I nodded.

“Lizbeth, you take a squad of four and stay with Abeyance. Cover the front and make sure no one does a runner. When it’s clear, escort Abeyance inside and cover her while she uses her timesight.”

“Babysitting?” Lizbeth rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

“Coatl—” Haken looked around. “Where is he?”

“Think he went to the bathroom,” I said.

Trask laughed. Haken looked as though he wanted to swear, but controlled himself. “He’s taking another squad and covering the back.” Where he can’t screw anything up was the unspoken message. He looked around. “Any questions?”

There was a few seconds’ silence. “If we’re going to do it, let’s do it,” Slate said at last.

“Okay,” Haken said. “Move out.”

| | | | | | | | |

There was no conversation on the journey back. The van ride was silent but for the rumble of the engine and the sound of the city streets around us, and everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts. There’s a particular kind of tension you get when you’re in a group going on a dangerous mission. You’re isolated, yet at the same time you’re intensely conscious of the people around you. If you trust them, that’s your reassurance. You know you’re not going in alone, and that there’ll be someone to back you up.

If you don’t trust them . . . well, that’s not very reassuring at all.

I studied the other mages in the van. Who would be the most likely to stick a knife in my back? Slate didn’t like me. Neither did Lizbeth. Haken seemed to be on my side, but he was playing some game of his own.

Maybe if I looked at it in terms of magic types. Haken was a fire mage. Slate and Trask were death and water. Abeyance was a time mage, Cerulean an illusionist, Coatl used mind magic, and Lizbeth was a water/air hybrid. Based on that, it was Cerulean and Coatl I should be worrying about. They were the ones who could screw me over without anyone else noticing . . .

I shook my head in frustration. This was impossible. I didn’t know any of these people—until today I hadn’t known that half of them even existed. There were people who spent their whole lives immersed in Council politics, tracking the shifting loyalties and affiliations of the Light mages. Divination or no divination, I couldn’t figure it out in just a few hours. I’d have to play this by ear. I didn’t know whom I should be watching, but my magic would give me a few seconds’ warning if anyone made a move on me, and that would just have to be enough. I needed to focus on being ready for whatever came at me.

The van came to a halt. Haken was speaking into his sleeve, giving quiet instructions to the security men in the other two vans. I could picture what would be going on inside: guns being loaded, equipment double-checked.