Free Lies Ripped Open by Steve McHugh Page A

killer would be?”
    “We don’t know. One of the three could well be Jack himself . But one witness, a policeman out on his beat, said he saw a hooded man attacking a young prostitute. When confronted, the man turned to the policeman and hit him in the chest with a blast of water. Possibly an elemental or another sorcerer. The rune was drawn on the wall behind the victim’s head. They’d gone down a nearby alley to, we assume, carry out a transaction.”
    “At least three then,” Alan said as he re-entered the room. “Probably.”
    Diana opened her mouth to speak.
    “Don’t look so shocked and angry; listening in on other people’s conversations is part of my job.” Alan turned to me. “Three vicious murderers who are killing in a horrific way for fun, and then tearing the souls away from the dead and placing them in some sort of container. That about sum it up?”
    I nodded.
    “Well, that’s just a massive kick to the bollocks. So, any idea where we go to first?”
    I nodded again. “I might know someone in the city who could help us.”
    “How?” Diana asked.
    “He’s got knowledge of the Reavers, he might be able to point us in the right direction, or at the very least tell us why some of these people are doing this.”
    “There’s a downside, isn’t there?” Alan asked. “There’s always a downside.”
    “Yeah, the downside is he isn’t the most friendly of people and he’s a little paranoid about members of Avalon trying to kill him.”
    “Why?” Diana asked, probably already knowing the answer.
    “Because members of Avalon regularly try to kill him. He’s a wanted man. He tried to kill some people he shouldn’t have, an act that Avalon declared treasonous.”
    “So, how is he going to be of help to us?” Diana asked.
    “Because he was one of the founding members of the Reavers . And he owes me a favor or two.”
    “Why?” Diana and Alan asked together.
    “Well, when I say someone went to kill him, I meant me. I was the one sent to kill him.”

CHAPTER 6
    November 1888. London.
    T his doesn’t strike me as being the best idea anyone has ever had,” Diana mentioned as our carriage pulled up outside the gates of an old mansion that from the outside appeared to have had better times. Diana had contacted someone, who supplied a driver.
    The ride to our destination in South London had taken just over an hour to complete, and as the sun had begun to rise, more and more people either left home to go to work, or arrived at home after being out all night.
    “This park is called The Grove,” I told Diana and Alan, motioning to our surroundings.
    “I’ve been here before,” Diana said. “I don’t know anyone who goes here willingly though.”
    “I thought Brutus ruled London,” Alan said with just enough condescension to annoy, but not enough to be turned to paste as he sat beside Diana.
    “Brutus does,” Diana snapped. “But he’s named this off limits to pretty much everyone. He says it’s because he’s made a deal with the people who live here that they can keep the place to themselves.”
    Alan looked out of the dark windows, as rain began to beat against the roof of the carriage. “And your friend lives here?” he asked me.
    “I wouldn’t call him a friend,” I admitted. “He’s more of a. . . .” I paused. I wasn’t exactly sure how to categorize him. “He used to be my trainer when I first started working for Avalon. He’s an old soldier who deserved better than the bullshit Merlin allowed Avalon to pile onto him.”
    “So he’s not a traitor?” Alan asked.
    “If he’s a traitor then something bad must have happened.”
    “But Avalon sent you to kill him,” Diana pointed out.
    “That they did. It’s why he lives in London now, under Brutus’s protection. Officially I was unable to complete my task. Merlin wasn’t best pleased.”
    “There are things out there in the trees,” Alan said, finally looking back from the window. “What the hell is