Taken

We reached the entrance and Luna hung back as I activated the trigger to make the earth ahead of us part with a rumbling sound. Arachne’s lair is on Hampstead Heath, hidden beneath a ravine in the deep woods where few people go. It had turned into a clear, cold night, bright stars shining down out of a winter sky, and both of us shivered as we came out into the open. The entrance to the lair closed behind us and we turned our feet towards the Tiger’s Palace.

chapter 6

The Soho street was noisy, music from a dozen bars blending together into a confusing racket. Neon lights flashed through the shadows, making the dark stone and brickwork flicker red-blue-green. People appeared and disappeared in groups, emerging from doorways and vanishing into the gloom. Buildings went up and up into the darkness, fading into an orange sky, but the lights and crowds couldn’t hide the chill of the winter air.

Luna and I were sheltering in a doorway, looking at the building opposite. It was blacked out, dark except for a neon sign blinking on the roof, and I looked at it for a moment before glancing sideways at Luna. Her face was lit up by the sign above, flickering from red to blue. “Think this is the place?”

“It’s the right number,” Luna said.

I looked into the future, searching for the consequences of us entering that building. “So Anne’s . . .” Luna said. “I mean, the guy we’re meeting. He’s a rakshasa?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s a rakshasa?”

“Creatures from India,” I said. “Or maybe they were before India and the Indians just gave them the name. In their true form they’re supposed to look like a cross between a human and a tiger.” I paused. “Oh, and their hands are supposed to be backwards.”

“Backwards?”

“Reversed. The palms are where the backs should be.”

Luna thought about that for a second, then grimaced. “Creepy.” She held up a hand before I could speak. “I know. Don’t judge by appearances, right?”

“Well . . . maybe just this once it wouldn’t be a bad idea.” I leant against the cold stone, studying the building opposite. “I don’t know much about rakshasas, but none of what I’ve heard is good. They were supposed to be . . . I guess the word would be malevolent. They loved power, especially over thinking creatures. They ruled India once, if the stories are true. They lived in palaces built by their slaves, lords of everything they could see.”

“But that might not be true,” Luna said. “I mean, the apprentices say stuff like that about all magical creatures. Even Arachne. I’ve heard them. And he’s looking after Anne, right?”

“I admit I’m very curious as to what two apprentices like Anne and Variam would be doing with a rakshasa.”

“Maybe there are things he can teach them.”

“Oh, there would be,” I said. “Rakshasas are powerful. The old stories say they were partly divine, not fully bound by the laws of the physical world. I don’t know if it’s true but everyone agrees they’re master shapeshifters. They can change their appearance and form, give themselves abilities that shouldn’t be possible.”

Luna stood quietly for a second. “So . . . how well do they usually get on with mages?”

“Have a guess.”

Luna sighed. “Badly.”

I nodded. “For a long time there was a secret war across the Indian subcontinent. The rakshasas won most of the battles but there were never enough of them. Mages could replace their losses; rakshasas couldn’t. In the end there was a treaty and both sides agreed to leave each other alone. But rakshasas are supposed to hold grudges like you wouldn’t believe. This one, Jagadev, was probably alive for that war. Maybe alive for all the others before it. I doubt he’s forgotten.”

“Oh,” Luna said. She paused. “And this is the guy whose home we’re visiting.”

“Yes.”

“This is going to be one of those eventful nights, isn’t it?”

I finished my search and pulled my attention back to the immediate future. “We’re in the right place. Let’s go.”

*  *  *

Two drunks slumped in a doorway watched us blearily as we passed. I walked past without a glance as Luna skirted them more carefully. Concrete stairs and a railing led down to a basement level and an open door.

Inside was an anteroom with three security men. Heavy-duty pieces of work, layers of fat covering rubbery muscle, their faces all broken noses and scowls. I came to a stop in front of them. “I’m looking for Jagadev.”

The one at the centre looked at me with shark’s eyes, flat and cold. “Name?”

“Alex Verus.”

He studied me a moment, then jerked his head towards a doorway.

The corridor beyond was old concrete, stained and ugly. “Alex—” Luna whispered.

“Cameras,” I said under my breath.

Luna glanced up. Electric eyes were watching us from both ends of the hall. The door at the end was padded and looked soundproofed to me, but I could feel a vibration through my feet. I opened the door.