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His eye was flickering worse than ever.
Robin said nothing. Perhaps it was her advanced state of exhaustion, but she seemed to have become a mass of nerves and hypersensitivities: just as surely as she’d known Strike had arrived at the perimeter, she had a sense that the longer she remained in the farmhouse, the worse it would be for her.
As they walked down the last flight of scarlet-carpeted stairs into the hall, Robin heard a gust of laughter, and Wace appeared from a side room, holding a glass of what looked like wine. He was now wearing a silk version of the blue tracksuit worn by ordinary members, his expensive leather slides on his feet.
‘Artemis!’ he said, smiling as though the previous night hadn’t happened, as though he didn’t know he’d ordered her to be locked in a box, or that she was now into her thirty-sixth hour without sleep. ‘Are we friends again?’
‘Yes, Papa J,’ said Robin, with what she hoped was adequate humility.
‘Good girl,’ said Wace. ‘One moment. Wait there.’
Oh God, no.
Robin and Jiang waited while Wace entered the study with the peacock blue walls. Robin heard more loud laughter.
‘Here we are,’ said the smiling Wace, reappearing with Taio. ‘Before you rest, Artemis, it would be a very beautiful act of contrition to reaffirm your commitment to our church by spirit bonding with one who has much to teach you.’
Robin’s heart began pumping so fast she thought she might pass out. There didn’t seem to be enough air in the hall for her lungs to inflate.
‘Yes,’ she heard herself say. ‘All right.’
‘Papa J!’ came a merry voice, and Noli Seymour came lurching out of the sitting room, flushed, no longer wearing a tracksuit but leather trousers and a tight white T-shirt. ‘Oh Lord, sorry,’ she giggled, seeing the group.
‘There’s nothing to apologise for,’ said Wace, extending an arm and drawing Noli to his side. ‘We’re merely arranging a beautiful spirit bonding.’
‘Oooh, lucky you, you get Taio, Rowena?’ said Noli to Robin. ‘If I weren’t spirit married…’
Noli and Wace laughed. Taio allowed his lips to curl in a smirk. Jiang merely looked sulky.
‘Shall we, then?’ said Taio to Robin, taking her firmly by the hand. His was hot and damp.
‘Jiang,’ said Wace, ‘go with them, wait outside and escort Artemis to her dormitory afterwards.’
As Robin and the two Wace brothers walked towards the front door, Robin heard Noli say,
‘Why d’you call her Artemis?’
She missed Wace’s answer in another outburst of laughter from the sitting room.
The night was cool and cloudless, with many stars overhead and a thin, fingernail moon. Taio led Robin towards the pool of the Drowned Prophet and she knelt down between Daiyu’s two brothers.
‘The Drowned Prophet will bless all who worship her.’
‘I need the bathroom,’ Robin said, as she stood up again.
‘No you don’t,’ said Taio, pulling her on.
‘I do,’ said Robin. ‘I just want to pee.’
She was terrified Jiang was going to say ‘You were just in the bathroom.’ Instead, he said, scowling at his brother,
‘Let her bloody pee.’
‘Fine,’ said Taio. ‘Be quick.’
Robin hurried into the dormitory. Most of the women were getting ready for bed.
Robin pushed her way into the bathroom. Marion Huxley was bent over the sink, cleaning her teeth.
