The Burning Page

Singh hesitated, then shook his head. ‘I’m not concerned with Mr Vale’s thanks, Miss Winters. I’ll do what I must to save him, even if it means losing his friendship—’

‘Then it’s a good thing you won’t need to.’ The door behind Singh swung open and Vale stood there, clearly fully awake. He was in his shirtsleeves, his hair dishevelled, and his eyes glittered with a focus that was almost frightening. ‘Singh, old fellow, I appreciate what you’ve said. But there are some situations where a man has to make his own choices.’ He glanced at Silver. ‘A man. Not necessarily a Fae.’

‘There’s far less difference than you might think,’ Silver drawled casually. But he was watching Vale with the same sharp focus, ignoring the others.

Vale ran a hand through his hair. ‘Lord Silver, when I had far too close an encounter with some of your kind in that other Venice, I found they were quite incapable of making real choices. They’d already made the only real one that they were capable of, in choosing to be what they made themselves.’

‘So be yourself!’ Silver said. ‘You’ve bored me on the topic often enough. The law needs you, justice needs you—’

‘Yes, this is true . . .’ Vale hesitated, and for a moment the air in the room seemed as thick as honey, full of potential, full of choice. ‘But what is also true is that a particular person needs my help.’

He took a deep breath. His eyes and voice were steadier now. ‘I would be a shallow stereotype of myself if I took cases purely for the sake of intellectual curiosity. I am quite capable of providing assistance to a friend who has asked me for it. Winters, as one human being to another, is there anything you want to ask me?’

‘Yes,’ Irene said firmly. Kai looked as if the ground had been cut from under his feet, or as if a book for the Library had decided to complain about being stolen mid-theft. Singh was watching Vale cautiously, but at least he wasn’t interfering so far. Silver had shut his mouth, which was an unquestionable improvement. ‘I need you to help me find someone.’

‘Then please sit down,’ Vale said. ‘And, Lord Silver, thank you for your time and attention, but I have an urgent investigation in progress. Don’t let us detain you.’

Silver slammed the door behind him.

CHAPTER TWENTY

‘I have my notes over here,’ Vale said, striding across to a pile of documents on the table. It was surrounded by a morass of maps, clothing bills, death threats and newspapers. Vale swept them all away with a casual gesture, and Irene had to catch them to stop them sliding off the table. ‘Combine the purchases made from certain exotic animal suppliers to provide the spiders that infested Winters’ home, the deposits and withdrawals of money at various banks, Zayanna’s desire to avoid Lord Silver, and the current movements of various gangs for hire . . . While not conclusive, it leads to a clear angle of investigation.’

‘Which exotic animal suppliers?’ Irene asked. A nasty thought came to her. ‘And has Zayanna been buying anything else besides spiders and wasps?’

‘Which wasps?’ Vale asked.

‘These ones.’ Kai reached into his pocket and pulled out a rather mangled example of the ones that had attacked them. It still had a sliver of glass through it. The stinger looked even larger than Irene had thought, and her stung hands throbbed with new pain at the reminder.

‘Ah!’ Vale picked the thing up by one wing and inspected it. ‘Not a wasp, but a giant Asian hornet! The size is quite distinctive.’

‘Personally I’m glad there aren’t many hornets out there that are two inches long,’ Irene said with a shudder. ‘Is that any help in locating her?’

‘It confirms my suspicions.’ Vale leaned over to tap a spot on a map of London. ‘A great many things can be bought at Harrods, but this isn’t one of them. She must have been shopping at the Belgravia Underground Market.’

Singh was nodding, but Irene and Kai exchanged glances of mutual incomprehension. ‘The Belgravia Underground Market?’ Irene asked.

‘An establishment in Belgravia,’ Vale said. ‘It facilitates the sale of rare animals, and frequently highly dangerous ones. A number of the vendors there skirt the edge of the law, but given the price of the wares and the social rank of the buyers, it’s difficult for the police to interfere.’

Singh nodded grimly. ‘The lady’s broken a few laws. But I can’t bring in a few constables to turn the Belgravia Underground Market upside down and shake it to see what falls out. I’d never get a warrant for it. I’m afraid we’re going to have to be subtle about this, Miss Winters.’

‘But you think we can find a lead on Zayanna there?’ Irene said, going for the main point.

Vale nodded. ‘Let me get my coat. I’ll only be a moment.’

As Singh headed downstairs to call a cab, Kai drew Irene into a corner. ‘I’m concerned,’ he said flatly.

‘So am I,’ Irene agreed, ‘about a lot of things.’ Such as whether she’d just destroyed Vale by forcing him into this investigation. She’d known he wouldn’t say no, when she’d insisted on offering him a choice. And both Kai and Singh had insisted on trying to help Vale instead. If she’d ruined him by making him stay here to help her . . . she felt ill at the thought. She didn’t need Kai questioning her right now. She was far too busy questioning herself. ‘Which one are we considering at the moment?’