“Tonight Johann Starke is having a party to show off his collection. Security will be tightened and there’ll be guests everywhere. Only the very foolish or the very reckless would try to steal the dagger tonight.”

9

arkness cracked and light spilled, and then Tanith was stepping out from the wall into Johann Starke’s house. A four-piece orchestra played in the next room. Lots of chatter, sprinkled through with light laughter. No alarms. No cries. So far so good.

“I could go straight for the dagger,” Sanguine said quietly. “Why the hell not? I’m here, ain’t I? Save you the trouble of the play-acting.”

Tanith unzipped her jumpsuit and let it fall to the ground. She stepped out of it, slipping her feet into high heels as she rested the delicate strap of her handbag on one shoulder. Her dress was red and tight and her hair was brown and straight. She caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror and liked what she saw.

“Starke’s security system would alert every Ripper in the area,” she told him. “You don’t want that, do you? It’ll be fine. I’ll mingle, I’ll charm, I’ll get the dagger and replace it with the forgery. You just be waiting to pick me up.”

“Do you even speak German?” he asked, scooping up the jumpsuit and being careful not to let any dust near her outfit.

“I have a few words,” she said.

“Any of them not swear words?”

“Nein. Trust me, all right? Now, do I look amazing?”

“You always look amazing. Kiss for good luck?”

“Don’t want to smudge my make-up,” she said, and walked to the door. She painted an easy smile on her face. The first person she saw was a man dressed completely in black with a visored helmet and two sickles strapped to his back. A Ripper. He walked by, ignoring her completely. She took a moment to calm down, nodded to an elderly couple and then at a man with dark hair and turned like she’d forgotten something. She stepped back into the room. Sanguine hadn’t left yet. He frowned at her.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said. “Just... A man out there. I know him from somewhere.”

Sanguine’s face darkened. “We’re calling this off.”

“No, we’re not. I’ve got a forged dagger that will only fool people for the next ninety hours. It’s too late to back out now.”

“Tanith, this whole plan of yours relies on one simple thing – that nobody here has ever met you. Seeing as how most of the guests are high-up German sorcerers who never venture beyond their own little compounds, that was a fair assumption to make. But if someone here knows you—”

“I might be wrong,” she said quickly.

“You said you know him.”