‘What about that door?’ he asked.

‘With any luck, it’ll be destroyed with this base. But I’ve found something that may help.’ She tapped the laptop, still clasped under one arm. ‘Come on!’

They rushed down another corridor, at a sprint this time. As the alarms continued, shrieking in time with the pounding in her head, Irene could only hope that the door would be destroyed.

Its existence was a huge unanswered question – and it worried her.

Kai actually looked at the waitress this time. She was now a threat, rather than a convenient provider of tea and cakes. She didn’t look sinister, garbed in the long black dress, white apron and mob cap common to all the waitresses in this cafe . . .

However, he now realized, none of the other waitresses had been visible since this one had entered the room. He’d thought the privacy was convenient, allowing him and Catherine to have an unobserved chat. Now this signified something rather more dangerous. Her manner was also far less subservient than he’d expect from someone who waited on others and washed dishes for a living. While Kai lacked Vale’s skill at deduction, he realized this woman probably wasn’t a waitress, he and Catherine were compromised, and the whole mission was in danger.

‘Please excuse me a moment,’ he said, and sipped his tea.

‘What are you doing?’ Catherine hissed. ‘She just said that was poisoned!’

‘No, she just said that we had been poisoned. But as far as I can judge, there isn’t any poison in this tea.’

Kai glanced sidelong at the so-called waitress from under his lashes; she seemed taken aback by his lack of panic. He’d managed to get her off-balance. Now to see if he could provoke her into talking.

Catherine looked as if she was about to boil over. ‘We have been poisoned,’ she said again. ‘We’re about to die! I’ll never get at those books!’

‘Now that’s the right attitude,’ Kai agreed, glad to see her demonstrating a proper sense of priorities. ‘But from my personal experience, people don’t inform you that you’ve been poisoned if you’re about to die on the spot. It’s usually to blackmail you by offering the antidote – or something like that.’

‘Wait a second,’ the waitress said. ‘You’ve done this before?’

Kai put down his teacup and raised an eyebrow. She was still just out of arm’s reach, but if he could persuade her to come closer . . . ‘I was taught to recognize a large number of poisons as a child. Though unfortunately not this one.’

‘Seriously?’ Catherine said. ‘I’d heard noble dragons were bad parents, but I’d thought that was rumour. Looks like I was wrong.’

Kai charitably forgave her this slander – she hadn’t been raised as royalty, after all. ‘So you see,’ he said to the waitress, ‘if you were serious, we’d be dead already. As it is, we have no reason to believe your threats.’

The woman pulled herself together, trying to regain control of the situation. ‘What if I told you it wasn’t in the tea?’

‘The petits fours?’ Catherine asked. ‘I thought they tasted a little bit off.’

‘No, not the petits fours either. It was . . .’ She paused dramatically. ‘It was in the gâche!’

Kai looked regretfully at the remains of the local fruit bread. ‘Ah, raisins. My fatal weakness.’

As he spoke, he was thinking as fast as he could. He hadn’t tasted anything unusual, though the mixed peel, raisins and sultanas could have masked a number of poisons. More to the point, he hadn’t felt anything yet, and it had been at least a quarter of an hour since they’d eaten.

Dragons were harder to poison than ordinary humans, but if he’d eaten a dose sufficient for the poisoner to march up and boast about it now, it must be something with a delayed effect . . . Heavy metals? Black lotus?

‘Or maybe you’re bluffing.’ He smiled at the so-called waitress, but there was nothing pleasant about the curve of his lips. ‘A cheap attempt at extortion, maybe. Why should we believe you?’

‘Well, fine,’ the woman declared, throwing her hands in the air. ‘Sit there till you curl up and die. See if I care! I thought you’d appreciate a chance to bargain, but if you’re going to be pig-headed about it . . .’

‘What exactly are you claiming to have poisoned us with?’ Catherine demanded.

‘It’s something you won’t have heard of before – a new discovery,’ she said smugly. ‘But trust me when I tell you it’s utterly fatal.’ Her smirk blossomed. ‘Did you know that it’s possible to extract a lethal poison from castor oil plants?’

Ricin. Kai maintained his ruthless smile, but inwardly he sighed in relief. Ricin was toxic in food, but it wasn’t as bad as if they’d inhaled it. Assuming they received proper medical treatment within six hours or so, they should be fine. ‘Oh, that,’ he said. ‘Should I be worried? It’s not as if I’m suffering from anything that would require a dose of castor oil.’

‘Yes, you should be worried.’ The woman could barely contain her irritation. ‘And if you don’t follow orders and come along with me now, your worry will be short-lived. Because you’ll be dead. Painfully.’

‘I can see you haven’t had much experience at this sort of thing,’ Kai said kindly. ‘You should have told us that first. So who are you, and why do you want us to go with you?’

The woman tried to assume an air of menace. ‘We know you’re here to exchange money for a certain book. We know you’re waiting here to make the exchange. You’re both to accompany me now. Then we’ll give you the antidote.’

Now Kai was worried. The woman’s air of incompetence and the simplistic nature of her demand concerned him more than the demand itself. This was obviously linked to the earlier kidnap attempts on Irene: clearly whoever was behind the crimes had traced them here. But if that was the case, why send in such a pathetic agent to deliver threats? What if she was a pawn, delaying them while someone else made a move on them – or Irene? But all he said was: ‘I see. Now I’ll make you an offer in return.’ Kai leaned forward, feeling his claws prick at the ends of his fingers as anger rose in him. ‘Tell us who gave you this information, and I’ll allow you to walk out of this cafe alive.’

His fury must have reached her, for she flinched before she could catch herself. ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ she attempted, her voice trembling. ‘If you don’t get the antidote, you’ll die. I won’t be bullied like this—’

Kai rose to his feet and casually picked her up by the neck. ‘The poison you’ve given us won’t take effect for hours yet,’ he said, and watched her eyes dilate in terror. She hadn’t known that. No more than an intermediary, then, and probably a sacrificial pawn. ‘And believe me, I haven’t even begun to bully you. Now. Who are you working for?’

She tried to say something, but was having difficulty breathing.

‘I think you’d better let her down,’ Catherine suggested. She didn’t look well. Maybe the poison was acting faster on her metabolism than on Kai’s. ‘Before she, you know, chokes.’