Wraith(93)

I smirked. The general rolled his eyes. ‘Idiot. You don’t know the first thing about where real strength comes from.’ He looked back at me. ‘You have a deal.’ He gestured to several of his minions and they scurried away.

The Gneiss goblin obviously wasn’t one for small talk. Instead of asking me questions or chatting inanely, he watched me while we waited, his hands knitted loosely together. He might have been examining me for weaknesses so he could pounce when it suited him but I had the feeling I could trust him. Perhaps he was the Gneiss equivalent of Gabriel, noble and honest to a fault, or perhaps he recognised that he had very little to lose. They probably had no further use for my fellow wraith who had already indicated to me that his days were numbered. Why not hand him over?

While the goblin watched me, I watched him; two could play at this game. I only looked away when a flicker in the corner of my eye finally indicated some activity.

It was an older man, probably close to sixty years of age. He was looking worse for wear and being hauled towards us by two Gneiss goblins. His feet dragged on the ground. I might not have seen his physical form before but I’d still have recognised him. It was a wraith thing.

When the trio reached us, the two goblins released their prisoner. He collapsed in a heap at their feet. So much for the Geneva Convention. Any trace of guilt about what I was doing vanished instantly. You could tell a lot about a group of people by the way they treated their prisoners.

‘I want him alive,’ I commented. ‘Not dying. He’s no use to me if he dies half a mile from here.’

The Gneiss general raised his shoulders. ‘He’s alive at this moment.’ He kicked the wraith who let out a small groan. ‘See?’

I glared at the goblin. ‘Not helpful,’ I muttered.

‘Not my problem. Tell me where the Stone of Scone is.’

‘The dungeons.’

His brow furrowed. ‘The Tolbooth?’

‘Those aren’t the only dungeons in Stirling.’

He stared at me for a moment before his expression cleared. ‘The castle,’ he murmured. ‘There are dungeons underneath there.’

‘It fits,’ said another goblin. ‘We know the Stone’s below the surface. We always suspected the castle was the logical location.’

As if by unspoken consensus, they all turned and began marching at top speed into the encampment.

‘Hey!’ I yelled. ‘Can’t one of you give me a hand?’

Not one of them turned. I sighed, shuffled over to the half-comatose wraith and heaved him up. ‘Sorry, mate. I’m going to have drag you like they did. It won’t be for long though.’

‘What?’ he gasped.

‘Don’t try to talk. We’re on a clock here.’ I huffed and puffed as I walked. At least this guy was easier to drag than Gabriel.

‘What,’ he said again, ‘have you done? You told them…’

I smiled, passed the outer checkpoint and bundled him into the back seat of the car. I patted his shoulder and he shuddered as I touched him. I could relate to that. ‘Don’t worry,’ I said.

The Gneiss goblins had taken the bait and I hadn’t even lied to them. I’d simply implied that the Stone of Scone was hidden under the castle instead of under the Tolbooth. ‘Everything is going to plan.’

***

After driving back to where I needed to be, I left the wraith in the car. I explained what was going on and where we were. If he had any sense, he’d give himself an hour or two of breathing space to recover then he’d drive the vehicle as far away from here as possible. I still didn’t know his name but it was probably better that way. We were wraiths, not pack wolves.

Although there was every chance that the tunnel through which the others had escaped had been compromised, whether by Death Worms or the Filits, I had no choice but to use it to get back inside the city boundaries.

I found the entrance on the hillside close to the old church without too much difficulty. It wasn’t particularly well concealed – all I had to do was follow the tracks, no doubt caused by Marrock’s transportation vehicles, which scarred the ground. Slipping inside, I was surprised by how dry the tunnel was. It must have taken a Herculean effort to carve it out and I gave credit to Marrock. Wherever his soul was now, I hoped he was happy. He might have taken advantage of the siege in many unsavoury ways but, in the end, he’d proved more than worthy. I prayed that his sacrifice wasn’t in vain.

When I emerged into the old, tumbledown school, I paused to look around. Everything was the same as when we were here before. The dust lay in the same spots and the tables and chairs hadn’t been disturbed. That made me feel considerably better.

It was tempting to slide into shadow form; in theory, I’d be safer that way. The trouble was that, despite my words to Gabriel and the Prime Minister, I didn’t know how I was going to remove the shadow from the Stone of Scone. I didn’t know whether I had to be in wraith form or in physical form and I couldn’t take the risk of leaving my body somewhere when I might need it after I found the Stone.

Fortunately, when I ducked my head out of the door and saw the smoke rising from the west, next to the Gneiss encampment, I knew they’d done as I hoped. They were sending every soldier they had into the city to retrieve the Stone. All eyes, hands and death wishes would be far away from me.