The Burning Page

Irene was halfway through saying polite goodbyes to the other passengers when she noticed the bears. They were crouched in pairs by the exit gates, each with a handler next to it: iron collars circled their necks, and chains ran from their hind legs to pegs set into the ground. ‘Kai,’ she murmured, nodding to them.

Kai’s eyes narrowed as he considered them. ‘I’m not sure if they’re crowd control, guards or what,’ he said, strolling towards the exit with her. Unlike most of the other passengers, they had only a minimum of luggage. ‘How shall we play it?’

‘Act normal,’ Irene said. ‘At least nobody else seems to like them, either.’ People going through the exit gates were flinching away from the bears, or treating them with lofty disdain and then twitching at their slightest growl. Nobody was actually being stopped, though. Perhaps they were just a threat? Or some sort of ceremonial guard? But who posted ceremonial guards at an airport-equivalent?

They joined a queue shuffling towards the nearest exit. Irene ran through a mental list of possible contraband. She wasn’t carrying a gun, or any drugs or explosives, something that she slightly regretted – after all, they might be useful on this mission. But for the moment she couldn’t think of anything illegal concealed on her or Kai. Of course, it might depend on what this regime considered illegal . . .

Then the nearest bear growled. It wasn’t the casual little noise that it and the other bears had been giving earlier when they shifted position or licked their muzzles, but an on-point, attention-all-guards noise. It rose from its crouch, the chains on its hind legs creaking, and leaned towards one of the people in the queue.

Its handler stepped forward. ‘Good evening, friend citizen,’ he said briskly. ‘Are you carrying any illegal magical components, as defined under section four of the law against importation of hazardous or treasonous materials?’

‘Of course not,’ the accused man said flatly. His face was still rosy from the windburn that all the sleigh passengers had suffered from, but Irene thought that he’d lost a little colour. Other people were backing away from him – or, rather, from him and the bear. ‘There must be some mistake.’

The handler raised a silver whistle to his mouth and blew a shrill blast. The sound carried through the noise of the crowd, and Irene could see several men in long dark coats hurrying towards them. ‘I’m sure you won’t mind going with these guards to have your luggage checked, then,’ the handler said. ‘Please be aware that this is your duty under the law, and any resistance will be considered an illegal act.’

Everyone else was looking at each other and muttering nervously. That made it safe for Irene to lean over to Kai and whisper, ‘They’ve got bears sniffing for sources of magic?’

‘It looks that way.’ They shuffled a step closer to the exit. The bear had gone back down on its haunches again, looking as tame and unthreatening as one might reasonably expect from a large grizzly bear. In other words, not very.

‘Interesting.’ They were second from the front of the line now. The man ahead was being waved through.

‘Business or pleasure?’ the handler said, with the bare minimum of interest.

‘Family,’ Irene said. She decided to go for the earnest-but-confused approach. ‘I’m visiting my mother. I mean, that’s not really pleasure, but I suppose it’s not business either—’

‘Yes, very good,’ the handler said wearily. ‘Please go through the exit ahead of you.’

With an inner sigh of relief, Irene walked past him, with Kai in her wake.

And then the bear leaned forward and sniffed at Kai.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

There were gasps as the crowd pulled back from Irene and Kai. And from the bear, of course. It was difficult to ignore the bear. For a moment Irene considered feigning innocence and signalling to Kai to make a run for it, then meeting up with him later. Common sense told her that she’d probably be arrested as an accomplice. Besides, she was reluctant to leave him on his own in a strange place. He might get into trouble. Into even more trouble.

The handler frowned. ‘Are you carrying any illegal magical components, as defined under section four of the law against importation of hazardous or treasonous materials?’

‘Absolutely not,’ Kai said. He eyed the bear sidelong. ‘There must be some mistake.’

The bear gave vent to a long, rolling eructation. It lowered its head and tried to nuzzle against Kai, straining at its chains. There was nothing aggressive about it now.

Kai looked at Irene for a moment, then sighed and reached over to scratch its head, his fingers sinking into its fur. ‘Good girl,’ he said gently. ‘Good girl.’

The security men in the long black coats had reached the scene. ‘Will you step away from the bear, friend citizen,’ one of them demanded. ‘Please place your hands above your head, and don’t make any threatening moves.’

This was not the surreptitious entry to St Petersburg that Irene had been planning. She edged over to the handler. ‘What if it hurts him?’ she demanded, letting an edge of panicked concern sharpen her voice. ‘It’s a bear! What if it bites his head off, if he stops stroking it?’

‘Our bears are all very highly trained, friend citizen,’ the handler reassured her, watching the bear nervously. ‘There’s absolutely no way it would harm anyone. If your friend just steps away from it, I’m sure it won’t do anything to him.’