Irritated, I stood up. Considering all the effort it had taken to get here, I had very little to show for it. I tilted my head backwards and stretched my neck – and that action that made me spot the one thing that looked out of place.
The study was lit by a small chandelier, much like the other rooms I’d seen in the Cruaich. This one was as finely made as the others, with little crystal shards decorating the frame in a spiral pattern, but something darker was teetering above the glass. I pulled over the chair and, standing on it, I grabbed the edge of what felt like cold metal and brought it down so I could examine it more closely.
When I saw it, my veins ran cold. It was a tiny pewter lion on its hind legs and with its paws in the air as if ready to do battle – in fact, it was exactly the same as the tattoo I’d spotted beneath May’s battle scars when I’d fought her when I was beyond the Veil. Whatever I’d been expecting to find, it wasn’t this – because here was proof positive that Aifric was working in some way with the Fomori demons.
Chapter Thirteen
By the time I returned to the auditorium, the performances were finishing for lunch. I looked around for a friendly face. I couldn’t see any of my group but I did spot Byron in a cluster of giddy-looking girls. Clearly, he’d not lost his playboy touch. Pushing back my shoulders, I marched over.
‘It’s her!’ one of the girls gasped.
I licked my lips and looked her up and down. She blanched. Dear me. ‘Girls, if you could excuse Lord Byron for a moment…’
A dark-haired Sidhe, who was clearly the boldest of the group, stepped forward. ‘If he doesn’t want to talk to you, he doesn’t have to.’
My eyebrows flew up and I glanced at Byron. ‘You don’t want to talk to me?’ I dropped to my knees and clasped my hands. ‘But why? It’s not fair!’ My voice rose with every word until we were attracting quite an audience. ‘I want you to talk to meeeeee!’
Byron folded his arms. ‘Integrity,’ he sighed. ‘Is this really necessary?’
‘I thought you were my friend.’
‘The last thing we are is friends,’ he grunted, although his mouth twitched and I didn’t imagine the hint of smoky promise that crossed his face. ‘Ladies,’ he said with a bow, ‘perhaps you could give us a few minutes.’
They glared at me but they weren’t about to gainsay Byron. They swirled away, voices low and irritated. I held out my hand so Byron could help me up.
He didn’t move. ‘I think you can manage by yourself.’
I shrugged and stood up. ‘True.’
The people who’d been watching my little show returned to their own conversations. I grinned at Byron.
‘I was under the impression that you thought we should stay away from each other,’ he remarked.
I jabbed a finger at him. ‘Hey, you’re the one who approached me this morning. Anyway, you looked like you needed rescuing. And I wanted to congratulate you on your performance this morning. It was sensational.’
‘Is that another joke?’
‘No,’ I said honestly.
His eyes scanned my face. ‘Then thank you.’
I curtsied. ‘My pleasure.’
His expression softened and we looked at each other for a moment in silence. My stomach tightened. Crapadoodle. I had other things to focus on than the hot, zippy feeling in my groin.
‘So, Integrity,’ Byron said, finally breaking the silence. ‘What do you really want?’ There was no denying the suggestive lilt to his tone.
I pursed my lips and watched him carefully. Focus, Integrity. Focus. ‘Fomori demons.’
He blinked, taken aback. He’d obviously been expecting me to say something else. ‘What about them?’
‘Have you ever met one?’
‘Of course not.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘I think I’d know if I had,’ he answered drily. ‘What on earth has come over you?’
I pressed on. ‘What do you think of them?’
He stared at me. ‘You mean besides the fact that they’re bloodthirsty bastards who changed the face of our country forever and ruined what could have been a wonderful place? Well,’ he said sarcastically, ‘I think they’re fabulous.’
He looked puzzled and vaguely irritated. Yes, all these Sidhe were damned good actors but I didn’t think he was faking.
‘Great!’ I said sunnily. ‘Thanks!’
I turned to go but he caught my arm. ‘What was all that about?’
I caught sight of Jamie out of the corner of my eye. He was hovering in the background, looking nervous. ‘Ask your mate,’ I said flippantly. Then I wandered off.
Lexie, Speck, Brochan and Taylor were huddled in a cluster by the door, looking worried. I strolled up and looped my arm round Taylor’s broad shoulders. ‘Everything alright?’
I received four identical guilty looks. Clearly everything was not alright. ‘Did you find anything?’ Brochan asked gruffly.
I nodded. ‘Yeah.’ I lowered my voice. ‘Aifric is working with the demons.’ They stared at me in stunned silence. ‘I thought that would grab your interest.’
‘When you say demons,’ Brochan said slowly, ‘you mean…’
‘Fomori.’
‘That’s insane,’ Lexie whispered. ‘I knew the guy was a vile prick but how could he ally himself with them?’
Taylor shook his head in disbelief. ‘You’re sure?’
‘Yep.’ I told them about the little iron lion.
Speck sucked in a breath. ‘That’s nuts.’
Lexie agreed with him. ‘It doesn’t make any sense. Why would he do that?’
‘Beats me. But I’m guessing it’s to do with my dad.’
‘We’ll find out the truth,’ Taylor said, his eyes meeting mine.
‘You bet your arse we will.’ I paused. ‘That’s a metaphorical bet, by the way, not a literal one. Now tell me what the problem is.’
Lexie attempted an innocent expression. ‘What do you mean?’
‘When I walked over you all looked as if the world was ending. What gives?’
Brochan tapped his foot. ‘These Sidhe are too good.’
‘Too good?’
‘Musically,’ Speck broke in. ‘You’ve got no chance. Some Kincaid performer dropped out and one of the Blairs didn’t show up either. Unless more of them decide they’re not good enough and back out, you’re screwed.’
‘The harp…’
‘Play one note and you’ll beat everyone? There’s no way, Tegs. There was a Darroch woman who made butterflies dance.’
‘And that woman with the stupid name who’s shagging the Wild Man with the even stupider name sang so beautifully that Brochan gave her a standing ovation.’
I shot him a look. ‘Really?’
His eyes dropped. ‘She was very proficient.’
‘The point is,’ Taylor said, ‘that you need to be prepared for coming last, harp or no harp.’
‘It’s just one event,’ I reminded him. ‘And I have faith in Bob.’
They exchanged looks. ‘It might not matter,’ Speck said.
I frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
He shuffled his feet. ‘We were right to wonder about the judges,’ he said. ‘I cloned one of their phones.’
‘And?’ I asked warily
‘And the Carnegies are under orders to place you last no matter what you do.’
My spine stiffened. ‘Orders from whom?’
‘Moncrieffe,’ Speck mumbled.
A dark hole opened in my chest. ‘Byron?’
‘Aifric.’
I balled my hands into tight fists. Shite. Despite my conversation with him about how I wanted to win so I could ask for permission to join the Bull’s Clan, Aifric wasn’t taking any chances. He obviously didn’t trust me any more than I trusted him. I gritted my teeth and tried to think. ‘This could be a good thing,’ I said finally.
‘I fail to see how,’ Brochan rumbled.
‘If he’s contacting the Carnegies without disguising his tracks, he’s being
open about how he feels about me. We can use that.’
‘You have a plan?’ Lexie asked eagerly.
‘No.’ I chewed on the inside of my cheek. ‘Yes.’ I glanced at Speck. ‘How did he contact them? Was it a call?’
He shook his head. ‘Text.’
I snapped my fingers. ‘So you cloned his phone. Text the Carnegies back and say you – he has changed his mind.’
‘We can do that,’ he answered, ‘but then we’re showing our hand as much as Aifric is. Right now, he thinks that you believe him. When he discovers otherwise, things could change drastically.’ He paused. ‘As in more assassination attempts.’
‘Or,’ Lexie added darkly, ‘successes.’
‘That’s a good point,’ I said. I pressed my lips together. ‘Okay. Make that a last resort. As far as I know, the Carnegies aren’t particularly close to the Moncrieffes. All we have to do is to encourage them to ignore that order.’
‘They might not like Aifric Moncrieffe but he’s still the Steward. They won’t want to piss him off or they’ll receive the fallout themselves.’
‘Then,’ I said, ‘we’ll have to be bloody careful.’ I grinned suddenly. ‘I have just the thing.’ I looked around the room, my eyes alighting on a table laden with scones and sandwiches. ‘Watch this space.’
I strode over to it and leapt up. My heel landed smack bang in a large chocolate cake, sending ganache flying in all directions. ‘Oops,’ I said to the wide-eyed Sidhe who gaped at me from below. ‘Is that a cake or a meringue?’ I frowned. ‘No, I was right. It’s definitely cake.’ I winked. ‘I guess you have to be a real Scot to get that joke. Am ah wrang?’ I asked, deepening my accent.
‘Integrity, what on earth are you doing?’ Byron strode over, his brow furrowed.
A couple of Sidhe nudged each other. ‘Told you she was as mad as the MacQuarries,’ one of them said.
My foot slipped, inadvertently sending a gloop of chocolate towards her. It landed on her cheek and she shrieked.
‘I’m so sorry,’ I mouthed. Then I cleared my throat. It was unnecessary; I already had the attention of the whole room. ‘Ladies and gentleman,’ I shouted, in my most formal tone. ‘For those of you who don’t know, my name is Integrity Adair. I’m the only Adair left in the world because my father was a dishonourable bastard.’ There was an audible intake of breath. I silently apologised to my Clan – and my father – but I reckoned they’d understand. ‘I didn’t know him but I still represent Clan Adair and I want to prove to you all that I am honourable. I know there are rumours that I’m a thief, that I stole a necklace from Chieftain MacBain and that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. But I’m not a murderer and I no longer break the law. Instead, I’ve been saving lives by working with mountain rescue. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago two Moncrieffe Sidhe survived partly because of me. I am making amends for my past.’
I paused. Although a few people were softening towards me, most of the crowd was still against me. ‘I understand that honour is vital to our kind. I have heard the word many times in the past few days; these Games are all about honour. We seek to honour our Clans by participating. Winning is not important compared to being able to look your fellow competitors in the eye and act with the same honour that they show to you. That is why I must speak the truth.’
I took a deep breath. The three Carnegie judges had entered the room and were standing at the back. I met each of their gazes in turn as I continued. ‘Recently, there was a Carnegie ship in the dock at Oban. I spoke to one of the sailors on the ship and discovered what was on board. It wasn’t deliberate on my part; at the time I had no idea the Games even existed. But I learned information which places me at an unfair advantage and which dishonours Clan Adair. In the interests of fair play, I can do nothing but share this information with every competitor here. We live and die by honour, after all.’
There was an angry murmur from several of the watching competitors. ‘What?’ someone shouted. ‘What did you find out?’
I glanced at Byron. He was looking at me thoughtfully. Right now, however, he wasn’t my target audience – those judges were. I focused on them. ‘I discovered that a giant spider is being brought here. It can only be for these Games. This is knowledge which I gained unfairly and which I now have to share with you. I need to prove to you that Clan Adair does have honour.’ I bowed my head.
Speck, Lexie, Brochan and Taylor began to clap. Some pixies and trolls joined in, along with several humans. Applause is often infectious and soon most of the occupants of the room were acknowledging my ‘honour’. I stepped down from the table, wiped the chocolate cake off my shoe and joined my friends.
‘Nice work,’ Taylor said approvingly.
I kept my expression serious but he’d noted the gleam of satisfaction in my eye. ‘It was worth giving up that advantage to get a fair hearing from the judges,’ I said. ‘And it might make everyone feel a bit less antagonistic towards me. Goodness knows, I mentioned honour often enough.’
‘I might have clapped but I don’t really understand what’s going on,’ Lexie whispered.
Brochan leaned over to her. ‘Tegs just positioned herself as the most honourable person in the room. She gave away vital information that would have helped her win the challenge. If the harp does what Bob says it will, those judges won’t get away with giving her a low score. Integrity has made too big a deal out of being a proud Sidhe who’s brimming with uprightness. If they act maliciously, everyone will know it. And because of this little speech, everyone will pay attention.’
Speck smirked. ‘Integrity has integrity.’
I grinned. ‘Not really. But Integrity is prepared to look as if she has to manipulate the hell out of this lot.’
‘Amen,’ Taylor murmured. ‘Amen.’
*
The following day, my confidence was less obvious. As I was the last competitor to go on the stage, I was alone in the waiting room behind the wings. Alone apart from Bob, of course.
‘Uh Integrity,’ he said frowning, ‘couldn’t you have dressed up for the occasion?’
I glanced down at my outfit. ‘What do you mean? I’m wearing the Adair tartan.’ I twirled round; I’d fashioned a length of it into a skirt which I thought looked rather fetching.
‘No,’ he tutted. ‘Pink is not your colour.’
I glared at him. ‘Pink is exactly my colour. It matches my eyes.’
‘I hate to break it to you but just because your hair is white does not mean you are an albino. Your eyes are not pink.’
‘They’re violet,’ I said through gritted teeth. ‘It’s the same colour-family as pink. And this is coming from the genie who was wearing a cocktail dress and a feather boa not too long ago?’
He winked at me. ‘And don’t you wish you had my style?’
I rolled my eyes and turned to more serious matters. ‘Is this going to work?’ I asked him, hefting the harp in my arms. ‘I’ve taken you at your word and told the others that I trust you but…’
‘But?’ he shrieked. ‘But? If you trust me, then there is no but!’
‘I’m just checking. It’s not as if I know how to play a buggering harp.’
Bob puffed up his chest. ‘There are strings,’ he told me self-importantly. ‘You take your finger – any of them will do – and you pluck one string.’
‘Which string?’
‘C sharp.’
I gazed at him in panic. ‘Which one is C sharp?’
He snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of light, just as the door opened and a dark figure ushered me forward. Crapadoodle. My stomach was churning and I was certain that the piece of stale bread I’d munched on for breakfast was about to come back up again. That would make an interesting display for the audience, I thought sourly, as I walked down the long corridor.
I shook out my hair and attempted to focus. How hard could this be?
The auditorium was packed. I’d been told that usually most of the audience had dwindled away by thi
s point ‒ after all, there’s only so much musical prowess that even the most dedicated listener can take. But my performance in the tent the previous day had reversed the norm. I didn’t know whether they wanted me to fail spectacularly or they were on my side because I’d made such a point about the importance of honour. As long as I didn’t come last in this challenge, I was still in with a shot of winning the Games. I kept that thought firmly in mind as Angus MacQuarrie strode off the stage and stopped beside me.
‘How did you do?’ I asked, glad to have something else to focus on.
He grinned. ‘Better than I expected. Music isn’t really my thing.’
I grimaced. ‘It’s not mine either.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘And you’re playing the harp? Isn’t that meant to be the hardest instrument to master?’
‘I wouldn’t say that I’ve exactly mastered it,’ I said.
The official standing next to us tapped his clipboard and pointed at me. I inhaled sharply. My hands were trembling. I smoothed my palms down my thighs and shuddered. I’d never wanted to be a popstar or an actress when I was a kid; public performances weren’t my thing.
‘You’ll be fine,’ Angus said warmly. ‘Just picture the audience naked.’
‘That’s such a cliché,’ I muttered. ‘Does it work?’
‘Are you kidding? With all that flabby flesh?’ He leaned closer. ‘I know for a fact that the head judge is wearing a leopard-print thong. I saw his bum crack this morning when he bent over to pick up a piece of paper.’
I blinked. The official glowered and grabbed my arm, propelling me onto the stage. The lights were blindingly bright, making it difficult to see anything but the only thing I could think of was which one of the judges was an animal lover. I sent a grateful nod towards Angus; if nothing else, he’d taken my mind off the hundreds of pairs of assessing eyes.
There was a red spot in the middle of the stage. I walked towards it, gently put down the harp and stared at it dubiously. C sharp couldn’t be that hard to locate, could it? I thought of The Sound of Music and attempted to run through the octave in my head. Maria Von Trapp hadn’t mentioned C sharp, though. Or played the damn harp.
Honour Bound (Highland Magic Book 2) Page 16
