The Masked City

Irene took a sip of her tea. It was just as bad as she’d expected. ‘The two individuals Kai’s uncle spotted are an obvious avenue of investigation. And if this is all connected - is there any chance that they’re the Guantes?’

Vale was already nodding, with a slight air of impatience. ‘Yes, that is the logical inference, and your description does seem to fit them. So we have the possible presence of Lord Guantes at Strongrock’s kidnapping, together with an unknown woman. I’ve also confirmed that Lady Guantes was absent from the Embassy last night, and that she’s been known to wear a scarf pin of the sort your assailant mentioned. A pity we weren’t able to question those werewolves who attacked you just now, but it would have been too risky to remain there.’ He leaned back in his chair, his eyes half-closing, fingers steepled. It was a customary pose for him, signalling intense thought.

She took another sip of the tea. Yes, absolutely disgusting. The ether-lights flickered in their niches, and from outside came the screech and rattle of cab wheels. Conversations at the other tables were low and discreet, and the general atmosphere was one of quietly illegal under-the-table paranoia. Vale was probably a regular here, she decided.

Vale threw off his lethargy and leaned forward again. ‘Let me summarize my own investigations, Winters. To give you a full explanation - since I can hardly do less than you - your description of those two characters is almost identical to that of two recent arrivals at the Liechtenstein Embassy. Two Fae.’ He put his usual dry distaste into the word. ‘Though naturally they were properly clad for this time and place.’

Something about the cant of Vale’s head made Irene remember she was in rather inappropriate clothing under her coat. Surely someone like him would be above judging by appearances, if anyone was. If he could ignore the fact that she was from another world, it was surprising that he couldn’t ignore the length of her skirt. ‘And what did you find out about them?’ she prompted hastily.

‘The gentleman is known as Lord Guantes. The lady is his wife, or so she says. They claim that he is a marquis, but evidence is lacking. They - or at least he - are recently arrived from Liechtenstein via zeppelin from Barcelona.’

‘Are they Spanish?’ Irene asked. It was the language that the Guantes alias came from, after all.

‘No,’ Vale said, ‘but he, at least, enjoys playing the part of a grandee. If I may continue?’

Irene shut her mouth and nodded.

‘Lord Guantes has been present in London for perhaps two weeks,’ Vale went on. ‘I have … a contact who keeps abreast of such things. Lady Guantes may have arrived at the same time, but she lacks the customary flamboyance of her kind. It is clear to everyone that Guantes and Silver are conducting some manner of power struggle, which corroborates your own investigation. They hold their parties separately, and snub each other in public. Heaven only knows what they may do in private.’

‘And what does Lady Guantes do?’ Irene prompted.

‘Very little that I have been able to discover.’ Vale stared into his drink. ‘This disturbs me. And now Lord Guantes has vanished, and Lady Guantes is apparently preparing to depart herself.’

‘A connection, then.’ Irene pondered. ‘And Lord Silver gave Kai and me a warning that we were under threat. And the Library data suggests a prior history. If they are enemies—’

‘Given Fae dynamics, if Silver had wind of something, then naturally he’d want to foil their plans,’ Vale cut in, continuing her thought. ‘But in that case, why target Strongrock? I think we can reasonably assume they are indeed responsible for his disappearance.’

‘The nature of his family,’ Irene said. Her throat was dry at the thought of Kai at the mercy of creatures who detested him as much as he detested them. She choked down another sip of the tea.

‘Is that so important to the Fae?’ Vale asked, his dark eyes sharp. ‘This whole thing seems a somewhat excessive sequence of events.’

Irene spread her hands. ‘Dragons and Fae are ancient enemies. Their feuds go back for generations - their generations, not just human ones. They come from opposite ends of reality. They don’t think like humans, Vale. You know Silver and Kai - well, they’re comparatively weak. The powerful dragons or Fae are as far beyond them as Kai and Silver are different from us.’

‘Us,’ Vale noted. ‘You speak of yourself as if you were as human as I am.’

‘Don’t you think of me that way?’ Irene was stung by his remark. ‘I assure you, I was born human, I am human.’

‘Winters,’ Vale said patiently, ‘you do very well most of the time, but every once in a while, when you’re discussing your Library business, you refer to “ordinary humans”. I dare say you don’t even notice it yourself.’

‘Well.’ Irene felt a bit ashamed. It wasn’t a good idea for a Librarian to start thinking of herself as special, however important her job was, and however strange the worlds she travelled to might be. It led to delusions of godhood and other dangerous things. Like Alberich. ‘Well,’ she repeated, ‘whatever you may think of me, to them I’m just a human. If I’d done something wrong, it would be simply a matter of swatting me down. But if Kai was abducted by the Fae, then to the dragons it’s practically an act of war.’

The word hung in the air between them. ‘You think it would be that important?’ Vale finally said.