Ring. Sister. Piano (Book 4 of The Powder Trail)

Chapter Thirty Four: Orpheus and the Underworld

Elsie was not very informative on either of the subjects Jack asked her about. She seized the list first, and prodded it with a triumphant finger. "I'm so glad you kept it! I didn't think you believed me-"

But Jack cut her off. "Myrrha first. Please."

"The list is far more interesting-"

"I'm more interested than you could possibly know. But Myrrha is dangerous."

Elsie sank her hands into her pockets and muttered, "I don't know her." 

"Robin's wife. Look at his memories – you'll be able to see her."

"No." She sighed. The frown-lines above her blindfold were deep, as if she was screwing her eyes up. "I know who you mean, I just – don't have anything to tell you. I'm not connected to her in any way. When I turn my thoughts towards her, there's just... silence. Is it possible she could be a human?"

"Not a chance," said Jack, much louder than he'd intended. His insides were plummeting. He hadn't realized how much he'd been counting on Elsie to reassure him, give him something useful to do.

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Oh, why hadn't he been expecting this? Of course Myrrha would find some way to shield herself from the little mother. She wasn't stupid. That only left Robin, and what did he know? Only what Myrrha had thought it worthwhile to tell him.

But – no, no, no, this wasn't possible! Myrrha was good at magic, but Elsie was the little mother. If all magic was demon, then all magic came from her eventually. Myrrha might be clever enough to shield herself – she was clever enough for anything – but strong enough? How could she be?

"I refuse to believe she can hide herself from you," he said, in a voice that sounded whiney, even in his head. "No-one's ever done it before, have they?"

"If they have, they were so successful that I never knew anything about it," said Elsie.

"What about the gargoyles? Didn't you say they cut themselves off from you somehow?"

"Ye-es, but they weren't completely successful. Part of their minds still slept while I was gone. And it was easy enough for me to locate them when I got back. I've never known anyone to cut themselves off from me as completely as this Myrrha. I suppose she must know a lot about magic."

"But you're the origin of magic!" Jack wailed.

"She said she didn't know anything!" said Danvers, in a voice so un-Danvers-like that Jack gaped at him. "Can't you let it be? She's not going to go anywhere near Myrrha and nor should you. Nor should anyone."

For the first time, it occurred to Jack that Danvers had been the last one to see her. He had gone to visit her to beg for a counter-spell, when Jack had been more lost than he'd ever been in his life. He might know all kinds of things – what she did with her spare time, who she consorted with, how she protected herself. 

If he'd been less eager, he would have heeded the flushed cheeks and the earnest expression. Danvers was in the mood to take a stand. Or he was frightened. They both looked the same, from the outside.

"What did you see when you went to visit her?" he asked breathlessly. "What was she doing? Who was she with?"

Danvers looked lost for a moment, as if trapped in the memory. But then he drew himself up with a tightening of the jaw and glanced pointedly at Elsie. "I refuse to discuss it in front of a lady."

"Lady?" said Jack, without thinking. He hadn't meant any disrespect, he just wasn't used to thinking of Elsie as a lady. It was only when Danvers lurched forwards and grabbed him by the collar that he realized his remark was open to a different interpretation.