Wraith(76)

I hadn’t expected Isabella to flap her hands and run around squawking but her calm appraisal of the scene, not to mention her ability to sniff out the truth of the matter, impressed me. In an odd way, she reminded me of Marrock. Perhaps a brisk, impersonal manner was a natural by-product of dealing with the goblins on a day-to-day basis.

‘What do you mean?’ she enquired. ‘What are the goblins up to?’ She tilted her head up towards me, her expression studiously bland, while Tilly examined Gabriel’s mouth and the twins just stared.

I didn’t waste time debating what to tell her – there wasn’t time. ‘The Stone of Scone,’ I said. ‘The version in Holyrood is fake. The goblins are seeking the real one and they think it’s here in Stirling. If they find it…’

Isabella stood up in one smooth movement. ‘I understand,’ she sniffed. I must have looked surprised because she rolled her eyes. ‘I had a tutor who was convinced that the Stone was a fake. He was very verbose about the matter. The story is too far-fetched not to be true.’ She put her hands on her hips. ‘Do you know where the real stone is? Gabriel de Florinville is an important person but the Stone is more important. My father might think he can do business with the Filits under any circumstances but, if they gain the power bound into the Stone of Scone, nowhere in Scotland will be safe from their stranglehold. The privations suffered by one city under goblin rule are bad enough. I don’t want to imagine what would happen if that spread across the whole country.’

I worked hard not to snort. I knew very well that the privations Isabella and her friends had suffered were nothing compared to the rest of us. She didn’t know the meaning of the word hungry. ‘Locating the Stone is our priority,’ I said. I didn’t bother elaborating; I didn’t need to.

Isabella stared at me for a moment. ‘Fine.’ She inclined her head imperiously.

The twins gasped. ‘We’re not seriously going to help her, are we?’ Twin One exclaimed. ‘If the goblins find out we’ve been working against them, they might revoke our privileges!’

We ignored her. ‘If I help you retrieve the Stone before the goblins get it,’ Isabella said, ‘I want the Prime Minister to know what we did.’ She pointed at Gabriel. ‘And if he makes it out of here alive, I want him to know. If the Filits are dispersed, some people might accuse my family of being collaborators. I can’t have that.’

Playing both sides in this manner was a dangerous game but I had the feeling that Isabella Markbury knew the odds and had already considered every possible outcome. She was making her own interests clear and her self-serving motives made her a damn sight easier to understand and trust.

‘That’s not a problem,’ I said aloud.

‘Isabella!’ Twin Two interjected.

Isabella looked at her friends. ‘Either you help or you don’t. It’s your choice.’

Tilly was already reaching down and dragging Gabriel to his feet. I darted over and helped her.

‘Of course we’re going to help,’ Twin One said, rolling her eyes.

‘Yeah,’ Twin Two added. ‘We’re just saying that if we all die, it’s going to be your fault.’

‘No,’ Isabella replied calmly. ‘It’ll be her fault.’

The four of them looked at me. I shrugged. ‘I’ll take that,’ I said. I looked up at the sky again; the glow of the fire was all but dead. ‘We need to move. Now.’





Chapter Nineteen


I had to hand it to Isabella. She might be a spoilt party princess who didn’t have the faintest understanding of what life was like for the most of Stirling’s citizens but when she had a specific goal in mind, she was virtually unstoppable. This was someone who adapted quickly.

It was a testament to how seriously Gabriel took the Fior Ghal stuff that he hadn’t fallen for her charms. With a pang of pain, I recognised that they’d have made a good couple. I wondered what he’d have thought of me if fate hadn’t conspired to make me his soul mate. Was love really blind? The question was still bouncing around my head when, at Isabella’s direction, both twins pranced up to the guards at the front gate.

Twin One, whose name was Ophelia, coyly unhooked the expensive silk scarf from round her neck while her counterpart, Cordelia, flicked her hair and giggled. They caught all three guards’ attention for a moment but I could tell it wasn’t going to last. Regardless of their ample charms, the guards were too edgy to be distracted.

‘This isn’t going to work,’ I muttered.

‘Have a little faith,’ Isabella said. ‘Just be ready.’

I gave her an irritated look but it slid off her; she simply met my gaze serenely, while Ophelia and Cordelia continued to charm the goblin guards away from their post.

‘It’s real, isn’t it?’

‘Huh?’

‘That you’re his Fior Ghal. That the Fior Ghal exists.’

I shrugged. ‘I s’pose.’

She reached for my hand but I yanked away before she could touch me. The shudder that ran through me at Isabella’s light contact was horribly familiar; it was obvious that only Gabriel’s touch didn’t repel me. Her eyes narrowed. Even Tilly, on the other side of Gabriel propping him up, noticed my reaction.

‘Whatever he means to you,’ Isabella said, ‘if it comes to a choice between stopping the goblins from getting the Stone or helping him, you have to choose the Stone.’