Last Wish (Highland Magic #4)(28)

‘Byron is planning to marry the love of your life!’ I shrieked. ‘You can’t trust him!’

‘He is very honourable.’

Good grief! ‘Candy…’

‘I am staying here.’

‘Aifric is going to drag you down to the Adair border – my border – and use you to lure Tipsania out.’

He shrugged, rolling his massive shoulders. ‘I know.’

‘What do you mean you know? Don’t you care?’

‘Is Tip safe?’

‘Yes. For now. But—’

‘Then I am staying here. You should tell her to give herself up.’

I threw my hands up in the air. ‘What is going on?’ I turned and looked again at the bars which were ostensibly holding the Wild Man here. ‘You could have escaped at any time,’ I whispered. ‘But you’re choosing to stay. Why?’

He opened his mouth to answer. Before he could, there was a shout from Bob. ‘Someone’s coming!’

Shite. ‘Candy,’ I pleaded. ‘This is our last chance. We need to get out of here.’

He turned his head away. I balled up my fists, at a complete loss. I couldn’t force him to come. Bob zipped towards me, his arms akimbo and his expression panicked. ‘There are at least six of them. We need to get out of here! I don’t want to end up as the Steward’s slave.’

If there were so many, my Illusion ruse as Aifric had probably been discovered. Maybe the guard had bumped into him when she left or she’d realised how wrong our conversation had been. Either way, I couldn’t use that deception any more.

I reached into myself, grabbing Bob with one hand and slamming the cell door with the other. With one last baleful glance, I yanked on Tipsania’s Gift and turned both myself and Bob invisible. I heard Candy gasp but there was little I could do about him now. The posse of Moncrieffe guards was already here.

They ran down the corridor, their boots hammering on the hard floor. I pressed against the wall, hoping that Candy wasn’t about to give me up. The guards stared into his cell as I sidled past and jogged away, keeping my steps as light as I could.

‘What’s going on?’ I heard one of them demand. ‘Has anyone been here?’

‘I’ve been sleeping,’ Candy said, his voice coloured with confusion. I exhaled the air I’d been holding in my lungs. He hadn’t completely gone over to the dark side then and he was covering for me. I spun away, twisting back to the staircase, my thoughts racing and tripping over each other as I flew towards the main hall. I didn’t understand what was going on and, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make sense of it. The best I could do right now was to get out of this place.

I rounded the last corner, my heart dropping into my stomach when I spotted the large figure looming in the doorway ahead. His features were in shadow but there was no mistaking that silhouette. Aifric. And he was completely blocking my path. I might be invisible but I was still solid. I came to a halt, holding my breath and trying to decide what to do next.

His legs were spread; I could barrel forward and push myself through the gap ? he might never notice. Then he shifted his weight, pulling one leg closer to the other. I wasn’t so petite that I could slide through now. I clenched my teeth. All I had to do was wait. He wouldn’t stand there forever.

Barely any time passed before I heard the booted feet pounding back up the staircase towards me. Now I was caught between the bloody guards and Aifric. None of the Gifts I’d stolen would work here. I tiptoed another few steps until I was so close to the Steward that I could feel his hot breath on my skin. My heart was hammering so loudly that I was sure he could hear it.

‘Steward!’ gasped the first Sidhe guard. ‘There’s no one there. The Wild Man is still in his cell.’

‘Did you talk to him?’ Aifric demanded. ‘Touch him? Are you sure he’s not an illusion?’

Arse. Damn Aifric for being such a canny wanker.

‘It’s him alright.’

Aifric turned and, for the first time, I saw his expression; in fact, I could almost hear the cogs turning in his head. If he wasn’t sure that I was dead, he’d know immediately that all this commotion was down to me.

‘Someone is here. Someone is playing with us and I want to know who.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘Set guards around the perimeter. No one is to get in or out unless I know about it. And release the dogs. Maybe they’ll pick up this intruder’s scent. Whoever they are, they’re going to rue the day they picked a fight with me.’

I was tempted to open my mouth and tell him that there hadn’t been any fighting and he should look to his own actions before he pinned the blame on others but I was more concerned about the mention of dogs. Neither Invisibility nor Illusion would work against the nose of a hound. And if the Cruaich border was going to be teeming with guards on the lookout for the slightest thing, I couldn’t count on escape in that direction.

‘Do we have any Farsensers on the grounds?’ Aifric asked.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Just when I’d thought things couldn’t get any worse…

‘Most of them are off scouting for the Scrymgeour lass. But I think Stephen McGillivray is a Farsenser. He’s here for the stag party.’

Aifric nodded. ‘Find him. No one rests until every inch of this place has been checked.’ He pivoted and marched away.