Hammerport

There was something else that had gone unasked; Ariadne had to know. Taking a deep breath, she dashed out of the bedroom to catch up with the ex-Clothman and almost ran into her.

Fay was just around the corner, resting against the wall. Ariadne’s fatigue took its revenge and she found she couldn’t focus on Fay’s face again. Fay’s features were blurred, airbrushed. Ariadne blinked a few times to try to clear her vision, but then noticed the red-rose-and-thorn motif on the wallpaper was crisp and sharp.

‘Speak,’ said Fay, turning to face her.

Addressed so directly, Ariadne just came out with her question. ‘Fay, uh, what if we don’t do this? What if we just walk away if we think it’s too dangerous?’

‘They will be told where you hide.’

The enormity of it, the matter-of-fact way that Fay would dispose of them if they didn’t do her bidding, hit her hard. Her eyes stung as the tears stormed out and she lurched against the wall. What good was being on the run if they still had no control over their own lives?

One question and its bad answer begged another question. Her heart was falling, tumbling over, helpless down a shaft without end. ‘Will… will you take care of Theo if anything happens to us?’

Fay’s face came into sharp focus for an instant, another inscrutable smile on her face. She said, ‘Okay sure, why not?’

Her face blurred again. ‘Got to leave now.’ Morgana walked away, turned the corner towards the stairs and disappeared out of view.

Ariadne lost all her strength and slid down the wall, teeth chattering. Her china emotions shattered and she wept without restraint, scratching at the roses in the wallpaper.

The sounds that escaped her mouth were not words. No one would have understood them.