Last Wish (Highland Magic #4)(81)

‘Wow.’ I shook my head in amazement. ‘So that’s what it feels like.’

‘You should have done that at the start,’ Byron chided.

I shrugged. ‘It honestly didn’t occur to me.’

‘You’re an idiot.’

I smiled at him. He smiled back.

‘Jeez!’ Bob said. ‘Get a room!’

Byron didn’t glance in his direction. ‘We have a room. You should get out.’

Bob put his hands on hips and huffed. ‘The nerve!’

‘Actually,’ I interrupted, albeit rather reluctantly, ‘we have other things to do. Where are Fergus and May?’

Byron grimaced. ‘Fergus is next door. We’ve not seen May since … well, you know.’

I nodded. She really was full of surprises. I stood up, declining Byron’s offer of help, and looked down. I might have healed my wounds but I looked the worse for wear. My clothes were covered in blood, dirt and other things it was probably wise not to examine too closely.

‘They don’t know about Bob,’ Byron said. ‘But they have been more,’ he pursed his lips, ‘hospitable than I would have expected. Your plan worked.’

I grimaced. I did almost die and we still had a long way to go before we could call this expedition a success. All the same, my optimism was coming back with considerable force.

***

We found Fergus slumped against a wall. It was the first time I’d ever seen the canny Bauchan look dejected. I knew I should probably keep my mouth shut but knowing it and doing it were different things. ‘Why do spies avoid capitalisation?’ I asked. He lifted doleful eyes to me. ‘Because they like to keep things low key.’

A muscle jerked in his cheek. Other than that, there was no sign that he’d heard me. ‘Too soon?’ I sighed. ‘You really shouldn’t be upset about May. It’s not the first time someone’s lied and it won’t be the last. Besides, did she really ever lie? I didn’t ask her why she followed me across the Veil.’

‘Well,’ Bob piped up, ‘that’s because she didn’t have a tongue so she couldn’t tell you.’

I ignored him. ‘She was doing what she thought was right. She’s probably a hero to the Fomori demons. She thought she was risking her life to spy on someone who was supposedly the greatest threat to the existence of her race. We shouldn’t be upset that she wasn’t a helpless victim, we should admire her. In her position, I might well have done the same.’ I watched him. ‘And so far everything’s turned out alright. She helped us, Fergus. She weighed up all the evidence and decided that we weren’t monsters after all. She even fell in love.’

He blinked. I smiled and knelt beside him. ‘Are you sure you’re not annoyed because she fooled you and you’re not used to that?’ His eyes narrowed but I ploughed ahead regardless. ‘Maybe,’ I told him softly, ‘you’ve met your match.’ Fergus wasn’t a fool and I could see him absorb my words.

There was a sharp knock on the door. We all stiffened and exchanged wary glances. Bob zipped over, burrowing into my collar to stay out of sight. Byron took a deep breath, walked over and opened it. As soon as he did, he was all but bowled over by a demon bustling in and shoving past him. My stomach tensed when I realised it was the furious female demon who’d been my guard down by the arena.

I put up my hands to ward her off but it was to no avail ? she wasn’t going to be stopped. She threw her thin arms around me and squeezed. ‘Thank you! Thank you! What you did for May was more than I could have asked. If you need anything, you ask for me.’

‘What is she saying?’

I translated for the others who seemed as taken aback as I was. I met Fergus’s eyes meaningfully and he nodded, getting to his feet and picking up his bag. I pulled back from the demon. ‘We would like to meet with your leaders now,’ I told her in Fomori. Probably the sooner the better. The language Gift I’d acquired was only a tiny dose and it wouldn’t last for long.

‘Yes, yes!’ she beamed and bowed, before nodding towards the door and heading out.

I looked at the others. ‘This is where it really gets serious,’ I warned.

‘All for one,’ Byron muttered.

Bob whispered into my ear. ‘Screw that. If this goes tits up, you lot are on your own.’

I just laughed.

***

There was something unsettling about the sky always being dark. Part of me expected dawn to break at some point and for the sun to illuminate everything in golden brilliance, even though I knew it wouldn’t. I itched to get back to the clean, fresh air of the Highlands. I was actually pleased when May’s friend took us outside to a parapet rather than deeper into the bowels of the castle. The darkness was claustrophobic enough without being kept inside. No wonder the Fomori demons slept on the rooftops instead of inside the old buildings which remained from the pre-Fissure days.

The same six demons from the arena faced us, seated in a row. May stood to one side and her eyes immediately sought Fergus. Without turning, I couldn’t tell what his reaction was. I cleared my throat. ‘Thank you,’ I said.

‘For what?’ asked the robed Fomori.

‘For not killing us. For listening to what I have to say. For the chance to change all our futures.’