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I changed quickly, avoiding the rest of the Keepers, and headed outside. By the time I was out in the street and in the cold air I’d calmed down a little. Now that I could think clearly again I knew that what I’d just done had not been a smart move. The Keepers already suspected me of murder—going for a killing attack like that would not have made a good impression.

Why had I gone for that knife? The rubber blade had been harmless, but the move I’d used it for had not been, and I’d never even made the conscious decision to do it. I’d acted on instinct, and by the time I’d had the chance to think, it had all been over. Would I have acted like that a year ago? I was pretty sure I wouldn’t, and I had a nasty feeling that I knew what had changed. Even though it had been ten months since I’d seen Richard, just knowing that he was out there was enough to put me on edge, quicker to feel threatened, quicker to strike back.

I’d been nervous about how Caldera was going to react, but when she finally appeared, gym bag slung over one shoulder, she didn’t seem particularly bothered. She was on her phone and held up a hand to me as she approached. “Uh-huh,” she was saying into the phone. “Yeah, but I’m off duty.”

I leant against the wall, waiting for her to finish. “Okay,” Caldera was saying. “No . . . Well, too bad, ’cause unless it’s an emergency . . . Yeah . . . You okay with that? . . . Fine, you can check in with him later. Okay.” She rang off and looked at me. “Got a job.”

“Torvald?”

Caldera shook her head. “Some kind of magical fight on the DLR. It got called in through the Met and the liaisons flagged it.”

“So they want us to do what, find out what it was?”

“Apart from the ‘us’ part.”

“Come again?”

“I’m off duty as of three hours ago,” Caldera said. “You can have this one.”

“Seriously?”

“You want to be an auxiliary, you’re going to have start doing solo jobs. Can’t always be there looking over your shoulder.” Caldera glanced at me. “You can handle it?”

“I guess.”

“Central’ll forward you the report.” Caldera yawned. “I’m off. Have fun.”

“Uh . . .”

“What?”

“About what happened in the gym?”

“What about it?”

I hesitated. Caldera looked surprised. “That bothering you? Don’t worry about it.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Best match I’ve had in weeks.” Caldera grinned. “You won’t get me with the same trick next time, though. I won’t go easy on you.”

“Then I guess I won’t either.”

“Promises, promises.” Caldera gave me a wave as she walked off. “Have a good one!”

I watched Caldera walk away, then shook my head and turned away with a smile. At least there was one person who wasn’t bothered.