Cursed

Belthas shook his head. “Force is not in issue. I have enough influence with the Council to deal with the cabal in any direct engagement. What I need is an investigator. Someone to find the Dark mages and discover what they know about Jadan’s method. Once we know that, we can move in.”

“You can move in,” I said. Belthas nodded and I thought fast. “And in return?”

“As I said, I have some influence with the Council. I could assist you in any endeavours with them, should you require it. If not, I can promise future service. I would of course insist on paying for your time as well, if only on a token basis. Would ten thousand pounds a day be reasonable? In advance, of course.”

I had to stop my eyebrows going up at that. Like I said before, mages don’t value money all that much. But they still use it as a sense of scale: that much per day meant that the favours he was promising were significant. Of course, if this job would put me in the sights of a Dark cabal, they’d have to be.

“There are some things I’d like to know first,” I said.

“Of course.”

“Meredith was on her way to see me when she was attacked. Why?”

“We had already identified you as a potential ally,” Belthas said. “I delayed approaching you in the hope that we could resolve the matter without spreading the information any more than was strictly necessary. It seems Meredith decided on her own initiative that the priorities had changed.” He glanced at Meredith, who nodded after a second.

“What are you going to do with this technique if you get it?” I said.

“I would prefer knowledge of its existence suppressed if possible.”

“And if it’s not possible?”

Belthas frowned. “Then the task will be considerably more difficult. However, I see no way to avoid that risk.”

I fell silent. Belthas waited patiently for my answer. Looking into the future, I could see that I wasn’t in any danger: Belthas wasn’t going to try to silence me or anything if I said no. The question was whether I wanted to.

If this technique of harvesting magical creatures really existed—and from what Belthas and Arachne had said, it seemed pretty damn likely—I wanted it destroyed. The idea of the magical creatures of our world being hunted down in a race for their life force made me feel sick. I didn’t know if it could be done but I was going to try.

On the other hand, I wasn’t sure how much I trusted Belthas. His explanation had been plausible and smooth but something still made me hesitate. I’m pretty good at telling when I’m being lied to; if I had to bet, I’d have said Belthas was telling me the truth but not the whole truth. Although his manner was friendly, I couldn’t shake the feeling that underneath it was something calculating. He was keeping something back, maybe something important.

But for exactly that reason, I didn’t want to refuse. If I walked away, I’d have no way of learning what Belthas was up to. I already knew I wasn’t going to let this drop; it was a choice of investigating with him or without him. Then there was Meredith. I didn’t like the idea of just cutting her loose and it was pretty clear the Dark mages weren’t going to give up easily. I looked at Belthas. “You’ve got a deal. On one condition. I don’t want anybody else to gain access to Jadan’s research. If we get it, I want it destroyed.”

“Agreed.” Belthas smiled slightly. “Welcome aboard.”

To my side, I felt Meredith relax slightly. “So what’s your plan?”

“I’m working with my contacts in the Council to assemble a strike force. I need you to find out where the Dark cabal is operating from and how powerful they are.”

“And once I do?”

“I will eliminate them.” Belthas’s words were matter-of-fact, with no sign of bragging, and I pricked up my ears.

The split between Light and Dark mages is thousands of years old. There have been wars in the past, but at present there’s an uneasy peace governed by a set of rules called the Concord. Under the Concord, there’s a truce between all mages, whether Light or Dark … in theory. In practice, all the rules really come down to just one: don’t get caught. Open warfare is rare nowadays but violence isn’t, and a lot of brief, brutal skirmishes take place in the shadows of mage society, away from witnesses. Dark mages tend to come off best in these fights. It’s not that they’re any more powerful than their Light counterparts—they’re not—but they’re meaner and a hell of a lot more experienced and there aren’t many Light mages who’ll willingly engage a Dark one. Conventional wisdom is to steer clear of them; sooner or later someone else will take them down, and it’s a lot safer if that someone isn’t you. But somehow, as I met Belthas’s steady gaze, I didn’t get the feeling he was exaggerating.

“How much do you know about them?”