Wraith(27)

After what seemed like an age, particularly when I had to weave in and out of giant potholes in the road that were undoubtedly caused by Gneiss shellings, I heaved myself towards the trio of goblin guards standing in front of the gaping maw of the original castle entrance. My heart was in my mouth as I approached, willing them not to notice that I was shadowless. What happened next was truly in the lap of the gods.

The guard in the middle lifted the visor of his helmet. ‘Well, well, well,’ he drawled, in heavily accented English. ‘What do we have here?’

I flicked a nervous glance at him and his two companions, then smoothed down my dress and swallowed. ‘My name is Saiya.’ My voice was high-pitched and squeaky. ‘I’m here to see a goblin.’

‘I’m a goblin,’ he said, raising a twisted eyebrow.

I couldn’t use Boxburn’s name. At this hour he would still be in front of my block of flats, keeping an eye out for little Becky in case she reappeared. I prevaricated as best as I could. ‘He’s about this high,’ I said, raising a hand to indicate the height of ninety-nine percent of all goblins. I swept my hands downwards as I continued. ‘With a beard, a well-built body but a small…’ I blinked and dropped my hand from my crotch area, permitting myself a brief blush, while my fingers twitched at the faded lace around the hem of my dress. ‘I don’t know his real name.’

The three guards exchanged knowing glances. Without alluding to anything directly, I’d planted a seed in their minds as to my reason for being here in the middle of the night. God knows, there were enough of us down in the depths of the Stirling streets who would sell ourselves for an extra scrap of food.

‘If you don’t know his name,’ the goblin on the right said, ‘how are you going to find him?’ He looked me up and down and licked his lips. ‘I’m sure we could come to some kind of alternative arrangement.’

There was a nasal snort from the third goblin. ‘She’s a bit scrawny. You’d probably break her.’

I flinched deliberately and stepped back.

‘I like a bit more meat on my women,’ he said. ‘And a bit more fire.’

‘Have you ever actually had a woman?’

Unwilling to let their banter descend into argument, I reached for my backpack. Almost immediately, all three of them stepped forward, fell silent and glowered. I froze and stared at them, wide-eyed. ‘I have a thing,’ I said. ‘A token. He said I was to use it to get in and then meet him at the front of the guards’ quarters at midnight.’

‘Throw me the bag,’ the middle one commanded.

I did as he ordered, making a very poor effort so that the bag fell about a foot to the side instead of in his outstretched hands. I was so weak, I projected, that I couldn’t even manage to get a small throw right.

The guard rolled his eyes in disgust, scooped up my bag and ripped it open. He tossed aside the bottle of water and drew out the first-aid kit. ‘Well, well, well. What do we have here then?’ He reached for the bottle of iodine and unscrewed it, sniffing and smacking his lips as if it were a particularly fine bottle of Bordeaux. I stared at the bottle. Bloody Marrock. That was nascent iodine for drinking, not the sort I wanted, which cleaned wounds.

I wrung my hands and continued to look pathetic. ‘He gave it to me. He said…’ I licked my lips and dropped my voice to a whisper ‘… he said I’d need it.’ I banked on the guard not recognising what sort of iodine he was holding.

‘You like it rough then?’

As if. I fidgeted some more. ‘I … he … um…’

Growing bored, the guard rolled his eyes. He glanced down, obviously clocking the few precious paracetemol that Marrock had granted me. For a brief moment, a lascivious gleam crossed his expression then he looked back at me and, wonder of wonders, I noted a small flicker of sympathy. He abandoned the kit and rummaged some more, finally pulling out the token that Boxburn had given me.

‘Fine,’ he grunted. ‘But keep this closer to you for when the next person asks.’ He threw it towards me and I fumbled the catch and had to run after it as it rolled away. Panting, I clutched it to my chest and straightened up again.

The guard threw the bag towards me with enough force to make me stagger . Pain flashed through me and I let out a small gasp. De Florinville had done me more damage than I’d realised. That wasn’t good.

The guard’s two companions gave him identical sidelong looks. Gruffly, he muttered, ‘What do I want with that pathetic lot? She can keep it.’

Breathing out, I retrieved the fallen water bottle and bobbed my head. ‘Thank you, sir.’ Apparently, I’d roused his protective instincts. Thanking heaven that I’d had the foresight to put on my old dress – and worried that I was becoming almost as weak as I was pretending to be – I scurried past the trio before they changed their minds.

‘You can always come and meet us when you’re done,’ the most irritating goblin called out. ‘Sloppy seconds aren’t usually my thing but I can make an exception.’

I skittered forward, almost slipping on the dark cobbles. He let out an uproarious laugh. He could enjoy himself at my benefit as much as he wanted to; I’d already achieved what I wanted. I was in.

I didn’t look back. In case the guards decided to watch me, I veered to the left as I crossed the courtyard so it looked as if I were heading for the gloomy barracks where I’d find most of the slumbering goblins.