by Helen Harper
I nodded. ‘You’re referring to me? I’ve been here a few times.’ I thought of the magical harp I’d used in the Games. ‘On the first occasion I did steal something but I could argue that it didn’t belong to you any more that it belonged to me. If it helps, I have stolen far more from the Sidhe than from you.’
‘We do not just refer to you.’
I considered this. I didn’t know of anyone else who’d been beyond the Veil who hadn’t been with me. Then I frowned. ‘Matthew MacBain.’ It was a long time ago now but memories were long and grudges extended beyond mere lifetimes.
The Fomori demon turned to one of his companions. They nodded and he looked back at me. ‘That was the name we were given by one of your kind who dared to come to us. He said he was a treasure hunter. We do not like hunters.’
I kept my voice calm and level. ‘What happened to him?’
‘You see where we live, Adair. We do not have sun. Very little grows without light. We struggle to feed our people.’ For a brief moment, I recognised sadness in his eyes then the mask fell again.
I considered the pixie and what she said she’d done. I was fairly certain I understood what had happened to Matthew MacBain and nausea churned in my stomach.
‘I am not condoning what happened to him or to others who thought they could come here at will,’ he continued. ‘But understand that hunger will drive even the sanest person to depths they would never previously have considered.’
I inclined my head. ‘It would be easy for me to stand here in judgment of those actions,’ I told him. ‘But I have never starved.’
‘Do you have children?’ he asked.
I shook my head.
‘Then,’ he said, ‘you cannot understand what it is like to see your baby, your flesh and blood, wither in front of your eyes and to be unable to help them. That is the reality we live with here, every single day. Understand, Adair, we are a violent people but in this land, only the strong survive.’
‘Why don’t you leave?’
His answer was simple. ‘We have nowhere else to go.’
‘The one thing Scotland has,’ I said, ‘is land. If you had come to us…’ Even as I said the words, I realised they were stupid.
The demon knew this too and he laughed harshly. ‘Do you think we haven’t done that? We tried every method possible of asking for aid. For a long time we were too proud then we were too desperate.’
My voice was quiet. ‘Tell me.’
He sighed. ‘We began with threats: help us or we will hurt you. More often than not we were beaten back by the Sidhe. Or we hurt the wrong people. You might think we are brutal but your people are brutal also.’
I knew what he meant. To the Sidhe, with their Clan Lands and magic and wealth, the rest of the country was disposable. However, from the departure of the trolls to the effect of the freed Foinse, that was changing. I knew it in my bones.
‘We tried other tacks. We appealed to your leader and, initially, he appeared amenable. He told us we could barter, that he would provide aid. He also warned us that our entire race was in great peril.’
Byron didn’t understand what was going on so I risked a glance in his direction. I gave him a reassuring smile but he remained on edge. ‘That peril was me,’ I said.
The demon nodded. ‘Your Clan. He told us he would rid us of this immediate threat if we agreed to stay away and contact only him. He was,’ he licked his lips, ‘very persuasive.’
‘Yeah.’ My jaw clenched. ‘He has that skill.’
Aifric could have done something; he could have helped them. He’d been in a position to change Scotland for the better and, because he wanted to remain the strongest leader in the land, he hadn’t. Other Sidhe wouldn’t have appreciated his actions and might have challenged him; equally, he might have been worried that uniting Scotland would make his position less meaningful and more diluted. And yet he had kept the Fomori sweet. He wanted to have them ready for his own sinister purposes.
‘We sent delegations. Your Clan killed them.’
‘Is that what he told you?’
The demon looked at me. ‘Are you suggesting he was lying? It would be in your interests to suggest that was the case.’
‘I spent most of my life believing my father was a genocidal maniac. I have no problem with believing that there were those in my Clan who were … less than noble.’ I told him about the three dead demons Byron and I had discovered. ‘You can get your Truth Teller. My story will not change.’ I pointed at Byron. ‘He will tell you the same.’
‘We do not test our friends.’
I was taken aback. ‘Am I a friend?’
He smiled toothlessly. ‘Not yet.’
I considered this and hope flared through me. We were getting somewhere, we were really getting somewhere, but there was still a great to be said. I drew in a breath. ‘What happened in Aberdeen…’
‘Ah yes. A tragedy for all concerned.’ He glanced down. ‘Our situation is dire. We went to see if there were others we could negotiate with. As soon as your kind saw us, however…’ His voice trailed off.
‘They attacked,’ I whispered. Byron himself had done so; he’d casually tossed a fireball into the back of a Fomori demon who’d pitched up in Perth. Fight first, ask questions later. We were all guilty of something.
‘Yes. We tried other methods of communication but they were misunderstood.’ He looked at me archly. ‘Including by you.’
I frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
‘We knew that sooner or later someone would come looking for, what was his name? MacBan?’
‘MacBain.’
‘Ah, yes. We left a message for anyone who came.’
I closed my eyes. Save us. It was written in blood above his bones. I’d assumed it was a message from the Fomori’s slaves but I was wrong. ‘I’m sorry.’
He shrugged a bony shoulder. ‘We should have been more explicit. We know our ancestors did your kind wrong when they first came here. They were afraid and they believed they needed to fight in order to stay. Our fathers sinned and we have been paying the price ever since. We know what you think of us; telling you the truth about our desperate situation would have invited disbelief. We were hoping for … investigation.’
‘Because that way lies the truth,’ I said.
He nodded. ‘Indeed.’
‘And the others? The ones who aren’t Fomori?’ I leaned forward. ‘You don’t even allow them names.’
‘Names have power. They are powerless.’
My eyes narrowed. ‘Yes, but—’
He held up a hand. ‘It has been a point of contention for some time. We have struggles amongst our own kind ‒ fights, violence, death. I’m sure you have noticed the scars.’
‘I’ve seen the fights. I’ve seen your arena.’
‘We have to keep the peace somehow. If we permit the others to have names, they will feel more empowered and there would be greater possibility of riot. There would be more death.’
‘It’s wrong.’
‘Maybe.’ He sighed. ‘But things were not easy for us after the Fissure. We had to do something with the people from your side who remained. It was either kill them or find a way to keep them from hurting us further. I think we chose the more humane path.’
I wasn’t convinced. ‘It will have to change.’
He seemed amused. ‘Or what?’
‘There is no alternative. I am not threatening you, I’m here to help.’
The demon’s amusement grew into laughter. ‘You? How can you help? You’re not the Sidhe leader. They’ve been trying to kill you as much as we have. We’re not stupid, Adair, for all that you believe we are savages. May has told us enough.’
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed her flinch. Actually, I didn’t think she’d told them everything. I swallowed. ‘Bob,’ I whispered.
He didn’t waste his time burrowing out from his hiding place. The demons’ jaws dropped as Bob glared at them, daring them to do something. ‘He’s
a genie,’ I said unnecessarily. ‘And I have one wish left.’
The leader recovered first. ‘It is unwise to ask a genie for anything.’ He regarded me soberly. ‘We have learnt this in the past.’
I nodded. ‘It’s true that there are always negative consequences but I’m sure we could put our heads together and think of a way to minimise the impact.’
He didn’t move. ‘What would you wish for?’
‘How about a return to your homeland, wherever that is?’
‘It is gone. It no longer exists in anything other than fairy tales.’ He continued to watch Bob warily although he addressed me. ‘Adair, we have lived here for three hundred years. This is our homeland.’
‘There is always a way.’
Bob wasn’t protesting much, which was uncharacteristic, and I didn’t think it was because he was scared of the demons.
‘You could wish for our demise. The prophecy—’
‘Oh, to hell with the damned prophecy!’ I snapped. ‘It’s worthless! It was probably made up in the first place. Even if it wasn’t, most prophecies don’t come true. Events don’t stay fixed and people take different paths. You should ignore that kind of mumbo-jumbo. There’s no future in prophecies.’
The demon’s mouth twitched. Then, almost inconceivably, he started to giggle.
Bob glanced at me. ‘These demons are even worse than I thought.’
I waited until the demon calmed down then walked to the edge of the parapet and gazed around. A lot of this place looked familiar; I could even see Arthur’s Seat from here. I massaged my neck. I probably only had enough Language magic left in me for a few more sentences so I was going to make them count.
‘I’ll prove to you that we can work together,’ I said. ‘That we can be on the same side and things can change. That, with the right circumstances, your entire society can change.’ I beckoned to them. May came over but the others were reluctant. I sighed. ‘I couldn’t throw you over the edge even if I wanted to.’
It took another moment but they got up and joined me. ‘When I steal part of a Gift,’ I said, ‘it doesn’t last for long. Eventually it runs out. When I steal all of a Gift, however, it’s mine forever. And this,’ I took a deep breath, ‘is a Gift I’ll have until I die.’ I flicked out my hands, using everything that Morna had taught me. I really hoped this was going to work ‒ with the dim light, it was possible there wouldn’t be much of an impact. Work, I prayed. Bloody work. And then it did.
It started at the edges, down at the base of the castle. At first it was difficult to tell what it was but the demons had better eyesight than me in this dark land. They gasped. Byron stood beside me, placing an arm round my shoulder and sliding out Bob’s letter opener from his sporran. He passed it to me and I carefully tucked it away. He didn’t say anything; it was enough to know that he was beside me.
I continued my work as if I were merely rolling out a carpet. Grass unfurled, followed by flowers. I cast my power out towards Arthur’s Seat. Screams reached my ears even from that far point as the people there were terrified by what was happening all around them. I didn’t stop, though. My heart was racing, hammering out a beat against my ribcage and it was painful to breathe. To the east, I produced wheat; to the west, it was barley. I was hardly aware of the demons staggering as the scent of fresh, plant life rose into the air.
Then there was a loud crash and I stumbled.
A demon raced in from inside the castle. ‘The Sidhe!’ he yelled. ‘They’re here! They’re attacking!’
The Fomori leader snapped his eyes to me. ‘Bitch! You did this to distract us! You…’ his words fell away as the last of the Language magic left me and Fomorian became incomprehensible once more. Another four demons burst through the door, each one dragging a captive: Lexie, Speck, Brochan and Taylor.
Bob shrieked and disappeared in a flash of light and I stared in dismay while all hell broke loose.
Chapter Twenty
Almost immediately we were rounded up and backed against the wall. Three Fomori stood in front of us, ready to cut our throats at the first command. Their weapons were unnecessary; I could see what magic swirled inside them and it made my veins run ice cold. ‘Listen,’ I began. ‘We…’
The Fomori leader spun towards me with such force that I stopped. He barked something, no doubt along the lines of shut the hell up, then he turned to the messenger and spat out a question.
‘This is no good,’ I muttered. I had to understand what was going on.
I looked at the English-speaking Fomori. His brow was creased in a worried frown and he was poised for action. I hissed softly and then, as delicately as I could, reached out for his Language Gift once more. I tried to think of myself as a sneak thief and hoped he wouldn’t notice what I was doing. Unfortunately, he was now so aware of my abilities that he sensed my magic grab almost instantly. His eyes narrowed and snapped towards me – but instead of a vengeful return attack he gave me a grim nod. Maybe, despite appearances, he was coming round to my side.
The messenger was explaining what had happened. ‘We were unprepared,’ he babbled. ‘They didn’t pass through the border, they came from the coast in boats and passed through the Veil there.’
Shite. I turned to Taylor and the others. ‘How did you get here?’ I asked urgently.
Lexie glared, tossing her blue hair. ‘If you’re pissed off that we’re here, you should have told us what you were doing.’
‘Lex!’
‘By sea,’ Brochan replied. ‘We anchored in the middle of some dark, gloopy river and walked the rest of the way. That’s why it took us so long to get here.’
The Clyde. Crapadoodle. ‘The entire ship passed through the Veil?’
His mouth flattened and his gills twitched. ‘It was not my idea. Nor was it fun.’
I stared at them all. This was important. ‘Were you followed?’
For a moment no one answered. I repeated my question. ‘Were you followed?’
Eventually, Speck nodded. ‘Yes. But it’s okay. We have a plan. We wanted them to come here.’
‘You have a plan?’ I shrieked. ‘What kind of plan is going to resolve this?’ Shite, shite and damn Aifric to shite. This was my fault: the Sidhe were here because I was. Aifric was worried about what I was up to. I curled my fingers into fists. Well, he should be worried.
‘Where are they?’ the Fomori leader asked the messenger.
‘On the fringes of the city but they’re moving in.’
‘How many?’
Even in this dim light, I saw the messenger blanch. ‘Thousands. It’s as if every Sidhe in Scotland is here.’
He was probably right; apart from the MacQuarries, they’d all been gathered in one place. It would have been simple for Aifric to order all of them to arms. I shook my head. All my plots and plans were going to unravel and if it came to a direct confrontation between the Sidhe and all the Fomori ... a sickening chasm opened up in my chest. I wondered if the Fomori’s version of the prophecy – that I was going to destroy Alba – was about to come true.
Suddenly there was a mammoth roaring noise and the sky lit up with an orange hue. Byron lunged, throwing himself on top of me. I was knocked to the ground, disbelief and shock rippling through me. A heartbeat later, the castle was rocked. There were screams, followed by the sound of stones breaking off and falling far below.
‘Pyrokinesis,’ he said in my ear. ‘The Sidhe are attacking.’
I pulled away from him, searching desperately for the Fomori. They’d been knocked off their feet by the impact but they were still conscious. The three who’d been in front of us, holding us in our place, scrambled towards their leader without thinking.
Fergus, a trickle of blood leaking from his forehead, pulled himself to his feet and wiped it away. ‘It’s a warning shot,’ he said calmly. ‘Or there would have been more. The Steward is sending a message.’ He looked at May and said the same to her in Gaelic.
‘Tegs,’ Taylor whispered. ‘We were ca
ught as we came looking for you but we’d already found something else.’
I frowned at him, not sure what he meant. He unzipped his jacket a little and a faint golden glow appeared before he hastily zipped it up again. I gasped then clamped my hand over my mouth to muffle the sound. ‘How did you know?’
‘Know what?’
‘That I needed the Draoidheachd?’
He turned his head to Speck. ‘Told you that’s what it was,’ he said smugly. ‘You owe me fifty quid.’
‘Keep it hidden,’ I told him. I looked at Byron, a question in my eyes.
He nodded, pointing to the bag by Fergus’s feet. ‘It’s there.’
I drew in a shaky breath. Good. That was very good.
‘May,’ Fergus said. ‘She knows we have it as well.’
I stiffened, glancing in her direction. After explaining the warning shot theory to the others, she was watching us, an intelligent gleam in her eyes. The tiniest smile crossed her lips and she turned away. ‘She’s not going to say anything. She knows what might be about to happen.’
Taylor frowned. ‘Why would she say something? And what’s about to happen?’
We had a lot of catching up to do but there wasn’t time – the three Fomori had returned.
‘Get up!’
We all got awkwardly to our feet.
‘We should execute them now!’ one of the others said.
My mouth was dry. The English-speaking Fomori murmured something into the boss-man’s ear. He nodded. ‘We can do that later. We can do that any time. But we might need them first.’ He turned to the messenger. ‘Get everyone in the city to safe ground. Not here – this will be the first point of attack. Get them to Arthur’s Seat and tell them to be ready.’
The messenger didn’t ask what they should be ready for. He bowed, whirled round and fled.
The air around us sizzled. At first, I thought it was simply from the tension but then, without further warning, an Ochterlony Sidhe flashed into existence right next to us. We barrelled towards him to stop him doing anything dangerous. He held up bare palms, however, and cleared his throat. ‘I’m here to parley.’
