by Helen Harper
Speck blanched. ‘When we shared blood, does that mean...?’
‘It doesn’t matter. If I’m gone, they’ll still come after you. Aifric or the demons or whoever. Sacrificing myself means sacrificing all of you too.’
They absorbed this for a moment then Lexie got slowly up to her feet and tossed back her blue hair. ‘So be it. If you’re going to kill yourself to save Scotland then so we are we.’ She fist-pumped the air. ‘For the Highlands! At least that demon hanging out upstairs with Tipsania won’t be a worry any longer.’
‘Martyrdom isn’t my idea of a good time,’ I said drily. ‘I’m not about to throw myself to the demons on Aifric Moncrieffe’s say-so. I’m certainly not going to do it to you.’
Her relief was palpable. ‘Oh. Good.’ She sat down again.
There were some muffled words from inside the water bottle. Once more I unscrewed the lid. ‘Say that again, Bob.’
‘I said,’ he called upwards, ‘I’ve known some great martyrs in my time. It won’t be that bad. I’ll make sure there’s a statue built of you all. Something with a fountain. It’ll be pretty. We could even make it pink.’
‘Gee, thanks Bob,’ Brochan said sarcastically. ‘Except you’re one of us so you’ll need to martyr yourself too and become a piece of pink stone. And get out of that stupid bottle.’
Bob wrinkled his nose. ‘Not until Uh Integrity apologises.’ He paused. ‘Am I really one of you?’
‘Yes,’ I told him. ‘As I keep telling you. But I have nothing to apologise for.’
He got to his feet and began railing. ‘You put me in a bottle! I am not the genie in the bottle! I am the genie in the scimitar!’
‘Christina Aguilera would like you if you were a genie in a bottle,’ Lexie pointed out.
Bob’s brow furrowed. ‘She is kind of cute.’ Then his expression cleared. ‘But no. Apologise or I’m staying right here.’
I shrugged. ‘Stay there then.’
Before he could launch into yet another tirade, Taylor interrupted. ‘So you’re telling me that you’re going to let Byron be tortured or executed or whatever by the Fomori demons and you’re going to let the threat of more attacks hang over everyone’s heads?’
‘Don’t be silly.’ I forced a grin. ‘I’m going to come up with a fabulous fool-proof plan to save Byron and protect the Highlands.’
‘Ah.’ He scratched his chin and leaned over to Speck. ‘I’ll give you good odds that by this time tomorrow we’ll all be dead.’
***
I started with Perth because it was the closest city of any reasonable size. If I’d had more time, I’d probably have tried elsewhere but I was painfully aware that, as far as Byron was concerned, time could mean vital organs. And that was before I started worrying about what was happening in the rest of the country.
Speck parked the car as close to the city centre as he could and we all piled out. Lexie threw me a baseball cap. ‘To hide your hair,’ she explained as I caught it. ‘So no one knows it’s you.’
I tossed it back to her. ‘I think the time for worrying about staying incognito is gone.’ I didn’t feel good about what I was going to attempt but it was the best I could come up with at short notice. ‘It’s probably wise to not let anyone see the Foinse though.’
Taylor held up the drawstring bag containing the magical sphere. It thrummed happily and golden light leaked round the edges of the cotton. It didn’t look natural; if anyone happened to see it, they’d wonder if we were hoisting around a lump of radioactive plutonium. ‘Is this going to make a difference?’ he asked dubiously.
‘I have no idea but having it with us can’t do any harm. If we’re lucky, it’ll help me steal just that little bit more without damaging anyone too much in the process.’
‘They’re only Sidhe,’ Speck grumbled. ‘Steal away.’
I grimaced. My feelings on that matter were complicated. I’d just have to be careful, that was all.
I’d been slightly nervous that, despite the time of day, there wouldn’t be any Sidhe around but I shouldn’t have worried; apparently the terrible events up in Aberdeen had brought the locals out in force. Unfortunately, far too many of them were using the opportunity to make a big deal out of their status, stopping people in the streets. Both ends of the pedestrianised precincts had been closed off and there were burly Moncrieffe, Polwarth and Calder Sidhe bullying passers-by and interrogating them about their purpose. When one little old lady, who appeared Clan-less, refused to show any identification, one of the Calders conjured up a black cloud that enveloped her entire body. The Clan-less, whether they were little old ladies or not, were made of strong stuff but even so I could hear her screams from inside it and my blood curdled.
‘What Gift is that?’ Speck asked.
‘Buggered if I know. It might come in handy, though.’ I concentrated hard, focusing on the Sidhe and telling myself I wanted the Gift because it could help with concealment. I had to fight with my own subconscious; I didn’t want to make anyone scream like that. My stomach flipped and I staggered. It had worked. I could already feel the magic flowing through me.
The Calder Sidhe let out a strangled yell and his own cloud dissipated. He clutched at his chest. His companions seemed to think this was the old lady’s doing and prepared to advance.
‘I’ve got this,’ Brochan said.
He strode forward, reached into the cloud and yanked the woman out. She fell backwards with him. She was scratching all over and her eyes were wild, writhing white in their sockets. Even Brochan seemed to be affected and he started rubbing at his arm where it had connected with the cloud. His movements grew more and vigorous and there was a strange keening moan deep inside his chest. He jerked and twitched, then he began remonstrating loudly. The Polwarth Sidhe seemed to take umbrage at his interference and flicked his fingers. Whatever he’d just done, it wasn’t good for us. Brochan’s voice faltered and he began to choke.
‘Tegs,’ Taylor warned.
I grimaced. ‘I’m trying.’ It wasn’t working. No matter how hard I concentrated, I couldn’t make myself believe that I wanted any part of that Darth Vader-like Gift. Fortunately, another Moncrieffe Sidhe showed up, placed a hand on the Polwarth’s arm and forced him to quit. Brochan gasped, apparently released from the spell.
‘I know that guy,’ Speck said.
I glanced up. It was Byron’s buddy, Jamie. Shite. I didn’t want to let him see me ‒ it would just mean conversations and delays. ‘Let’s try a different street,’ I suggested.
We moved away from the main thoroughfare. Brochan rejoined us soon after. ‘Are you alright?’ I asked.
He grunted in assent. We all pretended not to notice the red marks round his throat.
A female Sidhe, who could have been from the Jardine Clan judging from the colours she was displaying, stepped off the pavement and began to cross the street. ‘Lexie,’ I said, ‘you’re up.’
She grinned and nodded, peeling away from our group. As soon as she got close to the Sidhe, she started shouting. ‘Are there more demons? Are you going to protect us?’
The Sidhe woman looked horrified. She obviously hadn’t expected to be accosted on the street. ‘We are doing our best,’ she said in clipped tones and tried to move away.
Lexie wasn’t about to let her prey go. ‘Do you have a Gift? If a Fomori demon showed up right now, could you use it to help us?’
The woman tapped her foot. ‘There are no demons in the vicinity.’
‘How can you tell?’ Lexie clutched at her arm. ‘They could be on their way. An entire army. They’ll rip out our entrails and use our intestines as washing lines. They’ll chop off our fingers and toes and throw them to their children to play with. They’ll...’
‘My Gift is far-sensing,’ the woman snapped. ‘I can tell there are no demons anywhere near here because I can sense what’s coming from up to two miles away.’
‘Have you tried recently? When was the last time you used it? Because two miles isn’t far,
you know. All they have to do is teleport and...’
‘Oh for goodness’ sake! Stop babbling. I’ll try now.’ Her eyes rolled up into her head. I stretched out my senses. This time, I caught a snag of her power in the air. The trail of magic led me right to her Gift and it was a simple matter then to pull at the strands and draw some of it into myself.
The woman gasped.
‘What?’ Lexie demanded. ‘Are they coming?’
She passed a hand across her forehead. ‘No. I just felt a bit light-headed.’
‘You should see a doctor about that.’ Lexie beamed and danced away, leaving the Sidhe woman frowning after her.
‘That’ll be handy,’ Taylor said.
I nodded. ‘Definitely. Two miles isn’t far but I can make good use of it. Maybe I can use it to locate Byron.’
‘We should try down by the river,’ Speck threw in. ‘We might get a catch there as well.’
‘Good idea.’ I turned on my heel, forgetting how taxing stealing Gifts was. My head swam and I felt my knees wobble.
Brochan grabbed me. ‘Are you alright?’
I squeezed my eyes shut until the moment passed. ‘I’m fine.’
He and Taylor exchanged looks. ‘You have to be careful, Tegs. You’ve never stolen more than one Gift at a time.’
‘I told you, I’m fine.’
‘If you pass out for days as a result of all this, your Byron is going to be pretty much screwed,’ Speck said.
I couldn’t argue with that. ‘Just one more then. Something I can really use.’
A dark shape pushed off from the wall by the far side of the street. ‘I can help.’
We all jumped. How on earth had someone managed to follow us and stay hidden? We were normally better than that. I squinted. ‘Who are you?’
The figure bowed and swept off his hat. ‘You don’t remember me?’
‘Fergus,’ I breathed. ‘The Bauchan.’
He smirked. ‘At your service. It’s good to see you again, Integrity Adair.’
‘Yep. I’m kind of busy though. Maybe—’
‘I looked you up,’ he interrupted. ‘After our last encounter. You had me ... intrigued.’
Damn. As much fun as that had been, this wasn’t the time for more fake orgasms. If there ever was a time.
‘You’re an interesting person,’ he continued. ‘And now I’ve just seen a little more, I’m even more interested.’
‘Mate, you need to back off,’ said Speck.
‘I told you,’ Fergus said casually, ‘I can help.’ He kept his eyes trained on me. ‘You can take their Gifts, can’t you? That’s what you just did.’
‘I have no idea what you mean.’
‘Please. You said you were busy. Let’s not play games.’
I watched him. He had an easy smile and the manner of a con artist. I liked him. ‘Go on then.’
‘I make it my business to know the people in my town. Knowledge is power, after all. Tell me what kind of Gift you’d like, and I’ll tell you if there’s anyone in Perth who has it.’
‘Tegs, this isn’t a good idea.’
‘It’s alright,’ I murmured to Speck. I raised my voice. ‘What would you get out of such an arrangement?’
His eyes gleamed. He knew he had me. ‘Bad times are coming,’ he drawled. ‘It’s going to be survival of the fittest.’ He winked. ‘Or at least the smartest.’
I snorted. ‘Or the most underhanded.’
He didn’t take offence. ‘Call it what you will.’ His mouth crooked up. ‘I want sanctuary with the Adair Clan. Not right this minute, you understand, but if and when the tide turns and there are more attacks. If there’s war, well, you have magical borders. I don’t.’
‘You’re not a very optimistic fellow, are you?’ I gestured agreement. ‘Fine. Lead me to a Sidhe with the Gift of my choosing and I will grant you sanctuary on my land.’
‘Me and my friends.’
‘You and your friends.’
‘Tegs!’ Taylor hissed. ‘You don’t know how many ‘friends’ he’s talking about.’
I leaned back and lowered my voice. ‘Are we really going to deny anyone safety if they need it?’
Speck coughed. ‘I don’t want to break up the party but I’m not sure the Adair Lands are the safest place.’
I placed my finger on my lips. ‘Hush.’ I went to Fergus and held out my hand. ‘You have my word.’
He grinned and shook to seal the deal. ‘What manner of magic would you like?’
I bit my lip. If I were anyone else, I’d ask for something powerful and violent but I was me. I thought of all those visions I kept having of Byron being tortured, not to mention the suffering happening up in Aberdeen. I knew exactly what I wanted. ‘Healing,’ I said finally. ‘Lead me to someone who has the Gift of healing.’
Fergus snapped his fingers. ‘I have just the person.’
***
Even though it was broad daylight, I was dubious about where Fergus was taking us. He veered away from the main streets almost immediately and strode down a small cobbled alleyway. At least he was setting a good pace. I couldn’t stop repeatedly checking my watch; the more time that passed, the more danger Byron was in.
The alley might have been small and cramped but it was remarkably clean and well-maintained. Here and there, planting boxes hung off the walls. They contained little more than soil – it was far too early in the year for any spring blooms to be emerging – but I spotted some snowdrops stretching up their heads.
‘I don’t like this,’ Taylor muttered. ‘We don’t know where we’re going. We don’t know what to expect.’
I understood his worries. Back in my thieving days, we never engaged in a heist without thorough planning and preparation. More and more these days we were flying by the seat of our pants, jumping into precarious situations without looking for an exit route. But then again, we’d never had this level of danger and imminent death to worry about before.
‘Chill, old man,’ Fergus said. ‘She’s my ticket out of here. I’m not going to jeopardise it.’
I pondered his words as we twisted right and moved further and further away from the crowds at the town centre. ‘What do you know that we don’t? Why are you so sure there are going to be more attacks?’
Fergus swung his head towards me, a curious look in his eyes. ‘It’s obvious, isn’t it? They’ve not bothered us for centuries and now the demons are popping up all over the place. They’re planning something. Whatever it is, you can bet it’s not going to be good for the people of Scotland.’ He sniffed. ‘What I should say is it’s not going to be good for the Clan-less people of Scotland. The Sidhe will hide behind their magical borders with their underlings to serve them. They’ll be alright. It’ll be everyone else who suffers.’
Brochan placed a heavy hand on my shoulder and squeezed. He knew exactly what I was thinking. If Aifric was right and my death would put a stop to the Fomorian attacks, then countless thousands could be saved. The stupid prophecy, which was the new bane of my life, would be fulfilled.
I wasn’t particularly afraid of death; after all, I’d been brought up in the knowledge that my entire Clan was made up of corpses. But I wasn’t going to run and embrace it until I had all the information. And I wasn’t a lone wolf; my pack needed me if they were going to survive.
Fergus stopped in front of a brick wall. He turned and grinned. His expression was open but I felt my stomach tighten; there was no way out of here other than back the way we’d come. If there was going to be an ambush, this was the perfect spot. The others tensed as well but the Bauchan only laughed at our expressions.
‘I hope none of you are afraid of heights,’ he said. ‘Because now we go up.’ He pointed at a drainpipe that led up the building on the left-hand side, reaching up to the roof about five storeys above us.
Speck stuck his hand in the air and waved it around. ‘Me. I’m afraid of heights.’
Brochan gazed at him askance. ‘You’ll brave the mad blue-hair
ed pixie’s wrath but you’re afraid of that? It’s not a skyscraper. We’ve been up far higher.’
Speck bared his teeth. ‘When we planned it out and we had appropriate safety equipment.’ He paused. ‘Fancy a dip in the ocean after this, Bro?’
The merman’s eyes narrowed but he refrained from making any further comments.
‘Stay here and make sure no one else comes down this way,’ I told Speck.
‘If they do...?’
‘Then yell as loudly as you can.’
He nodded grimly.
Taylor rubbed his hands together. ‘It’s been a long time since I’ve done any climbing. Let me go first.’ He hoisted himself upwards. The drainpipe creaked and groaned alarmingly but it held his weight. He flashed us a quick smile and scurried up.
‘He’s pretty spry for an old geezer,’ Fergus commented.
Speck, Lexie, Brochan and I glared at him and he held up his hands as if in surrender. ‘Whoa. Sorry. It was intended as a compliment.’
‘Perhaps,’ Lexie said sweetly, ‘you should keep your comments to yourself.’ She sprang up after Taylor.
Brochan waited until she was pulling herself up over the edge of the roof before he began. I stepped back and frowned. Lexie appeared to be struggling; she was normally much more nimble. Perhaps she was just out of shape. When the top of Brochan’s head reached her foot, however, I understood. Her legs flailed around and then her foot landed on his forehead. Her hands let go of the roof’s edge and she balanced herself on one tiptoe.
Brochan cursed and snarled. ‘What the hell are you doing?’
Lexie bent down, her head swinging towards his. ‘You called me mad. Do you want to take that back?’
He scowled up at her. Taking that as a no, she pivoted on his head with all the delicacy of a ballerina and reached for the gills on the side of his neck. She stretched her fingers forward and began to tickle. Brochan’s body shuddered. ‘Do you want to take it back now?’ she enquired.
‘Fine! I’m sorry I called you mad!’
Speck applauded. Pleased with herself, Lexie leapt onto the roof, finally leaving Brochan free to continue.