The Masked City

There were also half a dozen men and women surrounding the lift entrance, anonymous in neatly cut black suits and dark glasses. None of them were actually holding weapons, but they had the easy poise of trained martial artists, and she suspected concealed holsters. Whether she was right or not, they were clearly dangerous.

A seventh person stood beyond. Her grey business suit was an order of magnitude more expensive than theirs and was definitely a man’s cut, even given the trend here towards unisex business clothing. Her face reminded Irene of Kai’s dramatic handsomeness. It wasn’t a fashion model’s glossy perfection, but the flame-like beauty of something a little too alive to be safe, caught in a temporarily human form. Her long silver hair curved in a parting over her right eyebrow and was caught at the nape of her neck, falling down her back in a long tail that reached to her hips. Her cufflinks and tie were matt black. She regarded Irene assessingly, with a coldness that whispered predator.

Irene felt horribly exposed without an assumed identity to hide behind. Spies never played themselves, and she hadn’t had to do so for - well, at least a couple of decades now. But Kai’s life could be at stake. ‘Good afternoon,’ she said politely.

‘You will explain yourself,’ the woman in grey said.

‘Please forgive my intrusion.’ Irene gave a half-bow, the sort that showed respect without being an actual obeisance. She was conscious of the increased tension as her hand swung across her jacket. ‘My name is Irene, and I am a servant of the Library.’ Stay calm and self-assured, she reminded herself. You’re a representative of a greater power. You expect proper respect, as a matter of course.

‘Indeed. So you informed the secretary downstairs, and he in turn told you that my lord was busy.’ The woman tilted her head, giving the impression of scenting the air. ‘I acknowledge that there’s nothing of chaos about you. You aren’t tainted in that way. But even so, this intrusion is unwelcome.’

‘I was not able to give a full description of matters to the gatekeeper downstairs,’ Irene said equably. ‘Some matters require more privacy.’

‘I was not aware that my lord Ao Shun had expressed any interest in a private visit from any member of the Library.’ The woman took a casual couple of steps towards Irene. ‘You can, perhaps, explain?’

Describes him as ‘my lord’ rather than ‘my king’, the analytic part of Irene’s mind noted, her training kicking in. A close personal feudal relationship? She seems to be playing the role of Gouen’s personal assistant, for what that’s worth. And that must be Kai’s uncle’s real name, rather than the human alias. ‘I have lately been in the company of an individual who calls himself Kai, who was studying the Library under my guidance. He mentioned …’ What title should she use? ‘His uncle might be found in this world, going by the name Ryu Gouen.’

‘And you presume on that acquaintance?’

Irene clenched her fists at the sharp-toned question, and had to force her hands to relax, feeling the threads of scar tissue on her palms as control returned. ‘Not at all.’ She drew a breath and smiled courteously. Courtesy was paramount for Kai, and it would be no different here. ‘But I have something unexpected to report, regarding Ryu Gouen’s nephew. I thought it best to inform his uncle and ask for his advice. Would you be Mr Tsuuran?’

‘That is correct,’ the dragon - Irene decided just to think of the person as the dragon, for there was no way this was anything but a dragon - said. ‘When you say that something has occurred, what exactly do you mean?’

‘Kai has left the world where he was training as my Library apprentice,’ Irene said, her voice as cool as Tsuuran’s. She decided to consider the dragon as masculine. If he introduced himself as ‘Mr’, who was she to argue the point? ‘I received a message shortly afterwards claiming to be from his family - saying he’d returned to them. If I have in some way given offence to his family, then naturally I wish to apologize. But if something else has happened, well …’ She spread her hands, aware that the six presumed bodyguards were tensing again. ‘My own responsibility towards Kai made me wish to investigate.’

There was a long silence. Then Tsuuran made a small gesture with his left hand, and the ring of bodyguards stepped back. ‘Kindly step into my office,’ he said.

The room beyond the door on the right was full of space and light, floored and walled in the same tiling as the corridor. But its ceiling rose to twice the height of the corridor outside. This floor and the one above must be somehow merged, Irene realized. A black granite desk in the centre caught the eye and dominated the room, as was clearly the intention. On the right wall were more windows, but on the left she was pleased to note a neat set of bookshelves, and a starkly elegant dark filing cabinet. The latter seemed out of place, in a world as full of computer technology as this one. In the far wall was a single door.

Tsuuran leaned against the desk. ‘The message?’ he said.

‘Earlier this morning - ‘ Yes, it was still the same day, wasn’t it? ‘ - I returned home from work to find that Kai wasn’t there, and we had agreed to meet.’ She wasn’t going to say our lodgings until she had a bit more data on dragons cohabiting with humans. ‘We’d been warned we might be in danger, so I was worried. And then this was delivered.’ She removed the note from her handbag, still in its envelope, and offered it to Tsuuran.