Wraith(92)

I didn’t slow down until the outer blockade came into sight, with the Gneiss tents and flags fluttering in the breeze beyond it. Several Gneiss goblins sprang into the road in front of me, waving at me to stop. I bit down the temptation to run over the lot of them and did as they asked, before rolling down the window and sticking my head out. ‘I need to get past,’ I said.

‘I don’t think so, sweetheart,’ replied the nearest burly Gneiss guard whose jiggling jowls put me in mind of a swarthy, clean-shaven Santa Claus. ‘Do you know where you are?’

I cast my eyes up to the heavens, exasperated. ‘How could I not? Do I look like a complete moron?’

The guard blinked at me, clearly unused to being spoken to like that. ‘Go home,’ he said. ‘We don’t want your kind here.’

I sighed then I detached my shadow, allowing it to slip out of the car window while my body stayed behind. The guard and all of his companions yelped and jumped backwards. I shrugged at them in an exaggerated manner and returned my shadow to its original position.

Shaking myself slightly, I gave them all a cold smile. ‘I think you do want my kind here. Why don’t you go and tell someone more important than yourself that I’m here and I have important information from inside Stirling.’ I checked my watch. ‘I’ll wait for five minutes. Any longer than that and you won’t see me for dust. Your choice.’

The guards muttered to each other. I held my breath, hoping my nervousness was concealed. Those Gneiss idiots would never know how relieved I was when one of them peeled off and sprinted away.

‘Wait here,’ said the same guard, gruffly.

I rolled my eyes. What else was I going to do?

In the end, it took them four minutes and fifty-two seconds. I was motioned out of the car and escorted by a dozen Gneiss goblins beyond the checkpoint and into their encampment. There may be have been twelve of them against one of me but they kept a wary distance. Maybe I should have owned up to being a wraith before now; I rather enjoyed the space.

After a few hundred metres, they beckoned me towards a large tent. It had once been a pristine white colour but years of standing here with no protection from the gloomy Scottish weather meant it was now a dirty grey. The flap was open; was that supposed to be welcoming? I shook my head. I was being reckless by coming here but I wasn’t a complete fool.

There was a minute or two of muttered conferring then two of the guards went inside. I held my breath until a larger Gneiss goblin emerged, the medals pinned to his breast indicating that he was a superior. Now we were getting somewhere.

‘You’re a wraith.’ For an arrogant Gneiss general, his voice was remarkably reedy and high.

Managing not to pass comment, I inclined my head. ‘I am.’

He regarded me for a long moment. ‘I have never met a female of your species.’

I didn’t answer because I wasn’t sure what was I supposed to say. He watched me for a little longer and then, predictably, tried to fill the silence and take control of the situation. ‘Are you here to offer your services?’

I glanced around. Being close to so many Gneiss goblins was less intimidating than I’d expected. ‘Not exactly. I know what happens to wraiths who do that.’

His eyes narrowed. ‘What is that supposed to mean?’

I didn’t waste any further time. ‘You have one of my … brethren. Release him and I will tell you where the Stone of Scone is.’

Every goblin froze. It was like the world’s most threatening game of musical statues.

‘You know of the Stone?’

I made a show of examining my fingernails. ‘I do.’

‘And you know where it is?’

‘I do.’ I smiled. ‘I also know that the Filit goblins have discovered a clue as to its whereabouts. In fact, they’re probably close to getting their grubby mitts on it.’ I checked my watch and pursed my lips. ‘They found a scroll hidden inside an old puzzle box. I imagine that it will tell them everything they need to know.’ I was banking on the fact that the Gneiss goblins were already aware of the hunt for Ange’s little box. It lent my tale the credibility I needed.

The Gneiss general’s expression didn’t flicker but I could feel the excitement of the other goblins. ‘Why are you telling us this?’

‘It’s simple. You have one of mine and I want him back. If he’s still alive and not at death’s door, I will tell you what you need to know.’

His eyes held mine. ‘You understand what we are planning to do with the Stone if we recover it?’

I rather liked this goblin. He had an air of honesty that was conspicuously absent in Ghrashbreg. ‘I do,’ I answered. ‘But it doesn’t worry me. I’m not planning on sticking around in Scotland for long.’ And I was, after all, a wraith – a soulless creature who wouldn’t give a hoot what happened to everyone else.

The general tapped his mouth. ‘What’s to stop us forcing you to tell us where the Stone is?’

I didn’t blink. ‘Nothing. Everyone breaks under torture sooner or later.’ I leaned forward. ‘The question is, can you break me before your Filit cousins find the Stone?’

‘She’s just a girl,’ another goblin burst out. ‘It’ll take us five minutes to get her to spill everything she knows.’