Wraith(97)

This time Ghrashbreg didn’t smile. ‘I am.’

‘Receive the magic, the power and the strength which is embedded in this Stone. Receive the glory and the righteousness of the crown. Receive the strength of this land and stand firm in the state of imperial dignity. The gathering here bears witness to your coronation. Arise King Ghrashbreg, ruler of Scotland.’ The words might have been the same but his tone was considerably less dramatic this time around.

Yet again, Ghrashbreg stood up. He pointed a finger at Gabriel. ‘Die,’ he commanded. ‘By the power of the throne, I order you to die!’

Nothing happened. Gabriel smiled and made a show of feeling for his pulse. ‘Hmm. I don’t think it worked. What do you think, Saiya?’

Ghrashbreg growled and lunged for him. The other goblins stood back and watched while their Lord wrestled with Gabriel. The goblin let out a strangled curse. ‘Help me, dammit!’

I did what I could to stop the goblins but the nearest one slammed me to one side. They rushed forward, grabbing hold of Gabriel. ‘Stop and think about what you’re doing,’ he hissed at them. ‘You’re making a mistake, maybe the worst one of your lives.’

‘Shut up.’ Ghrashbreg brushed himself down and glared. ‘We probably need to take the Stone into the daylight. Being underground may be stopping it from working.’

‘Or you’re not worthy,’ Gabriel said, relaxing against his captors rather than fighting them. It made me think he still had a plan.

‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Ghrashbreg snapped, but I could see the flare of panic in his eyes. I wasn’t the only one; the goblins around us shifted and murmured.

‘He’s right,’ I chimed in. ‘The Stone of Scone isn’t recognising your authority. You’re not meant to be King.’

‘Kill both of them now,’ Ghrashbreg snarled. ‘I’ve had enough of these two to last a lifetime.’

‘Sure,’ Gabriel said easily, ‘kill us and get some peace. It won’t last long. The Prime Minister knows we’re here. If we don’t signal him in the next hour, he’s going to level the entire city to the ground. Without the Stone’s power, you can’t do a thing to stop him. Scotland is a free country and it’s going to remain so, regardless of Stirling’s fate. The only thing to decide is what happens to the goblins who dared to threaten that liberty.’

‘I said kill them!’ Ghrashbreg screamed.

Boxburn and the others raised their weapons and my heart sank. By killing us, they were consigning Stirling and all her citizens to hell. We’d stopped Ghrashbreg but we hadn’t saved the city.

‘You can’t do this,’ I began.

‘We already have,’ Boxburn said.

He swung his blade round in Ghrashbreg’s direction and cut through his neck.

The goblin Lord didn’t even have time to shriek or make the same groan that Pat had. He simply fell to the ground, blood spattering against the Stone of Scone. He lay there twitching. All I could do was stare.

The goblins exchanged looks, then the guard who had felt sorry for me at the gates to Stirling Castle cleared his throat. ‘You will remember that we helped you.’

Helped us? They’d held us captive in our own city for three years. I swallowed back the retort on my lips and gave a tight nod. One by one, they turned and stepped over the fallen bodies of Pat and Ghrashbreg before filing out.

‘I can’t believe that just happened,’ I whispered after they had gone. I reached down into the shadowy corner behind me and, using the tip of my index finger and thumb, pulled up the Stone’s shadow. I’d managed to yank it away in the nick of time.

‘Self-preservation,’ Gabriel said. He let his fingers fall through the dark shape then shook his head in amazement before dropping his hand to his side. ‘When the Stone failed, the others knew what choices they had.’ He held out his hand to me. ‘Come on. We need to get back up to the surface so I can tell Holyrood what’s happened. Stirling is safe.’

***

Boxburn and his cronies worked fast. By the time Gabriel and I reached the surface, both the Filits and the Gneiss goblins were fleeing the city, large convoys racing to get out as quickly as they could. They didn’t even pause to glance in our direction – they were hell-bent on saving themselves. I didn’t think they’d run very far. Only minutes after Gabriel’s signal, Scottish troops were piling in and replacing the goblins’ fearful frowns with brilliant smiles.

Gabriel and I limped up to the castle. Along the way, people started to emerge from their houses, staring at us with gaunt, hunger-lined faces. I saw the small boy who’d risked his life for a few tomatoes and raised my hand in greeting. Of course he didn’t recognise me. I didn’t look like a wraith.

We shambled past with weary smiles. Ripples of jubilation were already running through the city. Stirling might not know the details but it knew what was happening and there were a lot of tears. By the time we reached the castle, the cries of delight and happiness could be heard on every street.

Less than an hour after Ghrashbreg breathed his last, we were standing in the main hall in the castle facing the Prime Minister. ‘Where’s the Stone of Scone’s shadow?’ he asked. ‘Once we get the Stone back to Holyrood we should reattach it.’ His face glowed. ‘Just think what that ancient power and magic can do for Scotland.’