Page 152 of The Bone Season

30 nodded. ‘I’d be honoured.’

‘Good.’

Surelyexternal assignmentcouldn’t mean what I thought it meant. It wasn’t possible.

Carl was on the edge of his seat. ‘You’re sending us to London, Suzerain?’

‘On rare occasions, I dispatch red-jackets to the citadel for assignments that call for specialist knowledge, or where the Vigiles have failed. You are my trusted loyalists. I rely on you to enact my will.’

He swelled with pride.

‘In this case, we have a delicate situation to resolve,’ Nashira continued. ‘As you and 12 are aware, I have been asking recent arrivals to scry for the whereabouts of the White Binder, who leads a group of criminals known as the Seven Seals. This group is part of the clairvoyant syndicate.’

My ribs tightened to the point of pain.

‘The Seven Seals include an oracle and a fury,’ Nashira said. ‘Thanks to focused scrying over several months, we have deduced that they will be convening in London tomorrow night, on the eleventh of June.’

My heart was thumping so hard, I feared someone might hear it. I took a sip of wine to steady myself. It was crucial that I stayed calm now.

‘The meeting will take place in Trafalgar Square, which lies on the edge of I Cohort, Section 4,’ Nashira said. ‘To the best of our knowledge, it will be at one in the morning.’

Carl had seen a pillar in his test. I had feared it was the one at Seven Dials, but it must have been Nelson’s Column. That was a small relief – for now, the den was safe – but the detail the Rephs had accumulated was incredible. They even knew we had an oracle.

It sickened me that Nashira had even the faintest knowledge of Nick.

The Rephs really did know how to use the æther to their advantage. Multiple seers and augurs, as well as an oracle, scrying on behalf of a single querent – all of them fixated on a single, powerful desire. Over several months, that would get serious results. Not only that, but the Rephs clearly had a strong affinity with the æther, even more than we did. Of course it would answer their call.

‘Tell me,’ Nashira said, ‘do any of you know anything about the Seven Seals?’

18 was fiddling with the end of her braid, clearly uncomfortable. I avoided her gaze.

‘The White Binder is a writer. He published a pamphlet calledOn the Meritsof Unnaturalnessin the early thirties,’ David said. ‘It broke us into seven broad orders.’

‘We are aware of that,’ Nashira said. ‘Anything else?’

‘No, Suzerain.’

Nashira looked around the table. Her attention inevitably landed on me.

‘Surely you were involved in the syndicate, 40,’ she said. ‘A clairvoyant of your rarity would not have gone unnoticed for so long without protection.’

Warden had definitely not told her about the pamphlet. If he had, I wouldn’t be able to deny my connection to Jaxon. I would already be in an interrogation room.

‘The gangs are very secretive,’ I said. ‘There’s gossip, but I don’t know much.’

‘Tell us what you do know.’

I was going to have to offer up a tidbit – just enough information to make her think I was being truthful. Something harmless.

‘We all know their false names,’ I said. ‘I did, at least.’

‘And what might those be?’

‘The White Binder, the Red Vision, the Black Diamond, the Pale Dreamer, the Martyred Muse, the Chained Fury, and the Silent Bell.’

‘The Pale Dreamer is an intriguing name,’ Nashira said. (Great.) ‘Does it not imply the presence of a dreamwalker within the Seven Seals?’

I dared not speak. Let her think I would never be so foolish as to give her my own alias.

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