down into a heap. He’s not dead. Although perhaps he had it coming.
***
O’Shea is waiting beside the lift door as I emerge. When he catches sight of me, he hisses in alarm, ‘You’re covered in blood!’
I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. ‘Occupational hazard.’
‘Goddamnit, Bo. I know I insisted on coming along but the one thing you said was that we were going to be low profile. I don’t actually want to die today.’
He jerks his head across the lobby and my eyes follow the movement. The zombies from earlier have been replaced by some new ones but I still don’t see any imminent danger. I open my mouth to say so just as O’Shea elbows me sharply in the ribs. ‘Look harder.’
I frown and squint. Generic businessman in a generic cheap suit. Another one next to him, tapping his foot. A slick woman with hair so perfect it looks sprayed on is gesturing at reception with fluid movements. There’s something about the way she flicks her wrist that’s incredibly familiar. I suck in a breath. Oh bugger.
‘You see it, right?’
‘I see it,’ I reply grimly. There’s only one other person I know who moves in that kind of precise, almost lyrical manner. And he’s a Kakos daemon. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
There’s a groan from behind reception. David, still looking pale, staggers up. The woman quirks her manicured eyebrow in his direction. She doesn’t look worried – she looks amused.
‘Now,’ I whisper urgently. ‘There has to be a back door.’ I grab O’Shea’s arm and start walking quickly. I feel a strange pressure behind my eyes and I pinch the bridge of my nose. This is not the time to start getting a bloody migraine.
David smiles weakly at me as we rush past him. ‘Sorry,’ I mouth. He gives me a half shrug.
I pick up speed but I’m waiting for the woman to yell out or to feel sudden pain as she springs towards us and rips my heart from my chest. We continue on unimpeded, however, and O’Shea flings open the nearest door. I shove him through before quickly following.
The second the door slams behind us we sprint down the narrow corridor towards the emergency exit at the other end. Nausea swells up through my stomach. Why did I think I could do this? Why did I think I could take on X?
‘How did you know?’ I gasp to O’Shea. ‘She’s in full glamour.’
‘I’m an Agathos daemon. Partly, anyway. And I’ve been known to use a bit of glamour myself,’ he pants. ‘But I wouldn’t have been able to tell if she hadn’t let her glamour slip. It was only for a half second. That was enough.’
I feel panic rise in my throat. I push down frantically on the bar to the emergency door and we burst out into bright sunlight.
‘Which way?’ O’Shea yells.
‘Right. No, wait.’ I point. ‘That way. Left.’
We run. My mind turns over the expression in her eyes. She didn’t once look directly at me but she knew I was there. It was written all over her face. And she’d been able to read both our minds. ‘This is a trap,’ I say suddenly. ‘We’re running into a damn trap. She wanted us to come this way. She let her glamour slip deliberately so that we’d do this.’
‘Why?’
There can only be one reason. ‘X.’ I fling my head round. ‘He’s here somewhere. He’s waiting for us.’ I slow down. ‘I wasn’t here for you!’ I yell. ‘I was here for Alice!’ Even to my own ears, the words sound flat as they echo off the walls around us.
Nobody answers and I damn myself for a naive fool. Why did I think I could fool a Kakos daemon? He knows my lies better than I do. Not only that, but X has got friends and he’ll have enlisted them to make sure I don’t step out of line. I’ve brought O’Shea here and into danger; if we die, it’s all my fault. I just hope that my grandfather will be able to help Michael once I’m gone. My arrogance has been my undoing.
‘There’s no one here, Bo,’ O’Shea insists.
For the first time in my life, I know
***
O’Shea is waiting beside the lift door as I emerge. When he catches sight of me, he hisses in alarm, ‘You’re covered in blood!’
I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. ‘Occupational hazard.’
‘Goddamnit, Bo. I know I insisted on coming along but the one thing you said was that we were going to be low profile. I don’t actually want to die today.’
He jerks his head across the lobby and my eyes follow the movement. The zombies from earlier have been replaced by some new ones but I still don’t see any imminent danger. I open my mouth to say so just as O’Shea elbows me sharply in the ribs. ‘Look harder.’
I frown and squint. Generic businessman in a generic cheap suit. Another one next to him, tapping his foot. A slick woman with hair so perfect it looks sprayed on is gesturing at reception with fluid movements. There’s something about the way she flicks her wrist that’s incredibly familiar. I suck in a breath. Oh bugger.
‘You see it, right?’
‘I see it,’ I reply grimly. There’s only one other person I know who moves in that kind of precise, almost lyrical manner. And he’s a Kakos daemon. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
There’s a groan from behind reception. David, still looking pale, staggers up. The woman quirks her manicured eyebrow in his direction. She doesn’t look worried – she looks amused.
‘Now,’ I whisper urgently. ‘There has to be a back door.’ I grab O’Shea’s arm and start walking quickly. I feel a strange pressure behind my eyes and I pinch the bridge of my nose. This is not the time to start getting a bloody migraine.
David smiles weakly at me as we rush past him. ‘Sorry,’ I mouth. He gives me a half shrug.
I pick up speed but I’m waiting for the woman to yell out or to feel sudden pain as she springs towards us and rips my heart from my chest. We continue on unimpeded, however, and O’Shea flings open the nearest door. I shove him through before quickly following.
The second the door slams behind us we sprint down the narrow corridor towards the emergency exit at the other end. Nausea swells up through my stomach. Why did I think I could do this? Why did I think I could take on X?
‘How did you know?’ I gasp to O’Shea. ‘She’s in full glamour.’
‘I’m an Agathos daemon. Partly, anyway. And I’ve been known to use a bit of glamour myself,’ he pants. ‘But I wouldn’t have been able to tell if she hadn’t let her glamour slip. It was only for a half second. That was enough.’
I feel panic rise in my throat. I push down frantically on the bar to the emergency door and we burst out into bright sunlight.
‘Which way?’ O’Shea yells.
‘Right. No, wait.’ I point. ‘That way. Left.’
We run. My mind turns over the expression in her eyes. She didn’t once look directly at me but she knew I was there. It was written all over her face. And she’d been able to read both our minds. ‘This is a trap,’ I say suddenly. ‘We’re running into a damn trap. She wanted us to come this way. She let her glamour slip deliberately so that we’d do this.’
‘Why?’
There can only be one reason. ‘X.’ I fling my head round. ‘He’s here somewhere. He’s waiting for us.’ I slow down. ‘I wasn’t here for you!’ I yell. ‘I was here for Alice!’ Even to my own ears, the words sound flat as they echo off the walls around us.
Nobody answers and I damn myself for a naive fool. Why did I think I could fool a Kakos daemon? He knows my lies better than I do. Not only that, but X has got friends and he’ll have enlisted them to make sure I don’t step out of line. I’ve brought O’Shea here and into danger; if we die, it’s all my fault. I just hope that my grandfather will be able to help Michael once I’m gone. My arrogance has been my undoing.
‘There’s no one here, Bo,’ O’Shea insists.
For the first time in my life, I know
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