one of at least six to track down. Unless we can get an image of them.’
    He blew out. ‘Okay. So how do we go about it?’
    Lily finished her tea and got up. ‘We check the cameras in this area. Near the crossing. See which ones may have got a good view.’
    He stood. ‘Lead the