Page 1 of Fortune's Ashes
ChapterOne
My inarticulate cry of frustration echoed around the gloomy room. From the far corner, where a teenage gremlin was sitting hunched over a laptop, its dim glow giving her youthful face an eerie hue, there was a loud tut followed by a hissed mutter. ‘Shhhh!’
I pulled a face, aware that she couldn’t see my expression but still feeling slightly guilty, then slammed the heavy book shut and added it to my pile of rejects. I’d been coming to the Arcane Works section of the Carlyle Library for days. I’d pored over countless books, both modern and ancient, and not a single one of them had given any suggestion as to how a Cassandra could rid themselves of their powers.
I knew bitter rage was getting the better of me, but I couldn’t help myself. This was mylifeI was worried about. Myfuture. I didn’t want to babble random prophecies or deal with visions of what was to come; I had enough on my plate already.
I raised my hand, preparing to sweep the towering stack of books to the floor in a fit of pique, then I thought better of it. I pushed back my chair and trudged towards the furthest shelves. I had to be missing something. There had to be a clue somewhere about what I could do, but I’d covered most of the shelves and I was running out of options.
I picked up a heavy tome that I’d already looked through. It was several inches thick and last time I’d only skimmed through the index. It was possible I’d not examined it closely enough.
Before I could heft it over to my little table, my pocket started to vibrate. I frowned; mobile reception down here was patchy at best, so it was a wonder that any calls made it through. I returned the book to its original position and slid out my phone to check the caller ID. Detective Chief Inspector Lucinda Barnes. That didn’t bode well.
I pressed the little green button with the base of my thumb, genuinely intending to answer it in a professional tone of voice with a smooth greeting. Barnes was my boss after all, and I truly respected her.
‘What is it?’ I snapped. Then I winced at myself.
The line crackled. ‘…Bellamy? … need … get … problem. Man….’
There was an annoyed tut from the studious gremlin. I ignored her and scowled at the phone, holding it up in the air to try and get a better signal.
‘Come … headquarters … best…’
For fuck’s sake. I rolled my eyes. ‘This isn’t a good line,’ I said loudly. ‘I can’t hear you properly and I’m busy right now. You’d better contact DS Grace and ask him instead.’
The only answer I received was the spit of static. I looked at the phone again, realised I’d been cut off and sighed heavily. Damn it all to hell. I ought to go and see what Barnes wanted.
Supe Squad had been quiet for what seemed like endless days, with little more to deal with than a stolen bicycle last week, which turned out only to have been misplaced, and some misguided graffiti that had pissed off a few pixies. I needed something to focus on beyond my own woes and, despite my best efforts, the Carlyle Library clearly wasn’t going to yield any helpful secrets.
I grunted to myself and tidied away the books, preparing to head out. When I reached for my bag and looked up, the young gremlin was glaring at me. ‘I’m sorry about the noise,’ I said.
Her nose twitched. ‘I am trying to study!’
The youth of today. ‘Sorry,’ I repeated. I meant it; I knew I had to get a grip on myself and my emotions, I just wasn’t quite sure how to do it. I nodded at her to emphasise my apology and silently vowed to do better, then I left. I had to accept that I wasn’t going to find the answer to my problems in books. Not this time.
Once I was outside in the warm air of the early summer, I tried calling Barnes back but she didn’t pick up. I’d worked out enough from the stuttering phone call to know that she wanted me to go to the Met headquarters. New Scotland Yard wasn’t too far away so I grudgingly set off in that direction.
I ignored the three vamps who peeled away from the wall of the Carlyle Library and followed me. If they were all I had to worry about then I’d cope. Unfortunately, before I’d even crossed the busy road to retrieve Tallulah and make the short drive to see Barnes, I was joined by another vamp.
‘Good afternoon, detective,’ she said.
I didn’t look at Scarlett and I didn’t ask her why she was there. Instead I shoved my hands in my pockets and marched ahead. Despite her extraordinary stilettoes, she kept pace with me, Unless I decided to break into a sprint to escape her, I wasn’t going to avoid this chat. I scowled and waited for the inevitable.
‘We’ve been told,’ she said, in a mellifluous drawl that set my teeth on edge, ‘not to approach you.’
‘And yet here you are,’ I replied. I jerked my thumb at the trio of trailing vamps. ‘And there they are.’
‘They won’t come near you,’ Scarlett said cheerfully. ‘They’re only following to keep you safe.’
Lukas knew I could look after myself – I didn’t need babysitters – but there was no point arguing with Scarlett. None of this was her fault. To be fair, none of it was Lukas’s, either.
‘Aren’t you worried that they’ll rat you out for chatting to me?’ I asked.
‘I am completely loyal to my lord,’ she replied. ‘But sometimes he doesn’t know what’s good for him. Apparently neither do you. He’s been storming around for weeks now, yelling at anyone who puts a foot wrong and plenty who don’t. It’s time somebody put a stop to it.’
‘My relationship with Lukas Horvath is none of your business.’ My tone was icy. I skirted around a wide-eyed group of men in suits, all of whom were staring at Scarlett with their tongues hanging out. I looked her over properly for the first time and registered that she was wearing a skin-tight red-leather catsuit. Scarlett didn’t do quiet and unobtrusive.
‘I’m not asking you to tell me what the problem is,’ she said. ‘I’m asking you to tellhim. He proposed to you and you ran away. He’s confused and he’s angry, and the very least he deserves is an explanation.’
