Last Wish (Highland Magic #4)(84)

‘I’ll prove to you that we can work together,’ I said. ‘That we can be on the same side and things can change. That, with the right circumstances, your entire society can change.’ I beckoned to them. May came over but the others were reluctant. I sighed. ‘I couldn’t throw you over the edge even if I wanted to.’

It took another moment but they got up and joined me. ‘When I steal part of a Gift,’ I said, ‘it doesn’t last for long. Eventually it runs out. When I steal all of a Gift, however, it’s mine forever. And this,’ I took a deep breath, ‘is a Gift I’ll have until I die.’ I flicked out my hands, using everything that Morna had taught me. I really hoped this was going to work ? with the dim light, it was possible there wouldn’t be much of an impact. Work, I prayed. Bloody work. And then it did.

It started at the edges, down at the base of the castle. At first it was difficult to tell what it was but the demons had better eyesight than me in this dark land. They gasped. Byron stood beside me, placing an arm round my shoulder and sliding out Bob’s letter opener from his sporran. He passed it to me and I carefully tucked it away. He didn’t say anything; it was enough to know that he was beside me.

I continued my work as if I were merely rolling out a carpet. Grass unfurled, followed by flowers. I cast my power out towards Arthur’s Seat. Screams reached my ears even from that far point as the people there were terrified by what was happening all around them. I didn’t stop, though. My heart was racing, hammering out a beat against my ribcage and it was painful to breathe. To the east, I produced wheat; to the west, it was barley. I was hardly aware of the demons staggering as the scent of fresh, plant life rose into the air.

Then there was a loud crash and I stumbled.

A demon raced in from inside the castle. ‘The Sidhe!’ he yelled. ‘They’re here! They’re attacking!’

The Fomori leader snapped his eyes to me. ‘Bitch! You did this to distract us! You…’ his words fell away as the last of the Language magic left me and Fomorian became incomprehensible once more. Another four demons burst through the door, each one dragging a captive: Lexie, Speck, Brochan and Taylor.

Bob shrieked and disappeared in a flash of light and I stared in dismay while all hell broke loose.





Chapter Twenty


Almost immediately we were rounded up and backed against the wall. Three Fomori stood in front of us, ready to cut our throats at the first command. Their weapons were unnecessary; I could see what magic swirled inside them and it made my veins run ice cold. ‘Listen,’ I began. ‘We…’

The Fomori leader spun towards me with such force that I stopped. He barked something, no doubt along the lines of shut the hell up, then he turned to the messenger and spat out a question.

‘This is no good,’ I muttered. I had to understand what was going on.

I looked at the English-speaking Fomori. His brow was creased in a worried frown and he was poised for action. I hissed softly and then, as delicately as I could, reached out for his Language Gift once more. I tried to think of myself as a sneak thief and hoped he wouldn’t notice what I was doing. Unfortunately, he was now so aware of my abilities that he sensed my magic grab almost instantly. His eyes narrowed and snapped towards me – but instead of a vengeful return attack he gave me a grim nod. Maybe, despite appearances, he was coming round to my side.

The messenger was explaining what had happened. ‘We were unprepared,’ he babbled. ‘They didn’t pass through the border, they came from the coast in boats and passed through the Veil there.’

Shite. I turned to Taylor and the others. ‘How did you get here?’ I asked urgently.

Lexie glared, tossing her blue hair. ‘If you’re pissed off that we’re here, you should have told us what you were doing.’

‘Lex!’

‘By sea,’ Brochan replied. ‘We anchored in the middle of some dark, gloopy river and walked the rest of the way. That’s why it took us so long to get here.’

The Clyde. Crapadoodle. ‘The entire ship passed through the Veil?’

His mouth flattened and his gills twitched. ‘It was not my idea. Nor was it fun.’

I stared at them all. This was important. ‘Were you followed?’

For a moment no one answered. I repeated my question. ‘Were you followed?’

Eventually, Speck nodded. ‘Yes. But it’s okay. We have a plan. We wanted them to come here.’

‘You have a plan?’ I shrieked. ‘What kind of plan is going to resolve this?’ Shite, shite and damn Aifric to shite. This was my fault: the Sidhe were here because I was. Aifric was worried about what I was up to. I curled my fingers into fists. Well, he should be worried.

‘Where are they?’ the Fomori leader asked the messenger.

‘On the fringes of the city but they’re moving in.’

‘How many?’

Even in this dim light, I saw the messenger blanch. ‘Thousands. It’s as if every Sidhe in Scotland is here.’

He was probably right; apart from the MacQuarries, they’d all been gathered in one place. It would have been simple for Aifric to order all of them to arms. I shook my head. All my plots and plans were going to unravel and if it came to a direct confrontation between the Sidhe and all the Fomori ... a sickening chasm opened up in my chest. I wondered if the Fomori’s version of the prophecy – that I was going to destroy Alba – was about to come true.