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she supplied the Inquisition with information that was used to prevent several attacks on British businesses and residences. Then she disappeared. It was feared she’d either been discovered and killed by Endor, or turned by them. But Endor was already moving its attention away from the UK. The immediate crisis had passed. One AWOL witch-agent didn’t seem worth the trouble.
    ‘However, five years ago, a source reported a sighting of Edie in southern Spain. It might not be the same woman, of course. But if there’s a possibility she is still alive, there’s a possibility she’s now working for Endor. That makes her a potential threat – especially if she ever decides to contact her daughter.’
    Lucas felt a new unease. ‘It’s been twelve years since she left. If she’d wanted to get in touch, wouldn’t she have done so before?’
    ‘Ah,’ said the Commander, ‘but Gloriana’s almost grown-up now, and a powerful witch in her own right. If Edie discovers this, she might try to take advantage.’
    ‘Seems to me she was the one who got taken advantage of. Bullied and blackmailed, then tossed aside – “not worth the trouble” of finding.’ With effort, Lucas moderated his tone. ‘ That’s how Glory would see it, anyway.’
    The Commander smiled grimly. ‘And that’s why she can’t be told. Not yet. She’s immature and wilful, with much to learn and even more to prove.’
    ‘In the meantime,’ said Rawdon, ‘now that Glory is here and part of our team, we’re in a good position to keep an eye on her. If Edie is alive, and if she decides to contact her daughter, then we’ll know about it.’
    ‘So Glory’s being used as bait.’
    And who were ‘we’, anyhow, Lucas wondered. WICA? The Inquisition? Did that mean him too?
    Rawdon put up his hands reassuringly. ‘Glory was recruited to this division for the same reasons you were. She’s an outstandingly gifted witch who has already displayed great courage and resourcefulness in her work against the Paterson conspiracy.
    ‘Yes, she has a few rough edges. She needs guidance and support. But I believe in her. What’s more, I need her. Soon, I’ll be calling on the two of you to put your talents to work outside the confines of this agency.’
    Jack Rawdon gave the warm, frank smile that had made him the poster-boy for Socially Acceptable Witchkind. Lucas felt a spark of excitement in spite of himself. Did his boss have a mission for them at last?
    ‘Of course, Glory needs to be told the truth one day,’ Rawdon continued. ‘But the likelihood of her mother being alive remains small, and the chance of her trying to get in contact is even smaller. I think we can afford to give Glory some more time to adjust to her new life. For now, the knowledge would be too heavy a burden.’
    ‘You yourself have no right to that knowledge,’ said Commander Hughes. ‘Only the responsibility to safeguard it.’
    ‘It’s for Glory’s own good,’ said his father.
    Once more, all three of them were leaning towards him, eyes fixed on his, expressions stern yet encouraging. Once more, he had little option but to agree.
     
    In the aftermath of the meeting, Lucas tried to get a handle on Edie Starling and the kind of woman she’d been, but the various accounts he’d heard were too elusive and contradictory. He groped for indisputable facts, for clear judgements, and found none. Perhaps his father was right. It had been a war, and different rules applied.
    Glory wouldn’t see it like that, though. If she found out the story of Operation Swan, she’d leave at once and never look back. She would be lost . . . for ever.
    He wasn’t sure he believed that Edie had really volunteered to work as a double agent abroad. He wondered too if Rawdon and Hughes knew more about her whereabouts and activities than they were letting on. If so, was Glory in danger of being used in the same way as her mother had been? Either way, Lucas knew he was now part of the cover-up,