The Bride Wore Black Leather

to, John. This is our path to the Sun King.”
    I glared at him suspiciously. “There’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?”
    “There’s a lot I’m not telling you. But I need you to trust me on this, John.”
    And all I could do was shrug because he was Julien Advent, the Great Victorian Adventurer, and if I couldn’t trust him . . . I couldn’t trust anyone.
    “Only those of the correct spiritual frame of mind can hope to navigate the maze successfully,” said Sister Dorethea. “Only the pure of intent will obtain access to the Stones, and Green Henge.”
    “Yes, well, you would say that, wouldn’t you?” I said. “Come on, Julien. Catch you later, Druid.”
    I strode forward into the maze, and Julien was immediately right there at my side. I can’t say I’ve ever felt safer with Julien beside me because he doesn’t do safe; but I’ve always felt more confident. Julien’s a good man to have at your side or your back, because you know you can depend on him to fight to the last drop of his blood; or, more usually, his enemy’s. I suppose that’s why we’ve so rarely partnered up. Not only because he so loudly disapproves of me, and my methods, but because I’ve always felt the junior partner. Julien Advent is the kind of man I always wanted to be and knew I never could be. Because he was a genuine hero, and I’m not. I’m just a man who gets things done.
    We took a left and a right and a left inside the maze, and, immediately, I was hopelessly lost. Hadn’t got a clue where I was, or where I was going, or even where the entrance was. When I looked back, all I could see were hedgerows, exactly like those in front of me. I’ve never been any good at mazes. Or crossword puzzles. I’ve never liked games where you can’t bend the rules when you’re losing. But when I hesitated, Julien immediately took over the lead, making his choices confidently, as though he was following some trail only he could see.
    “I worked my way through any number of mazes, back when Victoria was on the Throne,” Julien said calmly. “They all follow the same basic pattern. I think they were only fashionable so young ladies could get lost in them and cry pitifully to be rescued by brave young men. Not a good place to canoodle, though; you never knew who might come round a corner. But this . . . is not a usual maze.”
    And he stopped dead in his tracks, looking from one way to another, unable to choose.
    “I can . . . feel the centre of the Maze,” he said slowly. “I could point to it. But I can’t seem to go any further. The choices don’t make sense any more. It’s like looking at a map and finding all the symbols have suddenly taken on new and unfamiliar meanings. It’s like something else is required of me, other than logic. A very uncomfortable feeling. How does the maze feel to you, John?”
    I shrugged uncomfortably. I did feel something, but it wasn’t anything I could put my finger on. “It’s only a maze. First rule of the Nightside: when you’re playing a game, and the rules say you’re losing, change the rules.
    “You’re going to cheat, aren’t you?” said Julien resignedly.
    “Of course,” I said. “It’s what I do best.”
    I raised my gift, enough to add strength and power to my Sight, and immediately I could sense the exact location of Green Henge. And, more importantly, how to get to it. I plunged forward, darting through one row to another with complete confidence. Julien had to hurry to keep up with me. It was invigorating, racing through the hedgerows with defiant ease, while Green Henge called to me like a great voice in the night. It wasn’t just a Circle of Stones, it was a place of power, and Destiny. It was a place where things happened, things that mattered. And the moment I realised that, I slammed the brakes on and came to a sudden halt. Julien stopped with me and looked quickly around.
    “What is it? Did you hear something? I thought I heard something . . .”
    “No,” I said. “It’s Green Henge. This was never a folly, Julien. The man who brought the Stones here may have thought so, but the Stones were using him. To transport them to a new place, where they could draw on new energies, to become a greater power than they ever were before. And you knew this, didn’t you?”
    “I suspected it,” said Julien. “How do you know all this, John?”
    I scowled. “Just being in the maze, I can feel things. But you knew before we