Last to Rise(6)

Finally she grinned again, though I didn’t like the way it seemed to hint at her knowing more than I thought. “All right. Hell, I wouldn’t have come with you at all if I believed half what the sheets say. Besides, be nice to go somewhere that isn’t the Stench. I’m not promising anything though.”



“Fair enough. After you. Maybe no levitating though – we might be legal, but that doesn’t mean anyone likes us.” I waved her in front of me on the stairs and followed her up.



“I don’t give a shit who knows what I am. Anyone doesn’t like it, they’ll feel the whack of my magic on their arse. And speaking of arses, if you don’t stop staring at mine,” she said over her shoulder, “I’m going to show you what happens when I get really pissed off.”



Do you know, the fretwork on the walkways round there was really quite something, all curly stuff and little icons of the Goddess’s face interspersed with stylised versions of the saints and martyrs. I concentrated on remembering what the hell their names were and barely even glanced at Halina or her arse the whole way there.





Chapter Three





We got up to the pain lab sitting at the edge of Trade. Halina curled her lip at the sight of it, its fire-blackened exterior, the mess of mechanicals and electricals that was Lise’s workbench, the straggle of teens and youths – my merry band of magelets – in one corner going through their paces. Then she saw the grey, watery mess that was all we had to call food and dived in like it was steak and eggs.



All the new recruits were being housed at the lab or in the building directly below. Easier to keep an eye on them, especially as most were still learning about their magic, and that usually came with a few surprises. We’d even moved our office there, and that suited me a damn sight better than the old one. I left Halina eating like the world was about to end, and headed for my desk.



I didn’t get far. For one thing, Lise wasn’t at her workbench, which was odd. Not just because we were relying on her expertise at inventing things that might help us fend off the Storad, but because she was only ever really happy when she was tinkering. It had to be something pretty important to drag her away. The raised voices through the door were a clue – I could hear her and Perak and a whole jumble of other voices all talking over each other. I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to get involved, but figured it was too late for that.



The pain room was full. Lise stood protectively in front of the rig we used to suck out magic, a screwdriver in her hand like she thought someone was about to sabotage it again. Pasha was there, looking rumpled and angry, but then again he often did. Archdeacon Perak, my and Lise’s brother, not looking his calm and serene self but more frazzled and pissed off than I thought I’d ever seen him. When I saw who else was in the room, I wasn’t surprised.



A whole Ministry delegation: fat, smug cardinals resplendent in their robes, bishops only slightly less chubby or gaudy, advisers lurking at the back, whispering in ears. Even without the robes, you could tell they were Ministry. In a city where food was at a premium, where finding breakfast could be a day-long and expensive job and everyone Under had got to know the sight of their rib bones, these guys all looked sleek and well-rounded.



“And I told you, that’s non-negotiable,” Perak was saying. “I’m not handing over one of my best mages to the Storad, especially when Glow is at a premium. No mages, no Glow, no nothing. I wouldn’t negotiate with them before, and I’m not going to start now.”



A disgruntled murmur from the assembled clergy. Perak was… well, he wasn’t what anyone was used to in a Ministry man. The bishops and cardinals were used to what they called discretion and Perak called weaselling about with the truth. Tact and diplomacy Ministry-style do not run in our family, and Perak’s straight way of talking was a breath of fresh air that had most of them reaching for the smelling salts. Entertained me enormously, though.



One of the bolder cardinals glared at Lise. “What about electricity? You said that you could use it, make it. So make it! Then we won’t have to rely on these damned mages. We could destroy all these infernal mage-powered machines. Maybe we should anyway.”



Lise glared at him and brandished her screwdriver. It might not have seemed much of a weapon but it wasn’t all she had, and I had no doubt these cardinals knew what she was like with booby traps. That is, excellent. Then again, it wasn’t going to be cardinals trying anything with her machines, they liked their hands and other bits and pieces attached.