‘That’s what friends do. What they’re supposed to do anyway. In an ideal world.’

‘This isn’t, though, is it? This world is fucked-up big-time.’

‘It’s certainly different,’ he said, starting to smile. ‘When I jumped, I wasn’t scared. I thought you’d try and catch me, at least, but if you hadn’t? I’d still have done something brave. I fought a monster, and there were no guarantees that I’d win, let alone live. That was my choice. That I’m here to say all this is great, but it’s a bit unexpected. I heard my grandfather while I was falling.’

‘What did he say?’

‘Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal.’ He looked down at his hands, which had plunged the dagger into Stanislav’s inconstant flesh. ‘It means, “He who cries ‘God is Truth’ is ever victorious.” It’s a war cry, but he’s been gone for years. I suppose I thought that meant I was already dead.’

They looked at each other, and she reached over and squeezed his arm. ‘You look pretty alive to me.’

‘I should say thank you.’

‘You should shut the fuck up, Dalip.’

They sat like that for a while, and he slept again.

33

33

Down was vast: the White City lay in some uncertain direction to the west where all there appeared to be was ocean, the distance to it unknown, the way unmarked by roads. What else were they going to do? Where else should they go? It wasn’t as if they had anything better to do, had any pressing appointments, or knew of anywhere particular for them to be. If it was five miles or five hundred, it didn’t really matter. Down was all there was, and they had to start somewhere.

Mary flew above them, so high she was barely a speck in the rain-washed sky, wheeling in slow, lazy circles. Dalip had drawn a diagram in soot on the guard-room wall, describing the search patterns she needed to make, covering the maximum area with the minimum effort. She nodded like she’d understood – which she had, she wasn’t stupid – but the idea of flying in lines, back and forth, blocking off one grid square before moving on to the other, didn’t appeal.

Crows, she guessed, wasn’t going to be trying to hide from them. He didn’t know anyone was trying to track him down.