Page 154 of The Dark Mirror

‘Yes.’ I stepped towards her. ‘You’re voyant.’

‘A secret unknown to most of my staff,’ Sala said, ‘though I meant for them to know it soon, once we unveiled the Council of Kassandra. A dream that grows fainter with each passing day.’ She slid her broad hands into her pockets. ‘You requested my attention. I have risked a great deal by returning, so I hope you have something important to say.’

‘I do,’ I said. ‘I know why you left, and I think I can help you.’

‘I am listening.’

‘Domino was informed of a Scion military plan called Operation Ventriloquist, which aims to bring countries down from the inside. It’s the reason Norway fell,’ I said. ‘They believe Italy is the next target, and that’s why you gave Capri and Ischia to Scion. Were you threatened by a man with a red aura – a man called David Fitton, or Cadoc Fitzours?’

‘How do you know this?’

‘I heard it from the prisoner Scion left on Capri.’

‘You went there?’

‘Yes, to free him. He told me more about Operation Ventriloquist.’

‘You may have doomed us. Once I had evacuated those islands, no one was to set foot on them. Scion wanted to conduct its affairs there in secret.’

‘I wasn’t detected. The only way they’ll find out is if they send people down to the Grotta Azzurra,’ I said. ‘Did Fitzours come to see you?’

‘Yes,’ Sala said. ‘I was in a meeting with the Prime Minister when my aide, Valentina Chen, walked into the room. She spoke to us, but she was not herself. In the calmest manner, she told us she was Cadoc Fitzours, a dreamwalker. Through her, he explained what he had done to Umberto, and to Helen Githmark in Norway. Lorenzo didn’t believe a word, so Fitzours made Valentina stab herself. I could not believe what I was seeing.’

I swallowed.

‘He claimed he could do this to anyone. That none of us had free will any longer,’ she said. ‘He told us that he could enter our dreamscapes, see through our eyes, at any time. He ordered us to sign away the islands on the spot, under a new treaty between Italy and Scion, or he would leave Valentina to bleed out and frame us for her murder. The treaty promised that Italy would join Scion. It legitimises any future invasion.’

When Scion moved against Italy, nobody would come to punish it. Sala would appear to be fully complicit.

‘Until then, the islands were a sign of our commitment, to lie untouched in the sea,’ she said. ‘Fitzours possessed Lorenzo and dropped the treaty from a window. Someone below took it away.’

Cade really had thought of everything.

‘I had learned a little about dreamwalkers from Jaxon,’ Sala said, ‘so I knew Fitzours needed to be within a certain range of a person to possess them. I decided to go into hiding at once, so I could not be forced to act against my will again. Lorenzo agreed that he would remain behind, to uphold the impression of normality, but I fear for him.’

‘Is Fitzours watching him?’

‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘I haven’t dared to speak to anyone. I’ve been trying to formulate a plan, but all I have been able to do isstay away. But there is only so long I can hide, and my powers are limited.’ Her mouth thinned. ‘The Roman Forum was to be our embassy, the first of many. If Rome falls, so do all of those decades of work for voyants. All of the time and money we have poured into the Forum Project will be for nothing. But what Fitzours can do – I have never seen the likes of it. How can anyone fight such a power?’

‘Fitzours is just one person. He can’t be everywhere at once.’

‘And you know this because you are a dreamwalker.’ Sala drew a deep breath. ‘After what I saw from Fitzours, I was in two minds about meeting you, but you may understand the threat better than anyone. That’s why I agreed to see you, against my better instincts.’

‘I want to stop him,’ I said. ‘But I need to know where he is.’

‘Probably abroad,’ she said. ‘He told us that if we behaved, we would be allowed to continue running the country until he decided to come back for us, to force us to announce the conversion. Thanks to this Operation Ventriloquist, we are already little more than a dummy government. Lorenzo is petrified. Fitzours told him he would force him to kill his family if he resisted. It is a power no one should have.’

I had once told a man I would kill his children, but it had been a bluff. Cade was clearly willing to make good on his threats. I could see why Sala might find my gift disturbing.

‘Linda Groven was made into a Grand Inquisitor. I am unnatural, so I will be executed,’ Sala said. ‘I seem to have two choices. Either I flee into exile, or try to resist this attack on our country. But even as head of the armed forces, I do not know how to fight this man.’

I was already out of my depth. Despite my confidence, I had no business advising this woman.

‘President Sala,’ I finally said, ‘I know this situation is terrifying, but I believe Fitzours is trying to intimidate you and the Prime Minister into giving up without a fight. Scion has its hands full with the Iberian Peninsula. They don’t want to waste time and resources on more drawn-out invasions; not while the anchorisation is ongoing. That’s why they’re using this tactic to scoop up a few more countries in quick succession. They don’t know wholaunched the airstrikes. They’re nervous, so they’re taking a shortcut. That has risks.’

‘You are a young criminal with no military training,’ Sala said. ‘Why should I listen to you?’

‘I’m not saying you should ask me for tips on how to win a battle,’ I said, ‘but I know about dreamwalking. I can make things difficult for Fitzours.’

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