Hunt and Power. Stephen Hayes

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СКАЧАТЬ H2 is really by-the-by compared to H3 and H4.”

      “You know about H3?” Tankom had said, sounding furious.

      “Not exactly,” he had said calmly. “No more than you do. I’m just saying—”

      “H3 is my business,” Hammerson had cut across them both. “That is mine to sort out.”

      “So then,” Cornish had said, and I had heard someone rustling papers within the room. “About H4 then, how do we—”

      “That,” Tankom had said, “is outlined in S4D. If you just read the memo—”

      “Yes, about 3M78, you mean? Yes, that’s clear, but the rest of it—”

      “H4 will be unprotected,” Hammerson had said. “No, I’m not worried about that either. I’m more concerned with his power. His position—”

      “Do you think S4E is worth considering?” Cornish had suggested.

      “Can’t now,” Tankom had said. “Dispose of 4SE; 3M27 is too remote.”

      There was another silence, then Cornish had said, “So, S4D; there’s still the matter of 1H4—”

      “I’d thought of that,” Hammerson had said, sounding annoyed, and my stomach contracted. I had known I needed to move, now, before I was seen. If they found me now, I would be in more trouble than I could imagine, and yet a combination of fear, curiosity and (I supposed) that feeling you have in dreams where you can’t move when you most want to, held me in place.

      “Yes,” Hammerson had gone on, “it does provide a problem. Of course, there’s always the influential charm, or the domination charm—”

      “The influential charm, if all else fails,” Tankom had said. “But if that doesn’t work, we’re one less weapon … S4D would have to be scrapped too; 1H4 would be useless, and the Woodwards would be on us again.”

      “That’s what I thought about the domination charm in particular,” Cornish had said. “So, S4D is pretty much our last—”

      “There are branches of actions depending on the result,” Hammerson had said. “But they’re quite vague and we should really worry about S4D just now.”

      “H4 is a problem still,” Tankom had pressed, “because—”

      “That’s an ongoing plot,” Hammerson had cut in again. “But we can’t brood over H4 too long; it might be a lost cause.”

      “Okay,” Cornish had said, his tone now business like. “So, 1H4; should I do the honours?”

      “I—what would be the best way to approach that issue?” Hammerson had asked thoughtfully.

      “I’ll do it,” Tankom had said harshly. “You, go.”

      I had heard one of them get up, and footsteps. My insides had screamed at me to move, but my legs simply wouldn’t respond. Not that I had had enough time anyway; Cornish had moved into the doorway and had spotted my reflection in the mirror before he’d come around the corner. I had thought vaguely of running for it, but really couldn’t see the point as Cornish came around the corner to meet me, smiling in a coldly satisfied way.

      “Ah,” he had said, “so—come in then.”

      My stomach had twisted with panic; what to do? Tankom and Hammerson would have heard that, so there was no point running. I had no option but to follow Cornish into the room. Tankom had been sitting at the table, watching the two of us enter and looking quite as Cornish had; coldly satisfied at the sight of me. Hammerson, meanwhile, had been on his feet, not looking at me but gathering up the papers that had been on the table and stacking them in a filing cabinet.

      “Sit down,” she had said curtly, gesturing to the seat in which Cornish had been sitting. I had seated myself wordlessly, my eyes flickering from Tankom to Hammerson, to Cornish and back. Cornish, after I had sat down, had turned and left the room, leaving me alone with these two evil Sorcerers.

      “We were just talking about the big day,” Tankom had said. “Next Saturday, of course.”

      “Oh, is that what it was?” I had said, remembering all the numbers and letters they had been using. “What about it?”

      “Well,” she had gone on, attempting a warm smile and managing surprisingly well, “we have decided to put it in your hands.”

      I had raised my eyebrows; this was not the sort of thing Tankom and Hammerson would normally do. “Is that right?” I had replied, watching her closely. “What’s the catch?”

      “Only that some of us attend,” she had said, “but the rest is up to you. Oh, we’ll need to find a venue; certainly not down here—”

      But I had known what she was really up to now, and I had sought to head her off before she could say anything else. “I’m not letting you anywhere near my friends, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

      “No?” she had said, raising her eyebrows. “You aren’t? I would have thought you would have wanted some of your friends there, as it’s your event. You don’t like socialising so much with—those others who’d be coming—”

      “Like who?” I had asked incredulously, wondering if she would answer, though I’d doubted I would need her too; she had almost certainly been speaking of people like Ather Hignat, and others of his type.

      “Oh, part-timers, those who know you,” she had said. “But as I say, you never socialise with them other than—”

      “I don’t want anything, though,” I had said; something I’d said a lot in recent times whenever this topic came up. “This is more for you than me, I know—”

      “No it's not,” she had said kindly. “If it were, we’d wait a few months. This is for you. You don’t get this often, so don’t complain.”

      “Okay,” I had said, looking sideways at Hammerson now, struck by an idea. “Okay. I’ll play along, under a condition.”

      “It is not for you to set conditions,” Hammerson had said harshly.

      Tankom had shot him a warning look, and he’d shut his mouth. Feeling triumphant at that, I had said, “Okay, I won’t play along then.”

      “What is your condition?” Tankom had asked.

      “That you two seal a pact,” I had said, wondering what they would think of this, “that you can’t use any of your magic within the venue.”

      There had been a silence as Tankom and Hammerson surveyed me, and then each other. Then Hammerson had said, “I don’t know if that’s—”

      “I don’t see a problem with it,” Tankom had said quickly. “If it's during the event only. We’ll sign it if you do, that you—”

      “Okay,” I had said, and I suddenly felt excited about this; they were letting me do what I wanted—far from what I would have expected.

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