Part 39 (1/2)

Don't ask!' Taziel interrupted. He took off his dark gla.s.ses and rubbed his eyes wearily. You wouldn't want to meet them.'

We might have to stay here a couple of days,' Lahash said smoothly. We can drive out somewhere for dinner later. I'll suss out a safe place.'

When he'd left the room, Aninka said, Exactly who is he meeting, Taz?'

Taziel wriggled his shoulders. It was not quite a shrug, more a gesture of discomfort. He took off his shades to reveal the vulnerable state of his eyes. Kerubim,' he said. Grigori militia. And you don't meet them, you conjure them.'

Aninka grimaced. There is so much we don't know about our own people. Militia? I can't believe it.'

I know too much,' Taziel said. Think yourself lucky.'

Aninka wasn't sure whether that was a sarcastic remark. You must have been around, then, to have ama.s.sed all this knowledge?'

Here and there.' He carefully put down his drink, and paused, alerting Aninka to the fact a significant comment was about to be uttered. She was not disappointed. Most of it I learned through Peverel Othman.'

Aninka held her breath, hardly daring to speak. How could she draw him out? He glanced up at her, perhaps unsure of what her silence signified. She smiled in what she hoped would appear as sympathy. I know a little of what happened, but not much.'

Taziel leaned back in his chair, laced his fingers, which Aninka noticed were shaking, across his stomach. Othman ruined me,' he said.

He killed my friends,' Aninka said. I was lucky, I suppose. Hardly damaged.'

Taziel sighed. I don't know why he did it to me. I wish I did. Was it because he hated me, or because he didn't care one way or the other? Do you know about him, Aninka?'

Aninka frowned. Know what? Something other than that he's a cold-blooded killer, an Anakim?'

Taziel nodded to himself. There is more. They won't tell me, and I can't find the knowledge I need, but there is more. That is why they're so desperate to find him now. They've been waiting. People like us, we are nothing, fodder for the beast. All this talk about Lahash protecting us is b.o.l.l.o.c.ks. We are disposable, Othman is not. They want him, they prize him, they fear and respect him. What is he, huh? What do you think he is?'

Aninka shrugged helplessly. I don't know.' She offered Taziel a cigarette, which he took. She lit her own. Why are we here, Taz? Do they really need us to find him? You, perhaps, but me? How am I of use to them?'

They'll need you, don't worry. They'll send you in as bait, to talk to him. It'll be an attempt to catch him off guard. But he's sharp. You'll have to be careful.'

What if I refuse to do that?'

Taziel laughed. You won't. You know you won't.'

Aninka objected to his tone. What about you?'

Taziel took a long draw off the cigarette. I would die for him, still. But I would also like to see him dead. You know these feelings, of course, or an approximation of them.' He smiled sadly. I want to see him again, yet I dread it.'

I know what you mean.'

Taziel sat upright, staring at his hands. Then he glanced at Aninka. I want to warn him,' he said quickly. You must stop me.'

How?'

Taziel put his head in his hands. I'll have to get drunk, very drunk. Keep me talking. Don't leave me on my own.'

Aninka shuddered, as a memory of the night in London nudged her mind. The numbing cold, the watching presence. Do you think he knows we're here?' Already a seed of that feeling was around them in the chintzy hotel lounge.

Taziel shook his head. I can't tell. It's possible.' He rubbed his face. This has to be over soon. It has to be.'

By the time Lahash reappeared around six o'clock in the evening, both Aninka and Taziel were amiably intoxicated. Aninka went up to her room to freshen up. She splashed water on her face. There was a sense of imminence all around her. She felt excited. Soon. Soon.

Lahash knocked on her door and came into her room, barely waiting for a response. How has he been?'

She was drying her face on a hand towel. Fine. Well, manageable. Where is he now?' She didn't want to mention Taziel's confession about alerting Othman to their presence.

In the shower.'

You should be with him.'

Lahash raised his brows. Should I?'

I think he's unstable.' Aninka began to drag a brush through her hair. Are we eating out?'

If you want to. I've found a couple of places. You're worried about Taz, aren't you?'

This one is too alert, Aninka thought. She shrugged. It's obvious he's distressed. You know that. Otherwise, why did you want me to stay with him this afternoon?'

What was it he said that worried you?'

Nothing!' Aninka answered irritably. It's just his general condition.' She felt she ought to tell Lahash about Taziel's fears of communicating with Othman, but shrank from doing so.

Lahash grinned in a knowing manner. Can you be ready in twenty minutes? Nothing too formal.'

I'm sure I can manage.' She sat down in front of the mirror above the dressing-table. The quality of the reflection made her skin look yellow.

I'll see to Taz.' He left the room, shutting the door quietly.

Aninka stared at herself in the mirror. I should have told him, she thought. Why didn't I tell him? The answer was obvious. She and Levantine had a common bond; she could not bring herself to break it. It was up to her to keep Taziel out of trouble, and she could only trust he'd do the same for her.

Tuesday October: Little Moor Owen looked worried as he put down the phone. Everything all right?' Lily asked him.

I don't know. Daniel's not there. His dad says he's staying overnight with school friends in Patterham.'

Owen, I hope you're not jealous!' Lily teased.

I might have upset him this morning,' Owen said. He'd already told Lily about Daniel's decision to leave school.

Perhaps he just needs time away from us,' Lily said. Time to think. He's got a lot of things to ponder about, not least the fact that we are not exactly what we seem.'

Owen had grinned weakly. True. I feel no different to how I felt a couple of weeks ago, though. Do you?'

Lily shook her head. No. To be honest, I'm not sure how I feel.' She hadn't told Owen about the cat. It lay in the bottom of her mother's old wardrobe, among the limp, flowered dresses with their powdery aromas of summers past.

In the evening, Lily suggested a drink at The White House, to which reluctantly Owen agreed. He was still very worried about Daniel. Lily hoped that Othman would be at the pub, in the garden, where they'd first seen him.