“I’m thinking . . . it sounds like a fair offer.” I met Chalice’s eyes. “If I trust you.”

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Chalice tilted her head. “How about I give you a little good-faith gesture? I’ll help you out with your current problem. Then if it checks out, maybe you’ll be a little better disposed for the next time.”

“How are you going to help me?”

Chalice smiled. “You’ve never worked with a real chance mage before, have you?”

“Why do you ask?”

“If you had, you wouldn’t have that tone of voice.” Chalice extended her hand. “For this trick, I’ll need a pen and paper.”

I looked back at her for a second, then walked over to the desk to get them. “Want a top hat too?” I said as I put them on the coffee table.

“Is this one of your British humour things?” Chalice pushed the pen and notepad over to me. “Now, are there any things you’re looking for at the moment? People, places, items?”

“You could say that.”

“Think about them and draw something.”

I raised my eyebrows. “What kind of something?”

“Whatever you like.”

I shrugged and decided to play along, taking the biro and beginning to draw. I’ve never been much of a sketch artist, but I’m good with patterns. I let the pen move across the paper as I thought about what I was looking for right now. Straightaway my mind went to the case with Caldera. Xiaofan’s three owners, and where they were now. The boy Caldera had seen on the camera footage. The assassin who’d wounded me, and who was still out there . . .

“Done?” Chalice asked.

“More or less.” I studied what I’d drawn for a moment—it looked like a sea, the shapes of creatures beneath the surface, with a sky above. Geometric shapes formed a border over the water.

“Now give it to me.”

I handed Chalice the notepad. She glanced at the picture, took up the pen and scribbled something on it, then stood up and reached for her coat. “There you go.”

“Wait, what?”

Chalice put her coat on, flipped her hair out, and began winding her scarf around her neck. “You were looking for something, weren’t you? That’s where you need to go.”

I looked at the pad. A two-digit number was written on top of the picture, followed by what looked like a street name and postcode. “An address?”

“Looks that way.”

“What’s there?”

Chalice finished with her scarf, then gave me a smile. “How should I know? You’re the one who picked it.” She walked to the door. “Send me a message once you’ve made up your mind. I’ll let myself out.” She disappeared down the stairs.

I stared after Chalice, listening to her go. When her footsteps faded away, I switched to the future in which I followed her, tracking her movements. She crossed the shop floor and let herself out into the street, shutting the door behind her, before walking away down the street.