Eliza closed the folder. ‘Right. Both Metyard and Anne had a clear link to that street. Jaxon had a strong suspicion that if those two spirits wanted to confront each other, that was where they would do it. He told me as much when you and Nick set off.’

I shook my head. ‘Why didn’t you tell us? Why send us on a wildgoose chase?’

She bit back a smile. ‘Jaxon asked me to test you, see if you could work it out yourself. He was delighted when I told him you’d asked about the gully-hole.’

‘Were you in on this?’ I said to Nick. When he held up his hands, I turned to Eliza again. ‘Fine. You knew Chick Lane was probably the place – but did you know the right Chick Lane was West Street?’

‘No. I really didn’t,’ Eliza said. ‘We took a gamble on your intuition. You were right.’

I sat in silence for a long time, stunned.

Jaxon wasn’t going to cut me loose. I might not be a full-fledged dreamwalker yet, but I had the ability to hunt and restrain spirits, and I had survived an encounter with the Underlord. Remembering that prompted me to ask: ‘What about Hector?’

‘You’ll have to watch your back for a while,’ Nick admitted, ‘but Jaxon will smooth everything over in the end. We all keep an eye on each other. That’s what the Seven Seals is about.’ He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed gently. My cheeks warmed. ‘We’re a family, Paige. And you are part of that family now.’

My throat was closing; my eyes prickled. I didn’t know what to say.

‘To you, Pale Dreamer,’ Nick said, and the three of us raised our glasses. ‘And your career in unnaturalness.’

‘Get ready for it.’ Eliza grinned. ‘There’s no rest for the damned.’

And I started to realise: this might really be my life. Things might just be like this for ever.

Epilogue

Epilogue

For a few weeks, nothing changed in Seven Dials, except that I would now join Nick and Eliza every Friday at Chat’s. I still didn’t go out much, and the more tedious paperwork inevitably landed on my desk, but I conquered it with new resolve. When Jaxon asked for coffee, it was the best damned coffee in London. The paperwork was the neatest and most detailed it had ever been.

Jaxon displayed no change in his attitude towards me. Courtesy, occasional charm. Solid indifference most of the time. That was all right. Everything was.

The bruise on my cheek faded. According to reports, Anne Naylor was back in Farringdon station, but she didn’t scream as often as she had before. Most of the time, she was quiet and sanguine. Jaxon thought it likely that Metyard the elder was lurking somewhere, but for now, Anne seemed to have found a little peace.