One of the simpler uses of divination magic is short-range spying; you can look ahead into the futures in which you move closer to a target in order to watch them. People are unpredictable, so they have to be only a few seconds away, but as long as the environment is static it works consistently enough. My house was silent and empty, and the futures in which I opened the door were easy to follow. All three of them were there, standing close to one another. None had visible weapons, which was interesting. I knew Captain America and Dhruv would only need a second to draw them, but I could do a lot in a second. It looked like I wasn’t the only one making mistakes.

“I can’t find him,” Lee said at last. In the ambient light from the windows he looked nervous. He was right to be.

“You’re sure he was here?” Dhruv asked.

“I think so,” Lee said, glancing around.

“Was he moving when you lost him, or did he just vanish?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Well, which spot did you lose him in?”

“I don’t know,” Lee said, sounding aggravated. “I keep telling you, I just know the direction. You didn’t give me time to triangulate.”

“He probably gated,” Captain America said. He had an American accent too, though I didn’t recognise what kind. He didn’t look as edgy as Lee but he did look alert.

“Diviners can’t use gate magic,” Dhruv said.

“Didn’t stop him before.”

“That was the Keeper,” Dhruv said. “And Lee said she wasn’t with him anymore. Right?”

“No . . .” Lee said reluctantly.

“So.”

“Why were we fighting her?” Lee said. “I thought you just wanted Verus.”

“Because she wouldn’t get out of the way.”

“We could have waited.”

“That was Will’s decision, not yours,” Dhruv said. “You want to take it up with him?”

Lee was silent, but Captain America spoke up again. “He’s got a point.” As he spoke he kept looking from side to side, watching each door in turn as he faced Dhruv. “And what the fuck was Ja-Ja doing?”

“It was the middle of a fight,” Dhruv said. But there had been a moment’s hesitation, and I could tell he wasn’t quite as sure of himself as he was acting.

“Yeah, and it was supposed to be against Verus,” Captain America said. He didn’t sound happy. “What, we’re killing everyone in our way now?”

“Ja-Ja didn’t obey orders,” Dhruv said.

“Ja-Ja’s a psycho.”

“He’s our big gun.”

“Which doesn’t change the fact that he’s a fucking psycho.” Captain America’s voice was hard. “He shouldn’t be on the team.”

“As long as we can point him in the right direction, he’s useful.”

“I’m not seeing that,” Captain America said. “Didn’t he just nearly murder a Keeper? Isn’t that a problem?”