Wraith(79)

I kept a tight grip on Gabriel’s hand as we slipped and slid our way down. I listened for any goblins crashing down after us but, whatever Isabella and the others were doing, it appeared to be working. Time and distance stretched between us and the castle walls; much more of this and I’d start to relax.

‘How are you doing?’ I grunted, worried that Gabriel was struggling to keep up.

Annoyance flashed in his eyes. He was definitely on the mend. ‘Fine,’ he growled. Then his foot slipped and he crashed down against me.

I grabbed for a branch or a tree trunk or even a damn bramble bush to keep the pair of us in place, but it was no good. The mud underneath our feet was too slippery and the slope was too steep. Although I managed to wrap my fingers around a thorny twig, it snapped off; Gabriel and I went barrelling downhill, tumbling one after the other.

Unable to do anything else, I pulled up my knees and put my arms around my head to protect myself. I could feel my body picking up speed as rocks and jutting stones slammed into me. This had the potential to end very badly. A gigantic fir tree loomed in front of me and I knew I was still gaining too much momentum to swerve round it. I squeezed my eyes shut and tensed for the inevitable collision.

It never came. Suddenly we stopped falling. I slowly opened one eye and then the other. I was hanging in mid-air, the tip of my nose less than a foot from the tree. Gabriel, still clinging onto my hand, was next to me. His lips were moving and I could hear his murmured chant. Thank goodness for Dark Elf magic.

I stretched out a foot, carefully putting it down and testing my weight. Then I brought down the other one. When I was sure I was safe, I tugged at Gabriel. He opened his eyes and stared right into me, as if searching my soul. ‘That was close,’ I said. ‘Good job.’

His jaw clenched and he looked away. ‘Yeah,’ he said sarcastically. ‘Go me.’

I blinked. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Nothing.’

I tilted my head to the side and examined him closely. ‘Gabriel, are you pissed off with me or with yourself?’

He started to fold his arms across his chest but his foot slipped again, and he was forced to abandon the position in favour of grabbing a birch tree to avoid a repeat of our hillside tombola fun. ‘I told you to run,’ he growled.

‘Excuse me?’

‘You heard me. I told you to run. You should have run then you’d be far away from here and safe.’

‘Sure,’ I nodded. ‘Of course, in that scenario you’d be dead already.’

‘There are more important things than my life,’ he snapped. ‘You can’t put yourself at risk like that!’

‘Because there’s no contingency plan for locating the Stone?’ I asked.

A shadow crossed his face and in that moment I knew he wasn’t thinking about the Stone of Scone, he was thinking about me and my safety. I was so taken aback that I stepped backwards, momentarily forgetting where we were. Almost immediately I started sliding again and lost my balance. This time Gabriel thrust out a hand and caught me. He pulled me into his chest and wrapped one arm round my body while his other hand cupped my face and tilted it up to his.

‘I’ve only just found you,’ he whispered. ‘I didn’t really believe that you existed before now. You can’t put yourself into danger like that.’

I gazed back at him. ‘I think you’ll find that you were the one in danger. You were the one who almost died. Your tongue turned blue and you almost stopped breathing. And I had to enlist Isabella Markbury and her mates to help us get out of the castle. If another Filit goblin spots you, you’re a dead Elf.’

‘Not when I’ve you got around to protect me.’

I smiled. Gabriel dipped his head until I could feel his warm breath against my cheek. Then his expression darkened. ‘I don’t know what happened back there.’

‘You were poisoned,’ I said helpfully. ‘By Ghrashbreg’s wine.’

‘I got that part.’

‘I dragged you out of the castle. Isabella, Tilly, Ophelia and Cordelia killed the goblin guards at the gate so we could escape.’

‘I worked that part out too.’

I shrugged. ‘Then what’s the problem?’

His eyes were growing darker and more troubled by the second. ‘Ghrashbreg said he’d caught the wraith that kidnapped you. He must have been lying, though, because I definitely saw one when we were leaving.’ Uh-oh. My stomach dropped. Gabriel’s brow furrowed as he tried to remember. ‘I was pretty out of it. That poison was bloody strong – but there was definitely a wraith there, Saiya. It must still be after you. I’ll deal with the Stone. You’re not safe. You should get the hell out of here while you still can because the wraith must be after you because of me. You won’t be safe till we get to Holyrood where I can protect you properly.’

The warmth that had been spreading inside me chilled immediately. ‘I thought we’d already covered that,’ I said, in a much lighter and more humorous tone than I felt. ‘I’ve been the one protecting you.’

I had to tell him the truth. I had to tell him I was the wraith. Once that secret was out in the open, we could finally move on.

Gabriel’s expression didn’t change. ‘Wraiths are dangerous, Saiya. In fact, they’re more than dangerous – they’re evil little bastards who only care about themselves. This world would be a whole lot safer if they didn’t exist.’