Wraith(21)

‘My pocket,’ he said to his friend. ‘There should be a binding in there.’

If he bound me, I was lost. I pushed and shoved while the human fumbled. Blood roared in my ears; I could see their lips moving but I could no longer hear any words. Come on, Saiya. Do something. Then the Elf lashed out towards me with a thin strip of leather and, as it wrapped round me, I knew my time was up.

The magic bound me, making my shadow virtually inert. The worst of the pain dissipated, reducing to a dull throb, but that was little comfort. The binding was stronger than anything I’d ever felt and I knew there was no escape as long as that leather, with its deep elven magic, was wrapped around me.

The human man gaped at me ‘Is that…?’

De Florinville nodded, his eyes dark chips of ice. ‘A wraith. A shadow assassin. No prizes for guessing who is his target.’

‘Those goblin bastards!’

Idiots. I was a wraith, sure, but I was no assassin. If I were, they would both be dead already. Couldn’t they see that?

‘Not the Filits,’ de Florinville murmured, his sharp gaze still fixed on me, pinning me in place as much as the binding did. ‘Ghrashbreg was right about one thing; the Filits can’t afford for either of us to be hurt.’

‘You think the Gneiss sent this … thing?’

‘It’s certainly possible. They could blame my death on the Filits and reap the rewards from the resulting fallout. Or maybe there’s a third group we are unaware of.’

‘You should kill him now. Use the binding to strangle him.’

Make it quick. Please.

De Florinville shook his head and my heart sank. ‘No. I want to see whose shadow this is. I’ve come across wraiths before but never…’ His voice trailed off.

‘Never what?’

‘Nothing. No wraith can survive without its shadow form for less than twenty-four hours. Whoever this is, they will come here. They’ll have no choice.’ A nasty smile crossed his mouth as he addressed me. ‘Do you hear that? You’ll have to come to me. Tell me who you’re working for and I’ll let you go.’

I gathered the last of my strength and rose up. I couldn’t communicate with him while I was like this; I couldn’t tell him I wasn’t an assassin and that I was working for myself . Instead, I did the only thing I could.

I turned my head to the side, knowing it would allow my shadow to become more distinct, then I stuck out my tongue. Screw you, I imagined myself saying. Screw you, your friend, the goblins and all bloody five tiers of chocolate cake that none of you deserve.





Chapter Six


I yanked my consciousness back to my corporeal body, leaving my shadow hanging uselessly in Gabriel de Florinville’s hands. My heart was fluttering against my ribcage and nausea was pushing up through my stomach, threatening to overwhelm me. I took several shallow breaths, forcing myself not to throw up. It wouldn’t help the situation. It wouldn’t help me.

Despite my flippant, childish gesture to the Elf, I was very aware of how precarious my life had suddenly become. I could curl up into a ball and feel sorry for myself; I could spend the next twenty-four hours castigating myself for being a fool – or I could damn well do something about this situation. I wasn’t dead yet and I was a survivor. Everyone was who was still living in Stirling.

I got to my feet, walked to the bathroom and stared at my gaunt reflection in the cracked mirror. It was my imagination that I already looked as if I were wasting away; it was far too early for anything like that. Even so, I knew that time was not on my side. I would grow gradually weaker until it wouldn’t matter how hard I tried to fight back and regain my shadow; I wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing. De Florinville would always be stronger than me – but I still had plenty of tricks up my sleeve. As long as he didn’t reveal my existence to the goblins, I could finagle my way out of this. Either that or I’d die trying.

Aware that I needed as much strength and energy as I could muster – and that conserving rations when I might not be here tomorrow to enjoy them was a pointless effort – I splashed water on my face and returned to my stash. I finished off the chocolate and the rest of my goodies. This time I didn’t savour the food. I fleetingly let myself remember the glistening cake that de Florinville had used to divert me and swallowed the last mouthful of my own miserable chocolate.

I changed my clothes, divesting myself of my shadow battle-gear and pulling on a once pretty but now faded dress covered with sprigs of red flowers. Where it had once accentuated my curves and looked sexy, it now hung on me, emphasizing my boniness. The effect was one of desperate fragility but I wasn’t beyond using my natural state to manipulate either the Dark Elf or the goblins, not when my survival depended on it. The latter probably wouldn’t blink an eyelid; the former, however, might be swayed. I doubted it from what I’d seen of him so far but there was still hope. There was always hope.

I filled up a water bottle from my almost empty reserves, grabbed the first-aid kit I’d got from Marrock and stuffed them into a backpack that I swung on my shoulders. The good news was that I had some of the information that Marrock wanted; that might give me leverage to renegotiate the terms of our deal. I had to take every advantage I could get with the tips of my grubby fingers.

I headed for the door then, pausing, I swung my head round. My flat wasn’t much – not these days, anyway – but it was mine. I might never see it again. I took in the drab wallpaper and the shabby furniture shrouded in darkness from the dark sky. ‘See you,’ I said softly, hoping I was speaking the truth. A second later, I was out the door and heading down the corridor.