Page 22 of The Shadows Beyond
Darcy leapt in. “We found today’s date circled in her diary. Many times, in red pen. She’d scribbled‘Jour J?’over it.”
“D-Day,” Julien translated.
Cinn tensed at his own words when he asked, “So… was your sister like… involved in the Arcane Purifier group?”
“Non. No way. She wouldn’t have kept that from me. She was clearly… investigating them or something. Recording evidence.”
Cinn couldn’t help but glance at the other two in the rear-view mirror. They weren’t as convinced.
Darcy caught his eye and leaned forwards. “It’s important to know, Cinn, that until today, they’ve never hurt anybody. They’ve been all words, no action. Just lots of meetings with Auri’s consortium, in addition to public speaking. Evidently, though, AP decided that political lobbying wasn’t getting them anywhere. The consortium is more than happy to bury their heads in the sand and ignore them. And to be fair, just last week there was a massive earthquake in Egypt. The country is often cited as having the world’s lowest seismic risk. They recorded a seven on the Richter scale, and half a city was destroyed.”
“Because of motes?!”
Elliot made a sound like he was about to jump in, but stopped himself.
“It’s a complicated debate,” said Julien.
Cinn openly glared at him. “I’m not stupid.”
“He’s not saying that, Cinn. But he’s right.”
Darcy’s strained tone seemed to close the conversation, and the rest of the car journey passed in contemplative silence. Well, he presumed it was silent—he’d plugged in his headphones. Finally Julien pulled up at his house, with a promise to pick him up tomorrow.
“I imagine anything scheduled for tomorrow at Auri will be cancelled, while they sort this shit out. Shall I pick you up at noon, and we can reconvene at Darcy’s cottage? Perhaps attempt to reach Béatrice?” Julien’s intense gaze burned into him. “If you think you’re up to it? Darcy has done lots of research into shadowslipping and she thinks she can create an environment where nothing can be brought back through when you return.”
The prospect of willingly entering the dark place scared him.Petrifiedhim, even. Living in fear of entering it had been a constant torment his entire life. But now he was here, it was finally time to learn to control it. He could enter his next session with Noir armed with more information and skill than he currently possessed.
And so, Cinn nodded. “I’m happy to try. But Tyler gets the money either way, right?”
“Of course,” Julien said smoothly.
He watched their car drive away from his doorstep, half glad to be rid of the odd trio, yet half reluctant to be alone again. The three of them were the closest thing he had to friends in this brave new world, although he wouldn’t trust Elliot as far as he could throw him. And probably not Julien, either. His list of allies was going well then.
He dragged an armchair over to the wall telephone. It was time to phone Bradley’s number again and hopefully track down Tyler. If he was still alive.
six
Julien
It was ten a.m.
Ten a.m. and Julien had already eaten breakfast, read the weekly Auri-produced newspaper, completed a three-kilometre run, showered, tinkered with the translation device prototype he was developing for fun, practised his German verbs so he could test said device, and drunk two cups of coffee.
Julien rolled his neck. Still two more hours to kill. That was fine. He could do two more hours.
Next, he would work. Slipping on his reading glasses, he reached for the papers on his coffee table.
His phone rang, vibrating his side table and hurting his ears with its loud shrill. One glance at the caller ID sent two fingers straight to his temple. After a deep breath, he picked it up and held it a few inches away from his ear.
“Père.”If his father picked up the note of annoyance already in his voice, he didn’t mention it.
From his first line of rapid, angry French, it was clear he had called to rant. “Three people deceased, and over fifty injured, and my own son doesn’t find it within himself to call and assure me of his well-being?”
“You could have calledmelast night,Père.”Fifty people injured? The newspaper had said thirty. His father always did have more information than everyone else, however.
“I should not have to chase after reassurance. I expect the courtesy of my offspring to prioritise familial duty and ensure his parent is spared the inconvenience of concern. It’s basic decency, something I thought I had instilled, but evidently, the appreciation of such matters…”
Julien held the phone away from his ear and hummed a low note.
