Zidarov looked up at her. ‘And what if she doesn’t?’

‘I don’t know. It’s your choice to make. But you’ll have to make it, sooner or later.’

He thought on that. Then he took his hands from hers, removed his jacket, and reached for a robe. ‘I’m not ready. For now, I need something to fix on. Something to calm me down.’

Vasteva stood up, straightening her robes. ‘Tough case?’

‘They all are,’ he said, pulling the robes on and picking up a mask. ‘My gut tells me there’s more. I just don’t know whether to keep digging.’

‘Then come inside. Seek the guidance that comes in the fire.’

He made himself ready. Then the two of them left the room and walked down the corridor. They entered a chamber at the very end, one that in normal times might have been a standard living-unit. Seven others were already there, including the man who had let him in. They were all robed, wearing blank, empty-faced masks, their identities hidden. The lumens were out, and once Zidarov shut the door the only light came from the iron bowl at the centre of the room. It was filled with flame, an angry red glow that seemed to dance without the aid of any fuel. The smell of spiawood was very strong. Thick black shadows slithered behind them all, driven by the play of the flames. You could almost imagine that they were made of snakes – a hundred black snakes, bound together, circling the room and wriggling across its perimeter.

The supplicants formed in a circle around the fire. As if sensing the completeness, the flames rose higher. One by one, they joined hands, and bowed their heads. Vasteva took her place, and bowed in turn. Then, last of all, Zidarov did the same.

‘The serpent rises,’ came the chant, first from one, then from another, then overlapping from all of them.

‘The serpent rises,’ said Vasteva, squeezing Zidarov’s hand.

‘The serpent rises,’ he said back, feeling the fire begin to warm his soul, just as it always did. ‘Praise be, for the serpent rises.’

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

The following morning, he awoke feeling better. His dreams had been troubled, with serpents coiling around Naxi’s neck, as she was lowered by a stranger’s hands into one of the medi­cae couches. She smiled the whole time, calmly telling him it would all be fine, but that he had to tell mother about what was going on before they connected her up.