What Song the Sirens Sang, page 9
It was still early in the morning back in the shop, but when we stepped out of the mirror and on to the pier, the sun was high in the sky, and the sunlight was unrelentingly fierce. The gusting breeze was full of the scent of the sea, and keening gulls wheeled overhead.
We’d arrived at the far end of the pier, with a marvellous view of the ocean meeting the horizon. The waves were full of swimmers enjoying the bracing chill of the waters, and all I could think was Rather you than me. Two bronzed youths on jet skies were playing dodgems. I foresaw a lifeboat in their immediate future.
I glanced behind me, but there was no trace of the mirror. All the way down the pier, all I could see were milling crowds of holiday people, grimly intent on having a good time. Dated music blasted out of the overhead speakers, and a huge mechanical clown was laughing like a thing possessed.
‘Why is no one reacting to our having appeared out of nowhere?’ Annie said quietly.
‘Sidney takes care of the details,’ I said. ‘It’s all part of the service.’
‘Where did Harry find him?’ said Lex.
‘You’d have to ask Sidney,’ I said, ‘although his answer will probably change every time you ask. Harry never said anything, but he always did prefer to keep his secrets close to his chest. Of course, in the mirror’s case, that could be down to simple embarrassment.’
‘Do you have any idea who Sidney used to be, before he was a mirror?’ said Annie.
I had to smile. ‘That might or might not turn out to be a true thing. You can’t trust everything a mirror says. Especially if he starts going on about which of us is the fairest of all.’
‘Where is this Madam Osiris?’ said Lex. ‘I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to.’
‘No one will pay you any attention,’ I said. ‘Not in your nice new suit.’
‘The prey can always sense a predator,’ said Lex.
‘Can’t you just take a moment to enjoy yourself?’ said Annie. ‘Pretend you’re on holiday?’
‘Not while Sally is still in danger,’ said Lex.
‘Of course,’ said Annie. ‘I’m sorry. I forgot for a moment.’
‘I can’t,’ said Lex. ‘There isn’t a moment when I’m not thinking about what she might be going through. When I get her back, I swear I am never taking my eyes off her again.’
I considered the famous free spirit that was Switch It Sally and thought, Good luck with that.
‘I’m not seeing Madam Osiris either,’ said Annie, peering around at the various stalls and attractions. ‘Are you sure she’s here?’
‘We are exactly where we need to be,’ I said.
I pointed to a brightly striped tent, standing off to one side. A large sign at the entrance proclaimed: Murray the Mentalist! Answers to Your Every Question! Step Inside and Find Out What the Future Has in Store for You! On the other side of the entrance stood a painted portrait of a man in a smart dinner suit, topped by a black silk turban with a fiercely glowing blood-red jewel. His arms were thrust out in a mystical gesture, in a way that suggested his hands might fly away at any moment.
Basically, he looked like an old-fashioned stage magician, the kind with flags of all nations tucked up his sleeves and concealed doves for every occasion. It wasn’t an image that inspired confidence on any level, and I quickly shot my companions my most reassuring smile.
‘This is the place!’
‘I thought we were looking for Madam Osiris?’ said Annie.
‘Not as such,’ I said.
‘Can this Murray tell us where to find her?’ said Lex.
‘In a manner of speaking,’ I said. ‘Follow me in, follow my lead, and whatever you do, don’t get close enough for him to pick your pockets, because old habits die hard.’
‘I don’t have anything in my pockets,’ said Lex.
‘He doesn’t know that,’ I said.
Lex scowled at the tent flaps. ‘I am not wasting my time on some sideshow magician.’
‘Trust me,’ I said.
Lex growled under his breath. ‘You ask a lot sometimes, Gideon.’
‘Because I’m worth it.’
I strode into the tent like a detective with a search warrant. Annie moved quickly in after me, and Lex brought up the rear. Inside, we were pretty cramped for space. Annie and I had to press close together, while Lex glared balefully over our shoulders. The light was suitably gloomy and mysterious, courtesy of a single rose-tinted light bulb. The tent walls were bare, and there wasn’t even a threadbare carpet to cover the pier’s floorboards. The air was lightly scented with exotic spices, although the only one I could identify was cardamon.
Murray the Mentalist was sitting on a folding stool, behind a very basic table with a large crystal ball. Compared to the idealized image on the portrait outside, Murray looked more than a little shabby. His turban was a couple of sizes too small, and the jewel at the front was obviously a fake. He looked undersized for his suit, as though he’d bought it off the rack in a hurry. Shiny white cuffs protruded from his sleeves, large enough to contain a multitude of surprises. His face was puffy, and the goatee beard could have used a trim.
When we came in, he was reading one of the trashier gossip magazines, but he quickly dropped it to the floor when he realized he had customers. He sat up straight, thrust out his long-fingered hands in a dramatic gesture and addressed us in a deep booming voice.
‘Welcome to my mystical lair, wherein all the mysteries of the future shall be laid bare … Oh, it’s you, Gideon. You took your time getting here.’
He slumped back on to his stool, dropped his hands resignedly and let his voice relax into a more everyday tone.
‘I’ve been waiting for you all morning. The stars told me you and your friends would be turning up today, but they’ve never been very exact when it comes to timing. Hello, Annie, you’re looking very yourself. And hello, Lex, damned good to see you. Don’t look for somewhere to sit; none of you are staying.’
‘Good to see you again,’ I said.
Annie frowned at me. ‘I don’t get it. I thought we came here to talk to Madam Osiris?’
‘We are,’ I said. ‘The gentleman before you used to be Madam Osiris. Though neither of them would qualify as real people, with actual lives and histories.’
‘Exactly,’ said Murray. ‘They’re just faces I put on, to suit whichever con I’m running.’
‘You mean … Madam Osiris was just you, dressed up?’ said Annie.
Murray smiled condescendingly. ‘Oh, please, nothing so pedestrian. I am a professional. I can manifest as a man or a woman, as necessary. A modern-day Tiresias, shuttling endlessly between the sexes. You would not believe some of the people I’ve been, down the years. Gideon could tell you a few stories – although if he does, I’ll drop an anvil on him. One actor in his time plays many roles …’
‘He does when he has as many enemies searching for him as you do,’ I said.
Murray shrugged easily. ‘Well, quite. The point is, I can be whatever people I need to be, to make the con work. And try not to look so disapproving, my dear Annie; always remember that every con is based on the principle that you can’t cheat an honest man. Only those with greed and avarice in their souls, looking for an unfair profit or advantage.’
‘Let me get this straight,’ said Annie. ‘You can exist as a man or a woman, just by thinking about it? How does that work?’
Murray scowled. ‘Never con a pookah. Those creatures have no sense of humour.’
‘Don’t ask any more,’ I said to Annie. ‘The story changes every time he tells it, and it’s never an edifying one.’
Lex cleared his throat loudly. ‘How is a small-time fake like this going to help us find Sally?’
‘Because he’s not a fake,’ I said. ‘He really does have genuine abilities; he just doesn’t dare use them most of the time. Isn’t that right, Murray?’
He nodded stiffly and then fixed me with a stern look. ‘How were you able to find me? When the stars warned me to expect you, I thought they must have got the wrong number. I severed all ties with Madam Osiris before I left London. Nobody should have been able to track me here once I’d changed to Murray. Even my aura is different. No, don’t tell me how; I don’t want to know. The stars will have their way, the bastards.’ He scowled at me. ‘You broke the crystal ball Osiris gave you, didn’t you?’
‘How do you know that?’ said Annie.
Murray smiled smugly. ‘Didn’t you see the sign outside? The clue is in the title. I know what I need to know, when I need to know it. And if you find that confusing, think how I feel. What’s inside my head is constantly changing, as the stars insist on updating me. Now what the hell happened to my crystal ball, Gideon?’
‘A gorgon looked at it,’ I said.
‘Ah …’ said Murray. ‘Yes, that would do it. All right, Gideon, let’s get down to brass tacks. What do you want from me this time?’
‘Don’t you know?’ I said.
Murray sniffed. ‘The stars don’t sweat the small stuff.’
‘Hold everything,’ said Annie, leaning forward for a better look at Murray’s face. ‘The last time I saw you, as Madam Osiris, you’d had your eyes removed and replaced with miniature crystal balls! And now they’re perfectly normal!’
Murray sighed. ‘Do pay attention, dear. That was her, and this is me. We’re completely different people.’ He glanced reluctantly at Lex. ‘Your big friend is looking a bit impatient. And yes, of course I know who and what he is. Lex Talon, the killer of angels, the punisher of the guilty, on the fast track to Hell and trampling everyone else underfoot in his hurry to get there. I understand you’ve killed an awful lot of people just recently, Lex. Or should that be a lot of awful people? Either way, I’m easy; I’m sure you had good reasons.’
‘Flattery will get you nowhere,’ said Lex. And then he frowned. ‘How do you know what I’ve been doing?’
‘You make a big impression on the world,’ said Murray, looking just a little nervous under the pressure of Lex’s unblinking gaze. ‘You do tend to stand out, in the past and the future. Wherever I looked, there you were.’
‘I don’t like being spied on,’ said Lex.
Murray turned quickly to me. ‘Remember, Gideon, you promised Madam Osiris you’d keep us safe from the fury of the Damned.’
‘I hadn’t forgotten,’ I said.
Lex frowned at Murray. ‘Why would you need protecting? I don’t even know you.’
Murray kept his gaze fixed on me. ‘You gave me your word.’
‘I won’t let him hurt you,’ I said. ‘Whoever you are.’
‘Why would I want to hurt you, little magician?’ said Lex. ‘What have you done?’
‘I know why you’re here,’ said Murray. ‘You want to know who kidnapped Switch It Sally. Well, the order to abduct her came from a collector called Coldheart. He got the name because he only ever cares about the things he accumulates, never people. Sally’s safe enough for the moment because she’s useful to him. But once Coldheart doesn’t need her gift any more, he’ll have no reason to keep her.’
‘You mean he might just let her go?’ said Annie.
‘After everything she’s seen of his base and his operation?’ said Murray. ‘No, I really can’t see that happening.’
‘You think he’ll kill her,’ said Lex.
‘Coldheart,’ said Murray. ‘The clue is in the name.’
‘I don’t think we need to worry about that just yet, Lex,’ I said quickly. ‘Sally will grasp the situation and figure out the best way to make herself useful. She’ll buy us the time we need to get to her.’
Lex was still scowling at Murray. ‘How do you know all this?’
‘Hello!’ Murray said loudly. ‘Murray the Mentalist! The clue is in the name!’
‘No,’ said Lex. ‘There’s more to it than that.’
His brow furrowed dangerously as he thought about it. Annie seized the moment to gesture at the shabby trappings of Murray’s tent.
‘If you have real powers, why are you here, telling tourists they’re going to meet a tall dark stranger and to beware the tides of March?’
‘Murray has made a great many enemies down the years,’ I said. ‘Some of them quite appallingly powerful. As long as he keeps his various heads down, he’ll live longer.’
‘Exactly,’ said Murray. ‘The first time I raise my head above the parapet, some supernatural sharpshooter will blow it right off. I am obliged to hide my considerable light under this insignificant bushel until it’s finally safe for me to come out and show the world the real me again.’
‘You honestly think that’s ever going to happen?’ I said.
‘I’m working on it,’ said Murray. ‘I have plans. I can always kill off a few of my old selves in a really convincing manner, to throw the bastards off the scent. There’s nothing like being dead to stop people looking for you. Some of the old faces were getting a bit dated anyway.’
‘Where is Sally, right now?’ said Lex.
‘She’s in America,’ Murray said quickly. ‘In – or, more properly, under – the city of Seattle. Coldheart is one of the world’s most serious specialist collectors, and Sally’s gift makes her exactly what Coldheart needs to acquire certain very rare and well-guarded items. He won’t want to give her up just yet.’
‘How did he find out about her?’ I said. ‘There aren’t many who know what Sally can do.’
Murray took a deep breath and braced himself. ‘Because I told Coldheart’s people all about Sally and where they could find her.’
Lex started forward, his huge hands clenched into fists. The table and its crystal ball went flying, and Murray jumped up from his seat and backed away until he reached the rear of the tent. I moved quickly forward to place myself between Lex and Murray, and the Damned stopped. I was relieved about that, because my plan didn’t have a second part. Lex glared past me at Murray, who immediately raised his voice.
‘You promised you’d protect me, Gideon!’
‘I know,’ I said.
Lex turned to me, and his gaze was dangerously cold. ‘Do you really think you can stop me?’
‘Think about it, Lex,’ I said steadily. ‘I’m the one who got you out of that abandoned Tube station and back into the light. I made you part of a crew that brought down the worst man in the world and took on the biggest casino in Vegas. I put you together with Sally. And on top of all that … If I need to find a way to stop you, I’m sure I can steal something that will get the job done. But I’m hoping you’ll stop this because I’m asking you to.’
‘He betrayed Sally,’ said Lex. ‘He’s why she was taken from me.’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘He did that. Because that’s what he does. But I need you to trust me on this, Lex.’
‘Trust doesn’t come easy to the damned,’ said Lex.
‘Just as well we’re friends, then,’ I said. ‘Look, this man is our only way of getting to Sally. He knows things. Let him tell us what he knows.’
Lex growled, and it was a dark and dangerous sound. But a little of the tension went out of him, and he nodded slowly to Murray.
‘Tell us what you did.’
Murray pulled what was left of his dignity about him but didn’t move away from the rear of the tent. His words almost tumbled over each other in their hurry to ward off the Damned’s anger with useful information.
‘The stars told me that Coldheart had people out looking for Madam Osiris. So I shut her down and moved here to be me. I thought I’d dynamited all my bridges behind me, but the very first day I set up on the pier, two of Coldheart’s people came barging into my tent. They told me I could cooperate or die; it was up to me. And I believed them. We are talking very well-known, very dangerous people. Cleopatra Bones, who’s killed at least one man with every kind of weapon there is. And her husband, a Mime Called Malice, who can make a physical object out of anything he mimes and use it to kill you.
‘Cleopatra told me that Coldheart was looking for a thief with a particular skill set. Either I helped them find one or they would take turns killing me in slow and horrible ways. And I believed her! So I gave them Switch It Sally.’
‘How did you know where to send them?’ said Lex.
Murray just looked at him. ‘Oh, come on! When word got out that the Damned had got married and was on his honeymoon in Paris, the supernatural scene went mad with gossip! Look, it was either Sally or me, and she had you to protect her. How was I to know you’d go off and leave her on her own?’
Lex started forward again, but I was still there to block his way. For a moment, we stood face to face, but I didn’t budge an inch. When all you have is your reputation, you have to be ready to defend it. Lex glared past me at Murray.
‘You told Coldheart’s paid killers where to find Sally?’
‘Yes,’ said Murray. ‘And that’s why I’m still here.’
‘Not for long,’ said Lex.
He put a hand on my shoulder to push me out of the way, and I held up my time pen. Lex stopped and looked at it thoughtfully. I remembered him saying the pen couldn’t affect him in his armour, but that was just his opinion. I wasn’t sure myself, but I acted as though I was.
‘I can freeze you in Time,’ I said. ‘Wrap you in the tent, throw you over the side of the pier and leave you to walk back to shore. Madam Osiris made it possible for us to crack the casino in Vegas, where you married Sally. So you could say you owe that to the man in front of you.’
I looked carefully at Lex to see if my words were having any effect, but his face was unreadable.
‘Please don’t hurt him,’ I said. ‘We need him.’
‘I can tell you exactly where to find Sally,’ said Murray, his voice full of the knowledge that he was fighting for his life. ‘But I can’t tell you how long you have before Coldheart decides he doesn’t need her any more.’
‘Tell us how to save her,’ said Lex. ‘And save yourself.’
Murray nodded quickly. ‘Well, that sounds eminently reasonable.’
Lex turned his gaze to me. ‘Don’t ever threaten me again, Gideon.’
I smiled easily back at him. ‘It’s my crew, Lex. I run things because I’m the man with the plan, and the only one who sees the big picture. You’re strong, but I’m sneaky. And I have more tricks up my sleeve than you ever dreamed of.’
