Wraith(6)

I sidled up to them, hovering just out of the candle’s range. Come on, I prayed, give me something good. I rarely had an opportunity to get close to society women like this and Isabella Markbury in particular had always been good at playing her cards close to her chest.

There was something odd about her that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. She moved with a sort of lithe elegance that I supposed was the result of years of ballet and tap lessons. I’d always felt there was more to her than met the eye; maybe it was the spark of self-serving intelligence that gleamed in her eyes.

‘It’s kind of boring in here,’ Twin One said. ‘The music is weird and the dance floor is miniscule.’

Twin Two took a sip of her drink before tapping the crystal glass with one long fingernail. ‘The booze is good.’

‘At these prices it should be.’

‘You’ve not been out the door for three months, Tilly. You must have plenty of cash squirrelled away. Quit complaining.’

Tilly tossed her head. ‘You might have noticed that there’s a siege on, darling. Even Daddy can only squeeze so much out of the city folk. He was forced to close down the dog food factory in May.’

There was a snort. ‘Well, what will the serfs eat now?’

‘Don’t laugh. They were our best customers.’

Both twins screwed up their faces in identical expressions of disgust. I didn’t react to their disdain; I’d heard far worse before now. Besides, I’d eaten more than one tin of dog food myself over the last couple of years. I’d not been able to afford any since Christmas – more’s the pity.

‘Ladies,’ Isabella murmured, ‘stop bickering. You know why we’re here. This might be the answer to all our problems.’

I straightened up. This was starting to sound promising.

Tilly shot a look at her friend. ‘You mean the answer to all your problems. We all know who he’ll be interested in.’

The tiniest smile crossed Isabella’s perfect bow lips before quickly disappearing. ‘We don’t know what his tastes are. But we do know that he can get us out of this godforsaken place without making it appear as if we’re running away.’

‘Appearances are everything,’ Twin One mocked softly.

Tilly raised a single tattooed eyebrow. ‘You pawned your favourite earrings for your last round of Botox.’

‘They weren’t my favourite.’

Twin Two wrinkled her nose. ‘Maybe you shouldn’t do this, Isabella. He’s dangerous. You know what people say about him.’ She shivered. ‘He has power. Too much power.’

‘We need power, idiot. Don’t be so wet.’

Bored by the sniping, I tilted backwards and glanced around, looking for any evidence of the man they were discussing. Although there were a few well-heeled males in evidence, I didn’t think any of them were the women’s focus. None of them seemed interesting enough.

It was useful to know that the Markbury family – and no doubt many others – were staying put when they could probably find a way out if they wanted to. They obviously continued to believe the siege was going to go their way and that they would end up victorious. When the city was ‘free’ once more, they could cry from the rooftops that they’d not abandoned her during her hour of need – then they could reap the benefits of being true and loyal citizens. The Filit goblins, who remained in situ and therefore in charge by the skin of their yellow teeth, would appreciate their loyalty. Assuming the Filits were the eventual winners, of course.

By the sounds of things, inaction was beginning to grate on Isabella and her friends. I supposed that the length of the siege meant that even her wealth and luxurious lifestyle had its limits, even if it seemed unlikely that she’d ever end up starving like the rest of us.

The atmosphere changed abruptly. Isabella and her crew suddenly sat up straighter. I stepped back, my shadow form absorbed further into the gloom by the far wall. I crossed my arms and waited. Whoever this was, my interest was piqued. Every eye in the place was on the door and all the staff, even the goblins, were standing ramrod straight as if on ceremonial duty.

Two smartly dressed goblins appeared. I’d have said they were scowling if I hadn’t known that their default expressions were snarls. At six feet tall, they were standard-issue Filits; the figure striding in behind them had the authoritative bearing of someone far superior .

I squinted, trying to get a handle on who it was. There was no doubt this was the person Isabella and her friends had been waiting for; they’d all but stopped breathing and the twins were clutching each others’ hands tightly under the table. But whoever the man was, he was wearing a hooded cloak and his face remained concealed. I edged forward an inch to get a better view.

A moment later, back at home, my shell of a body jerked. Someone had rung my damn doorbell.

I couldn’t pretend to be out. I lived in the sort of neighbourhood where people knew you’d farted before you did. If I didn’t answer, it was likely whoever was on the other side of the door would assume the worst and break in to scavenge all my belongings.

Yanking my consciousness away from my shadow self to the other side of the small city, I grimaced and stood up from my slumped position on my chair. Moving around without the shadow part of myself always made feel lightheaded. Hopefully, whatever this was it wouldn’t take very long.