“Go screw yourself.”

Levistus watched me with an expression of polite inquiry. I drew a long breath and let it out, controlling myself. Stupid. He’s provoking me. “I’m not responsible for what Richard does.”

“You are Drakh’s apprentice.”

There was something in those words that was hard to describe. There was a kind of finality to it, as though Levistus were telling me something self-evident and timeless. Wind blows, fire consumes, I was Richard’s apprentice, so it was and so it would always be. “I am who I choose to be.”

“The steel does not choose to be made into a knife.”

“I’m not your knife, or his.”

“Then who are you, Alexander Verus?” Levistus asked. “What do you stand for? Whom do you serve?”

“You don’t have the right to demand answers to those questions.”

“Evasions. You have nothing upon which to stand. You do not understand yourself, and thus you are easily manipulated. Have you any conception of how far back your master has chosen your steps, shaped your path? You follow in his footsteps without the slightest understanding of how thoroughly you are controlled.”

I felt a twinge of fear at that. I had no way of knowing how much Levistus knew, or whether he was simply guessing, but what he was saying was too close to the things I secretly feared. If you can’t defend, attack. “Fine,” I said. “Then what do you stand for, Levistus? You tried to have me killed, not once but over and over again. If I hadn’t stopped you, you would have had Luna and Arachne killed too. You wouldn’t have done it because you’d judged them as unworthy. You wouldn’t even have done it because you particularly wanted them dead. They were just in your way. You ordered their deaths with no more concern than you’d have for checking your bank balance. You’re talking as though you think I’m going to take your opinions seriously. What can you possibly say that can outweigh everything you’ve done? Why should I listen to you?”

“Because you are involved in matters beyond your control,” Levistus said. “You no longer have the option of distancing yourself. Even should you abandon your position in the Keepers and go back to your isolation, it would only buy you a little time. You know that the confrontation will arrive. When it comes, on whose side will you stand?”

“I’m not on anyone’s side.”

Levistus made a disgusted noise. “Do not play the fool. If you hinder me, you help Drakh. If you fight against your old master, you assist me. This is elementary common sense.”

“Is that how you justify what you do?” I asked. “Everything for the sake of victory?”

“The Council has maintained stability in this world for thousands of years,” Levistus said. “Without us, the Dark mages and the monsters would have torn human civilisation apart millennia ago. Is that what you hope to accomplish?”

“And when Griff tortured Luna to get to the fateweaver? When Belthas tried to Harvest Arachne for her power? That was all for the greater good, was it? Don’t give me that bullshit.”