Fated

We walked down the stairs to the floor, and Luna fell in by my side. As we did, I glanced down at Arachne’s ribbon, making sure that Luna didn’t see me do it. A quarter of its length had gone black, the darkness spreading slowly as it drew in the silvery mist.

I led Luna towards the band and the dance floor. We passed other men and women as we walked, strolling and talking, all wearing expensively tailored evening wear. In my normal clothes I would have stood out like a sore thumb, but in Arachne’s outfits we fitted in perfectly. Arachne pretends not to care about fashion, but she always seems to match it. Most of the men were wearing dinner jackets like mine, while the women were wearing dresses that were … well, they were dresses. I have no clue what kind. Hey, I’m a guy, what do you expect? There’s a reason I go to Arachne when I want to look good.

The band was a string ensemble. They were playing a waltz, quick and cheerful. ‘Want to dance?’ I said to Luna as we reached the dance floor.

Luna shook her head. ‘No, thanks.’

‘Great.’ I pulled Luna out onto the floor.

‘Alex!’ Luna protested, her voice rising. People turned to look, and she hushed it to a whisper. ‘I can’t—’

‘Relax,’ I said as I took her right hand in my left and raised it. ‘I can.’

‘You know I don’t know how to dance!’

‘Just follow my lead. Put your other hand on my shoulder.’ I moved it. ‘There. Start off on your left foot. And one, and two—’

‘I can’t do this!’

‘—and three,’ I said, and led off. Luna nearly tripped over, then righted herself, clinging to me desperately as we moved through the crowd.

Although I don’t look it, I’m a pretty good dancer, a legacy from my time with Richard. I haven’t gotten much use out of it since then, but it’s like riding a bicycle – you never forget. The nice thing about dancing as a man is that if you’re good enough, you can carry a girl even if she doesn’t have the first clue what she’s doing. I stuck to basics, letting Luna get used to the rhythm as I scanned the crowd for familiar faces. There weren’t many. I don’t generally get invited to high society events, and the mages here were the elite.

Of course, not all were mages. Many would only be adepts, or maybe not even that. Some would be enspelled, and they’d be waking up tomorrow morning remembering tonight as nothing more than a dream. And some would be apprentices or even slaves, here only at the whim of their masters.

Here’s the catch, though – there’s no way to know just by looking whether someone is a mage or not. Some mages like to advertise, but the smart ones usually take care to avoid revealing their power until it suits them. It’s easy to look at a crowd like this and notice only the ones who catch your eye – the woman wearing a white dress that seemed to be made entirely of feathers, with gaps exposing glimpses of pale skin, the man dressed entirely in red, with a snake-headed cane at one side – but usually the ones you have to watch out for are the ones you don’t see.

The music shifted into a slower dance, and as Luna began to realise that she wasn’t going to trip over, her death grip on my arms loosened. I could feel her muscles relax slightly through the hand on her back. ‘Having fun?’ I said into her ear. The mist still swirled around her, but the ribbon was drawing it away from the other dancers.

‘I’m going to get you for this,’ Luna said, breathless.

‘I’ll take that as a yes.’

‘Is everyone watching?’

‘Yup. Oh, don’t stiffen up, you were just starting to relax.’

Luna’s fingers dug into my arm. ‘Why are they all looking at me?’ she whispered into my ear.

‘Probably wondering where you got your dress.’

‘Alex!’ Luna tried to hit me with her free hand and nearly stumbled.

‘Tsk. You don’t want to fall.’

Luna made a noise that sounded almost like she was laughing. ‘We’re new,’ I said, my voice serious again. ‘Everyone here is watching everyone else. Probably a hundred people have made a note of us by now. Don’t be surprised if you’re approached as soon as this dance ends.’

‘Me? Why?’

‘Curiosity. Information.’

‘What should I say?’

‘Whatever you like, as long as you don’t give too much away. Let them come up with their own ideas and don’t correct them.’

We did another circuit of the dance floor, passing close to the band. All four were women. They looked natural at first glance; only if you looked closely would you see the slightly glazed look in their eyes. We turned back towards the crowd, and I saw who I’d been waiting for. ‘Look over my shoulder,’ I said as I turned. ‘Greek-looking guy in a dark blue suit with fancy trim. Talking to the man in red.’

‘Mm … okay, I see him. Who is he?’

‘Name’s Lyle. Major league asshole. Tied in with the Council.’

‘He’s the one who invited you?’

‘Yup.’

We did another revolution. ‘Are you going to talk to him?’ Luna asked eventually.

‘He can wait.’ Lyle was starting to send irritated glances in our direction. The music came to a halt, and I came apart from Luna with a smile and gave her a small bow. There was scattered clapping.