Page 68 of The Shadows Beyond
Julien observed them for a moment. Something about the trio’s dynamic was off, and Julien couldn’t tear his eyes away. The three men leaned in close to exchange words before his father nodded his head upwards. Was he suggesting they meet privately upstairs? To discuss what?
“Those three look pally.” Cinn swirled his champagne.
“Oui. The third one is the director of MEET. They probably need to discuss confidential motetech business away from prying ears. Jonathon probably wants a cash injection from HorizonTech for some sort of project. And Viktor Sturmhart just wants to have his finger in every pie.”
Cinn snorted. “Sorry. That sounded weird. What sort of stuff does your father fund again?”
“There’s an arm of the business that deals with standard tech, but his main focus is on owning and controlling development of each and every motetech product that gets approved. He’s made millions from it. Most of it is sold on to normal companies who have no idea about our world, and motecraft.”
Cinn gave him an incredulous stare. “Like what?”
“More subtle stuff, like mote-infused metal to lay railway tracks, guaranteed to need less maintenance. Same with building materials. There’s a fair bit of agricultural tech. Tear-resistant fabric. Medical equipment. More efficient solar panels and batteries with longer lifespans. You get the picture.”
The three men headed for an exit, and an appealing notion of attempting to eavesdrop struck Julien, but he squashed it. He doubted Cinn wanted to be hiding in closets with him any time soon, sadly.
Once his father had rounded the corner, Julien started to turn away, then paused. Someone else was following them out of ballroom, slinking against the wall, fox-like. A woman. He’d recognise that gleaming white power suit anywhere.Eleanor Sinclair.
She glanced ever so casually over her shoulder before she slipped through the archway.
Now thiswasinteresting.
Just as Julien was opening his mouth to make the case for a covert mission after all, Cinn loosened his tie, before fanning his face with it. “Can we go outside for a moment? It’s so hot in here.”
With effort, Juilen tamped down his burning curiosity. Who cared why Eleanor was skulking after the three most influential moteblessed people in Europe? Definitely not him. After all, he had attractive men to re-seduce.
Catching Elliot’s eye across the room, Julien gestured to a door, and soon enough the four of them escaped the stuffy ballroom to sit in the courtyard garden, surrounded by lumenmotes dancing in cages. A light show flickered across one vine-covered brick wall—balls of various coloured lights creating rainbow patterns. A party guest reached out to touch it, and the motes responded to the contact, rippling outwards away from her hand.
Cinn raked a hand through his hair. “When does this thing finish again?”
Elliot chuckled. “Having fun then?”
Rearranging the collar of his shirt, Cinn shuffled on the bench. “Those people are all…”
“A bit much?” said Darcy.
At the same time Julien retorted, “A bunch of assholes?”
After sliding a cigarette out for himself, Julien tossed the packet of Gitanes on the table, and soon four wisps of smoke rose into the crisp night, Elliot whipping the wind around them ever so slightly to clear the air.
“Remember that year”—started Darcy, before taking a puff—“that Lucien held his party in that field in Epernay, with all those white horses?And we all had to compete in that horseback archery contest? They all looked so unhappy, the poor things.”
Julien shook his head. “It was nowhere near as bad as the year he hired that band—the one that had motetech instruments that could be heard wherever you were within a mile’s radius. I woke up with a migraine the next day.”
“Next year, rather than drag all of us here to suffer with you, perhaps you could just bail. Send him a birthday card in the post.” Elliot smirked, and Julien imagined his father’s face if he did indeed do that. Tempting.
This annual occasionwasuseful though: it was reliably a hive of whispered snippets of gossip about investments, consortium seat changes, mote-use policy proposals, and more. If he didn’t have to watch his father lord over the whole thing, he’d probably enjoy it.
“I kept overhearing stuff about the umbraphage attack from a few weeks ago,” said Cinn. “It sounds pretty awful, what with so many people dying.” He took in a long drag, eyes on the crescent moon hanging in the sky, seeming lost in thought. “I guess they’ll want to try to use me to help pretty soon.”
Use me.A sudden spike of terror shot through Julien at an image of Cinn being shipped off to deal with one of the enigmatic, deadly creatures. The way he’d awoken from his shadowslipping trip didn’t fill Julien with confidence that Cinn was the missing key to defeating them. Plus, he wasn’t sure how much he trusted Eleanor to keep him safe.
“There’s no way we’ll let them make you do anything you don’t want to, Cinn,” Darcy promised, her face sombre.
Julien silently agreed—if anyone started a fight, they’d get awarbefore they wielded Cinn like a weapon.
Finishing their cigarettes, they headed back in, Darcy and Elliot peeling off from them to find food.
“I’m going to the bathroom,” Cinn announced, and Julien swallowed his suggestion to accompany him.
