Caldera sighed. “You know, normal people, when someone tries to assassinate them? They care a little less about finding out what happened and a little more about staying alive.”

“I’ve got you around to protect me, haven’t I? Come on, let’s get back to London. I think I know someone who can tell us a bit more about this thing.”

| | | | | | | | |

We gated back to London and started working our way through the streets around Brick Lane. “Her name’s Xiaofan,” I said. “I met her last year.”

“Mage?”

“Time adept.”

Caldera looked interested. “Timesight? We always need more of those . . .”

“Not exactly. She does objects.”

We’d reached the place: a dimly lit shop with a faded red sign above the top saying Libra Antiquities. Clothing stores were on either side of it, carrying the smell of leather. “Before we go in,” I said. “Xiaofan . . . hasn’t had the best experiences with mages. Try to be nice, okay?”

Caldera shrugged. “Sure.”

The inside of the shop was gloomy, weak yellow lights doing their best to push back the darkness. Furniture and household ornaments were piled all around: chairs, coffee tables, mirrors, vases, figurines, silverware, plates, lamps, and everything else, taking up so much of the space that it was hard to move. They created a muffling effect, and when the door swung behind us, shutting out the noise of the street, the shop was suddenly very quiet. “Hello?” I called. “Anyone there?”

There was the sound of movement, and a young woman appeared from behind a carved wardrobe. I’d known she was there, but I’ve learnt over the years that sometimes it’s better not to advertise. Xiaofan was Chinese, conservatively dressed and pretty, with glasses and long dark hair. Her manner was cautious, but as she saw me she relaxed a little. “Alex. I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Yeah, sorry. I tried to text but it didn’t go through.”

“I changed my number,” Xiaofan said. Her English was good, though not perfect; understandable but slightly stilted. She glanced at Caldera. “Hello . . . ?”

“This is Caldera,” I said. “A friend of mine. We were hoping you could help us finding out about an item.”

Caldera nodded. “Hey.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Xiaofan said. “Just let me change the sign.”

Xiaofan locked the door and flipped the sign on it to CLOSED, then went back and cleared papers and bric-a-brac off a small cluttered desk while Caldera and I took a seat. I looked at Caldera. Caldera gave Xiaofan a dubious glance but took out the green marble and handed it to her. Xiaofan took it in her small hands, then closed her eyes.

A minute passed, two minutes, five. Caldera shifted and opened her mouth to speak, but I put up a hand. She raised her eyebrows but stayed quiet. Divination magic and time magic are different in many ways, but they have a few things in common, and the informational uses of time magic work a lot like my path-walking. It doesn’t look like the spellcaster is doing anything, but they are.