Wraith(66)

If I glanced to my right, I could see Stirling city stretching down towards the muddy brown river. Unsurprisingly, there were few people on the streets; with night approaching, anyone sensible who didn’t possess the protection of wealth like the Markburys was already hiding inside their cold homes. My fellow citizens were probably staring at their empty cupboards and wondering where they would find enough food to feed their starving families. Even those who’d just received their weekly rations would know they had very little to stretch out until the next handouts. I sighed. Maybe this time next week things would be different.

If I looked away from the city; to the right I could see the Gneiss encampment. To my untrained eye, there were thousands of them. They’d been there for three long years but this was the first time I realised just how many of them there were. It was a miracle that they hadn't already gained access to Stirling and usurped the Filit goblins.

There was a steady stream of vehicles heading into the encampment rather than away from it. No doubt they were shoring up their reinforcements to prepare for what would happen when Ghrashbreg and the others found the Stone of Scone. Nothing would happen if I found it first.

‘It’s quite something, isn’t it?’ Gabriel murmured. ‘Remarkably beautiful. You’d think this city alone would be worth fighting for.’

You’d think it would be – but apparently it was not until kingship of the entire country was at stake. Power trumped everything these days. ‘Yeah.’ I ran a hand over my head and sighed.

The sun was lowering, its brightness diminishing; streaks of pink and red and violet skated across the sky. We were late and I had to hustle. I coughed and then looked at Gabriel. ‘Erm,’ I said, awkwardly, ‘I actually really need to…’ Pee? Powder my nose? Take a whizz? What sort of vocabulary did one use around an Envoy like him?

Fortunately, he seemed to understand without my having to spell it out. He frowned and looked at a doorway in one of the smaller buildings. ‘There might be appropriate facilities in there,’ he said.

I looked over. No one had come in or out of that doorway since we’d arrived. It would have to do. ‘I won’t be long,’ I said. Without meeting his eyes, I scuttled off, wrenching open the oak door and making sure to close it behind me. There was a small open window; it was more than big enough for my shadow to slip through.

Sprinting down the stone-flagged corridor, I spotted another door. Inside was a large room with an open fireplace and various sticks of furniture. The ornate chairs and carved wooden table were not much help to me but the large armoire in the corner was perfect and I darted over to it. It contained nothing more than a few loose leaves of yellowing paper and some old books. I squeezed inside and pulled the armoire door closed so that I was hidden if anyone entered the room. It wasn’t perfect but it would do at a pinch.

Heaving in a deep breath and absorbing the musty air into my lungs, I separated my shadow from my body. My consciousness moved into wraith mode. Sliding out from the small gap in the armoire door, I retraced my steps. This time I flitted against the wall and moved much faster than I’d been able to do with my corporeal form.

When I reached the open window, I sprang up and peeked out. Gabriel's back was turned towards me, his hands resting against the stone parapet as he watched the sun continue its slow descent. I probably had less than five minutes before he started to get suspicious and came looking for me. It wasn’t enough, but beggars couldn't be choosers. Not this beggar anyway.

Condensing my shadow shape, I pushed out of the window and hastily skittered across the small open courtyard towards the door that led down rather than up. As soon as I was inside I picked up more speed, using every ounce of energy I had to get down to the dungeon quickly. I curved round and round a spiral staircase, ignoring the flickering torches that illuminated the descent. It went against every instinct I possessed but, now that I’d made the decision to do this, I didn’t have much choice.

When I reached the bottom of the staircase I knew I was in luck: there was only one guard posted in front of the main dungeon door. The door’s iron bars attested to both its purpose and the bone-chilling details of what lay beyond. Ordinarily the goblins preferred to keep their prisoners in the Tolbooth, both for safety's sake and convenience. The layout of this building suggested that the dungeons here were too small to house every poor being who fell foul of their quixotic laws.

The Filit guard had broad shoulders and scarred skin and he was probably fearless in carrying out his duties – but he had to see me to stop me. It was far easier to slide past one powerhouse than to sidle past several pairs of eyes belonging to weaker goblins.

I stood motionless until the guard blinked. With impeccable timing, I threw myself up to the ceiling, using the shadows there to hide, then I scampered along like a gigantic spider. When I passed above the guard’s head he didn't even flinch. After that it was easy to squeeze my shadow through the iron bars towards the cells.

There were only six of them and they were in an even worse condition than the Tolbooth was before the Gneiss goblins blasted it to smithereens. Slime dripped from the walls and the damp air would have made even the healthiest set of lungs cough. I peered into the first cell, my gaze sweeping its corners before I moved on to the second one. Bingo.

It was clear that the Filits were taking no chances. There wasn't one ring of salt around my new wraith buddy, there were three concentric circles trapping him inside. That was my fault; by escaping from Gabriel's magical web, I'd made the goblins paranoid.