Mike Shevdon - The Road to Bedlam

"Suggestion and innuendo – it's your usual trade, isn't it Raffmir?"

"You are letting your prejudice blind you to the truth."

"And what truth would that be?"

"That if it is to the High Court's advantage, they will sacrifice you and all the other half-breeds without a moment's thought. You are pawns, and this is a game with very high stakes."

"That may be true, Raffmir, but we've had this conversation before. You're not offering any better, are you? Whatever the outcome for the half-breeds, it will always be better than anything you and your friends have to offer."

"You're assuming that loyalty works both ways, Niall."

"And you're assuming I'll follow your convoluted logic. I have sworn loyalty to the council and they have sworn not to harm me or mine. I trust them more than I trust you."

"Then your trust may be misplaced, for they will always choose the path that benefits them most, regardless of who stands upon it. It has ever been thus."

"That's irrelevant. I still don't trust you."

"And I have given you no reason to, a mistake that I will remedy. Come." He stood in one easy movement."

"I haven't finished my coffee."

"It is bitter and spoiled."

"I could say the same of you."

He sighed with exaggerated impatience. "Accompany me now and I will share with you a secret of the wraithkin, something that none of your Warder companions can do for you. I do this as a gesture of good faith against some future need, so that you may better care for you and yours. There, is that good enough, or will you sit and sulk for no other reason than that you are too cynical to do otherwise?"

I watched him, considering. He had carefully avoided mentioning anything I didn't already know, while attempting to undermine the relationships I already had. He was being evasive and deceitful. None of that was any surprise. Still, I would not find out what he wanted sitting in the cafe.

I rose and put on my coat, making a show of straightening it where Raffmir had leaned on it, then collected my umbrella. He ignored me and went to the counter to pay. I stood and watched him while Geraldine smiled and then laughed at some comment he made.

When he came back, I held the door open. The worst of the wind had died down, but it was still raining steadily.

"You two are getting on well. Will you be returning later?"

"Politeness costs nothing, Dogstar. You would be well advised to remember that." He stepped out into the rain and I followed him.

"Nah," I said. "She fancies you something rotten."

"I do not fraternise with her like."

"You're fraternising with me. It's just one big slippery slope, when you think about it."

"Do you make a habit of goading me?"

"Everyone should have a hobby."

We walked up the hill in silence. It was quite rewarding to realise that I could get under his skin. It was also an interesting development; after all, he didn't have to be here. It left me even more convinced that he wanted something from me. I had only to find out what it was.

He walked uphill into the layer of wet clouds shrouding the upper parts of the town, and navigated directly to the Way-point, stepping easily up on to the spongy grass and making no attempt to conceal our presence. As we climbed the grassy bank, the billowing mist blurred the houses below and then obscured them completely. It felt as if we were alone. A prickle of tension crept up the back of my neck. Had he brought me here so that we would not be seen? He had sworn not to do me harm, but if no one saw what had happened, who would accuse him?

"You know how to use the Ways?" he asked.

"Of course."

"Do you think you can follow where I lead?"

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere dry. You do not need to be concerned."

"I'm always concerned when you're involved."

"This is where you have to decide to trust me. Once I've gone, you'll need to follow quickly or you'll lose the trail. Try and keep up."

"Is this where I choose between, what is it… honour or love?"

"That comes later." He stepped on to the node and the mist swirled in around him. The vortex turned and collapsed and he was gone.

At that moment, part of me wanted to set off back down the hill and forget him. Part of me knew that whatever he wanted, it was in his interests, not mine. All of me knew that whatever it was, it would lead nowhere good. The vague insinuations about my daughter, the innuendo about Court politics; they were a smokescreen for something, but I couldn't help feeling that not knowing would only make it worse.

I stepped on to the node and felt the Way rise beneath me. The sense of a passage in the Way was there, a trail left by another traveller. Unlike Blackbird's warm trail this felt cold, but it was distinct. I let the Way pick me up and hurl me after him, sensing the warp of space as I swept through the emptiness, echoing his passing. The Way contracted around the next Way-node and then veered at the last second, bypassing the node and flinging us back into the black. We sped through a night-black veil streaked with hanging clouds of luminescent frost until we reached another node and slingshotted around that, not touching, but whipping tight around it, accelerating outwards and away. I found myself spinning, legs and arms outstretched, unable to orientate myself while my eyes watered without blinking, unable to focus. Space contracted and blurred and then shot me out, bouncing and rolling on to the hillside, my umbrella flying out of my hand. Instinct and training broke my fall, slowing me down until I could roll to a stop and rise to my knees.

Raffmir stood, watching me. "You have no style," he said.

"That," I said as I picked myself up from the grass and collected the umbrella, "was interesting. Where are we?"

"I promised you better weather, did I not?"

I looked around. We were on the rise of a high hilltop, with other hills arrayed around us and deep valleys in between. The overcast sky lent a sourceless light, but even so the shade deepened in the valleys. The grass was dry, and it was obvious it hadn't rained here today.

"Wales?" I asked.

"It's really not important. We are not here for sightseeing."

"Then why are we here?"

"You have not yet promised me that you will keep our conversation from Garvin."

"Nor will I. I have no reason to keep this from him."

"Your daughter's life is insufficient reason?"

"Your threat is not sufficient reason. You still haven't told me precisely what peril she is in and what you have to do with it. For all I know it could be you that's threatening her."

"I have sworn not to harm her. I can do no more."

"We've had this conversation. I will tell Garvin what I need to tell him."

"Very well, I see that in order for you to trust me, I must first trust you. It is good that one of us has some faith in his heart,"

"Oh, I have plenty of faith in other people."

He gave me a sour look, but then straightened his coat. "You already know the Ways, though I think you did not know them as well as you thought."

"It was an enlightening experience, I'll admit that much."

"Now I will show you something of the wraithkin, something your Warder brethren cannot show you."

"If it's card tricks, I've seen them before."

"You test my patience, Dogstar. You would scorn the magic you inherited. Your sarcasm reflects badly on you. You have respect for no one. It is no wonder my brothers and sisters will not harbour you."

"That's not the reason, and we both know it."

He stared at me. I did not look away. It was he who finally looked to the next hill across the valley. "See the copse atop the hill there."

"I see it."

"How long would it take you to get there?"

"Walking?"

"By whatever means."