Last Wish (Highland Magic #4)(56)

Considering her father was lying dead in front of her, she did a damned good job of dissembling. From the expression on Aifric’s face, he wasn’t buying her act, regardless of how believable she appeared. All the same, I inwardly applauded her for trying. Tipsania understood the machinations required to get what she wanted – she’d had all her life to perfect that attitude. No doubt if all this ended as Aifric wanted it to, she’d find a way to worm herself back into his good books, not because she was a bad person but because she understood what survival took. That thought scratched at me.

She marched ahead, her spine ramrod straight. She didn’t glance at me as she passed. When she reached Aifric and his goons, he patted her hand. ‘My condolences on the passing of your father.’

For the briefest moment, her eyes widened. Realising that she was on the verge of smacking the Steward in the face, I intervened. ‘You’ve got Tipsy for your son. The MacQuarries will stay here and stay quiet. I will come with you and participate in whatever bullshit farce you’ve got planned.’ My mouth flattened. ‘You win.’

Aifric examined me like I was a bug under a microscope. There was an odd light behind his eyes. ‘Not quite,’ he said eventually. ‘I’m still not convinced I know everything that you’re capable of and I want to make sure you’re not going to stray from my plan.’

‘You’ve got what you came for.’ I stepped forward, holding my hands in front of me. ‘Go ahead. Tie me up. I’ll be good, I promise.’

Aifric held up a finger. ‘I’m not sure you will be.’ He beckoned and the nearest machine-gun toting goon peeled off, striding over to stand next to me.

‘What do you call a man holding a machine gun?’ I asked. He gazed back at me impassively. ‘Sir.’ I managed a smile. ‘See? I’m not going to do anything stupid.’ I glanced at Aifric.

He smirked. ‘I know.’ He raised a second finger. This time it wasn’t pointing at me, it was pointing at Taylor.

Panic overtook me. ‘No, wait!’ I dug down into myself, drawing on all the available magic I had left preparing to use it in one go, even if I didn’t know how it would work. It was too late. The goon next to me raised his gun and brought it down on my skull just as there was a short burst of gunfire. I heard Taylor scream in agony and the world slid to black.





Chapter Thirteen


My mouth felt like sawdust. Every bone, muscle and sinew in my body was screaming out in agony and it felt like there was a duck-egg sized lump on the back of my head. I moaned and opened my eyes. Even though the light here was dim, it was still painful.

‘You’re okay,’ rumbled a gruff voice.

I winced and slowly turned round. Candy. ‘Are we at the Cru…’ realising that once I’d begun, I could barely speak.

‘No, we’re being moved somewhere.’

I sat up and everything swam until I felt like I was on the verge of passing out again. I lay down again hastily, pressing my palms against the large metal bars underneath me for balance. The room continued to sway.

‘Boat,’ I whispered. Candy grunted in affirmation. We had to be on our way to the Isle of Muck. Everything came flooding back to me in a rush of images. Taylor’s scream reverberated round my head. No. Just … no.

‘I’ve been told to tell you,’ Candy said, ‘that the old man is alive.’ His voice was flat; he was apparently repeating the words verbatim. ‘But he is wounded and requires medical attention. In order to ensure that you do as you are told, he will remain in that condition until after that wedding.’

I heaved in a breath, my fingernails curling into my hands and digging painfully into my flesh. He wasn’t dead. Taylor wasn’t dead.

Another lighter voice spoke up. ‘And if there’s even the faintest hint of a genie showing up, he will suffer more than you could ever imagine.’

I pushed myself up onto my elbows. A woman was watching me from behind another set of bars. I recognised her instantly: she was the guard I’d fooled with my Aifric Illusion. I guessed she was here to get payback. She smiled at me nastily. ‘We’re watching you twenty-four seven,’ she said. ‘Just to make sure you don’t try anything.’ She eyed me predatorily. ‘Personally, I’m hoping you do. I could do with a little fun.’ She cracked her knuckles. ‘You should be glad you’re in that cage.’

Candy scowled at her. ‘Here,’ he said, thrusting something under my chin. ‘Drink.’

Grateful for the distraction, not to mention the liquid, I gulped at the water. It was brackish and foul-tasting but it was wet. The thought that it might be poisoned crossed my mind but Aifric could have already injected me with anything he wanted. Not only was I as weak as a kitten but there was no telling how long I’d been out for. I swung my head back to Candy, a question in my eyes.

‘Two days,’ he said. ‘They gave you something to keep you under.’

I grimaced, drained the cup and forced myself up to a sitting position again. The world still wobbled around me but it was becoming more manageable.

‘Has anyone else been down here?’ I kept my eyes averted from the guard. She snorted as if amused but at least stayed quiet.

‘They swap the guards every four hours,’ Candy answered. He pursed his lips and shook his head to indicate that no one else had been to see us. Candy wasn’t stupid; he’d know I was referring to Byron.