BLUEMANTLE by Karen Langston (if you give a mouse a cookie read aloud TXT) 📕

Wulfwin had pressed him but not as hard as he’d anticipated. At first, Chase had thought he’d got away with it. He now realised it had merely been a matter of time. His leeway had lapsed.

If he was going to protect Ursel, he knew he would have to act fast. It wouldn’t be enough to get a message to her. He imagined her reaction, her perennial need to question why. He knew she wouldn’t just accept it; she’d need an explanation. Which meant he had to find a way to speak to her.

That meant a trip to the Circus.

As the crowds ambled towards the Telltale’s big top, its streamer flags limp in the still evening air, Chase merged with the flow and attempted to disappear. He recognised a friend of Naylor’s and ingratiated himself upon her, trusting his instinct that the woman wasn’t in the pockets of the A. To his relief, the woman, whose name he fought in vain to recall, remembered him. Hoping he might blend in more if he wasn’t alone, he pulled out all the stops and managed to maintain small talk until safely within the sanctuary of the tent. Once inside, he crept around the back of the tiered stands, loitering while people checked tickets and located their seats. Then he climbed a metal stairway on one of the stands and slipped into a vacant seat on the back row.

The time it took for the gas lamps to dim and the space to fall into darkness felt interminable. Spotlights illuminated the stage and the performance began. Chase stepped onto his seat, climbed over the rail behind it and dropped to the floor.

“Are you going to tell me what all this is about?” hissed Ursel, emerging from the shadows. “And why in crow’s name the wig? I feel like an idiot.”

“Quiet. In here,” whispered Chase, ushering her beneath the stand, out of sight.

When he had passed security on the way in, he had handed the guard a sealed envelope. To his relief, it was the same guard who had let him pass when he’d visited Ursel before. Chase had pressed him with a wordless plea to deliver the envelope, on which Ursel’s name was scrawled above the word ‘URGENT’. The guard had hesitated, then read something in Chase’s face and hurried off.

It was only blind desperation that had given Chase hope that his plan might work. Now that it had, with Ursel standing there, white-wigged and altered, he was taken aback. If the rest of his plan played out, he would be able to protect Ursel, find Wella and still give Wulfwin the details he wanted. If it brought about the end of the Scene, then Chase would get what he wanted too; but that was beyond his control. All he had to do was convince Ursel.

“The A,” whispered Chase in the shadows. “I don’t know why, but they’re watching me.”

“Oh, crow. Are you sure?”

“Certain. Since this morning.”

“I don’t get it. Why you? Why now?”

“Like I say, I don’t know. Maybe it’s linked to Weldon…” He could see the whites of her eyes reflect what little light there was. “Maybe not. But it just seems, you know… I can’t think why else. Anyway, it makes no odds. They’re watching me. I had to tell you, warn you to stay away. We can’t be seen together.”

“I don’t see why—”

“You’re part of the Scene. If they see me with you, they might take an interest. I’d be putting you at risk. It doesn’t matter if they see me with Naylor, or Tinashe, or the guys from work. As far as I know, the A would have nothing on them. But you. You’re too involved. You know too much.”

Ursel let out a deep breath and crouched to the ground. Chase knelt down beside her. He tried to make out her features in the half-light, wishing he could see her eyes, her expression. “And what about you?” she said, her voice soft.

“I’ll be okay. They can’t know I was at Chief’s show. They would’ve hauled me in before now if they did. So, whatever they think they’ve got on me, it’s bullshit. I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about you.” He took a deep breath. “And Wella.”

“Right now, she’s safer than you are.”

“That may be so. But this doesn’t change anything. I still have to at least try to speak to her.”

“Wouldn’t she rather have you alive than on some guilt-motivated mercy mission she doesn’t even want?” She sensed Chase recoil. “What I’m trying to say is think about what this means for the future, not the past. Even if you had cause to make amends, which I don’t believe you do, this is not the way to do it.”

“And what about you? Knowing about your friend, Cole. That’s his name, isn’t it? You said, if the A have got Cole, the Scene’s finished. But you’ll still go to the event, won’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Look, that’s different.”

“Bullshit. It’s the same thing. Come on, you encouraged me to ask the question. So, why? If it’s about to end, why risk everything for this one final time?”

“Because I’ve decided. I’m not going to let it end.”

“What?”

“I was up all last night thinking about it. I’ve thought of nothing else. There’s nothing we can do to save Cole. He won’t crack and, once they realise that, they’ve no reason to keep him alive. If they do, he’ll be banged up in Itherside Hold. And a trip to the Hold is only ever one-way.” She hung her head and sighed. “It kills me to say it because, aside from what he’s done for the Scene, he’s also a good friend. It sounds like I’m giving up on him, but I have to be realistic. They don’t have to kill him to take his life. Either way, we’ve lost Cole. I can’t help him, but I can do something for him. Make it so that it’s not over. I’ve decided. I’m going to pick up where