by Helen Harper
‘Crazy bunch of people you work with,’ Fergus murmured.
I smiled proudly. ‘Yeah.’
‘You know, your bag is glowing in the most peculiar manner.’
I twisted away, using my body to shield the drawstring bag containing the Foinse from him. ‘What of it?’ I gave him a little shove. ‘Your turn.’
Looking amused, Fergus shimmied up. As he hauled himself onto the roof, I nodded to Speck and followed. When I got to the top and looked around, I finally saw where Fergus was taking us.
‘That,’ he said with a grandiose sweep of his arm, ‘is the town residence of Ochterlony Clan.’
We stared at the high walls and impressive façade of a large, expensive-looking townhouse. Directly below us was a perfectly manicured garden, including a lawn worthy of Wimbledon, and a pretty fountain.
Fergus jerked his head at the building next to it. ‘That place houses seven families and it’s a fifth of the size. And it is used by one Sidhe Clan family who spend less than two weeks a year here.’
Taylor raised an eyebrow. ‘So it’s empty and you’ve brought us here to point out the inequalities of society?’
Fergus held up an index finger. ‘Right now, it’s very much occupied. And I suggest we all get down before we’re seen.’
Lexie opened her mouth to speak just as the sound of a door opening reached our ears. In an instant we were flat on our bellies, peering over the parapet in a bid to keep out of sight but see what was happening.
A human woman, dressed in a French maid’s outfit, stood at the door as a Sidhe girl with bright red pigtails flew out. She couldn’t have been older than thirteen or fourteen. A small dog barrelled along at her feet.
‘Just five minutes, Nana!’ she cried. ‘I’ve been stuck inside all day and Baxter needs to run around.’
I put my head in my hands. ‘Her? Tell me you don’t mean her.’
‘Got her Gift about two months ago. She’s only the fifth person in the whole of Scotland to be currently bestowed with the power of healing.’
‘How do you know all this?’ Brochan asked.
‘I told you,’ Fergus said, ‘I pay attention to the people in my town.’ He looked at me pointedly. ‘Especially the ones who are ... interesting.’
I drew in a breath. ‘I can’t steal a child’s Gift.’
‘She’s thirteen years old,’ Taylor said. ‘Pre-Fissure she’d already have been married off and popping out more little Sidhe-lings.’
‘We’re probably related. My mother was Ochterlony. And she’s just a kid.’
‘So were you. You were younger than that when you ran away from them. That dog is being treated better than you were.’ There was considerable rancour and bitterness in his voice about what had happened to me before I’d met him.
Below us, the girl threw a ball and the dog bounded after it while she laughed.
‘You said she was the fifth,’ I appealed to Fergus. ‘Where are the others?’
‘Two are in Shetland,’ he said, referring to northernmost islands which were way out of reach. ‘One is over ninety and hasn’t left her Clan Lands in more than thirty years. I believe the other is currently hosting an emergency council meeting at the Cruaich.’
I started. ‘Aifric Moncrieffe? His Gift is healing?’ I couldn’t keep the disbelief out of my voice. I knew he possessed telekinesis like his son, but a benevolent Gift like healing seemed beyond the pale.
‘One of them. I thought you, of all people, would have known that,’ Fergus said easily.
‘God,’ Lexie whispered. ‘He killed all those people.’
Fergus looked interested and I shook my head at her to keep quiet. Fortunately she got the message – but she was right. How could someone who was Gifted with magic that had such potential for good be so damned evil? I watched the girl for a moment longer. If I could only take Aifric’s Gift instead. He wasn’t there, though; the young teenager was.
‘If you’re going to do this,’ Fergus said, ‘you need to get a move on.’
I could feel everyone watching me. I pinched the bridge of my nose. There was no telling what stealing from someone so young might do; she might recover in an instant or it might be her undoing.
‘I’ve got such little control,’ I said. ‘I could get this all wrong.’
‘Byron might be injured...’
I waved an irritated hand. ‘I know, I know.’ It just didn’t seem right.
Another figure stepped into the garden, a tall man with similar features to the girl. He watched her proudly for a second. ‘Frances, it’s time to come back in.’
‘There’s no one here! It’s perfectly safe.’
A shadow crossed his eyes. ‘We’re leaving in ten minutes. You need to make sure you’ve packed everything.’
‘We only just got here,’ she complained. ‘If the demons come, then we’ll fight them.’
The arrogance of youth. No doubt her father was thinking the same thing because he shook his head in dismay. Then, however, his facial muscles twitched ever so slightly.
A tabby kitten appeared at his feet. It batted his shoelace and meowed and the dog instantly jerked up its head. A heartbeat later, it was bounding after the ball of fluff. The kitten tumbled and ran indoors with the dog hot on its heels.
‘Did you have to do that?’ Frances shouted. Her father frowned and rubbed his head, looking rather woozy.
‘Illusion,’ Brochan murmured.
I nodded. I could already feel it flowing through my veins and tracing into my soul. It might not help Byron but that didn’t mean I couldn’t put it to good use.
I scrambled backwards. ‘Come on. I’ve got everything I need. We need to go.’
I felt a tug of regret as Frances sulked her way back inside. I hoped I hadn’t condemned Byron to death by not stealing a tiny part of her Gift. Darkness gripped at my heart while the three new strains of magic pumped round my body.
Chapter Fourteen
My plan began to coalesce as we raced back towards the Adair Lands. Despite the severity of the situation, I was imbued with sudden, buoyant hope. There were a few problems but I could iron those out. There was always a way. I lifted my chin. I could do this. As long as Byron was still alive, it would all work out.
‘You seem to have recovered your zest,’ Lexie commented.
I grinned. ‘When life gives you lemons, squeeze them in someone’s eye.’
‘You know what you’re going to do,’ Taylor said, glinting approval.
‘I do. And when all this is over, it’ll work perfectly in our favour.’ I outlined my idea.
Speck swallowed. ‘Is that really going to work?’
I bobbed my head. ‘Yep.’
‘If it does, it’ll open up lots of possibilities for learning more about what Aifric is really up to,’ Brochan said.
My smile grew. ‘Yep.’
‘It’s very dangerous,’ Taylor said.
I patted Taylor’s arm. ‘Life’s no fun without some risk.’
‘We should come with you across the Veil this time.’
‘No. It’s vital that you stay behind because you’ll need to...’ My voice trailed off as I saw what awaited us at the Adair border. ‘Crap. A. Doodle.’
There were hundreds of them. Speck rolled the car to a halt and we all gaped.
‘It’s a sea of trolls,’ Lexie breathed.
‘More like an ocean,’ Taylor said.
Speck shook his head. ‘No. It’s a bloody tsunami.’
‘Stop using sea metaphors!’ Brochan roared, loud enough to draw the attention of the nearest trolls. Their squat heads turned towards us. Like a bizarre Mexican wave, the crowd rippled until every single troll was staring right at us. Or rather, right at me.
‘Reverse!’ Lexie shrieked.
Speck crunched the gears but, in his haste, he couldn’t work the gearbox. The wheels spun and the panic inside the car grew.
‘There are too many of them!’
‘Why are they even he
re? It must be because of Sorley. Damn that ugly bastard, I’ll...’ Taylor shouted.
Before he could finish his sentence, the mass of trolls dropped down. Lexie threw me a look. ‘Was that you?’
I shook my head slowly. I pushed the handle, ignoring Speck’s yelp of warning, opened the door, and stepped out. As soon as I did, the trolls’ heads fell. Suddenly everything made sense.
I closed my eyes. I really didn’t need this.
‘Chieftain!’ Sorley’s familiar voice shouted.
I searched the crowd. He appeared from towards the back, stumbling to his feet. The trolls, still on their knees, parted awkwardly as he loped towards me.
‘What’s going on?’ I asked faintly.
He wrung his hands. ‘I wanted to warn you but you’ve been to-ing and fro-ing so much that I didn’t get the chance. They’re all here. We’re all here.’
I passed a hand across my eyes. ‘I can see that. Why, though?’
He straightened his shoulders. ‘To serve you, of course.’
I cast my gaze across them. There were so many different colours on display. Many were wearing the livery of whichever Clan they had just come from; I spotted Orrock, Kincaid, Innes, Ochterlony ... in fact, I bet if I looked hard enough I’d see the colours of every damn Clan in the Highlands.
‘Sorley, if they’re all here, who’s guarding all the borders?’
He grinned toothily. ‘Who cares? The magic is still in place. None of those stupid Sidhe have the faintest idea how to maintain the boundaries but that’s their problem now. They can do their own grunt work for once.’
‘So,’ I said, struggling to make sure I wasn’t being obtuse, ‘all the trolls have come here instead. To ... work for me?’
Sorley licked his lips. ‘We swore fealty.’
‘No,’ I said slowly, ‘you and Kirk and Lyle swore fealty. I’m pretty certain I’d have noticed if there was an army around at the time.’
‘We are one and the same. My word counts for everyone’s word.’
I stared at him. ‘You’re the trolls’ Chieftain?’
‘We don’t have a Chieftain.’ His brow furrowed even more. He seemed worried that I was displeased but I was more flabbergasted than anything. ‘We speak for each other.’
I took several deep breaths. ‘All I did was bury some of your old comrades.’
‘No,’ he said seriously, ‘you treated us as equals. We will serve you and we will serve Clan Adair however you see fit.’
I looked round. Every so often a head bobbed up and beady eyes fixed on me. As soon as our eyes met, the head jerked down again. I felt like I was trapped in some strange Salvador Dali painting or that I’d gone to sleep and woken up as Eva Peron.
I opened my mouth and tried it out. ‘Don’t cry for me, Scotlaaaaaand,’ I sang.
Sorley clamped his hands over his ears. ‘What was that? You dunderhead! Is that what passes for music in your world?’ He stopped. ‘I mean, er ... shite. Sorry, Chieftain.’
‘Not to worry. I was just testing a theory.’ I bent down to speak in his ear. ‘Could you get them to stand up? They’re kind of creeping me out like that and it can’t be very comfortable for them.’
He nodded vigorously and started waving his hands around. One by one, the trolls began to rise. Some looked embarrassed, others awed. I was pleased to note that one or two seemed sceptical; at least they hadn’t been brainwashed. I dreaded to think what five hundred Manchurian trolls would be like.
‘Sorley, you realise we don’t have enough food for ourselves? We can’t look after this many people.’
‘We’ll work it out. The old woman said she’d help.’
I frowned. ‘Which old woman?’
‘Morna Carnegie. I wouldn’t let her in without your permission and she said that there were so many of us that she felt claustrophobic. She went off for a walk.’
‘Morna Carnegie is here?’ Guilt flashed through me. She had caught my attention at the Games with her life-giving performance during the opening ceremony. She also knew exactly what I was capable of doing to Sidhe Gifts. I’d been supposed to go and see her to learn how to control myself but there was never enough time. I didn’t have much time now.
Sorley scowled. ‘Yes. She brought more haggis with her too.’ Then he pursed his lips. ‘We could always eat them.’
I breathed in. ‘Let’s wait before we skewer them, shall we?’
He reluctantly acquiesced. ‘Fine. And don’t worry, Chieftain, we know how to be discreet and unassuming. You’ll barely even notice we trolls are here at all.’
Considering how many of them there were, I very much doubted that. ‘Tell you what,’ I said, ‘let everyone through the border for now. We’ll worry about later, well, later.’
Sorley beamed. ‘Yes, Chieftain.’
I turned and waved to the others in the car to reassure them. Their faces were pressed up against the windows, their eyes wide and their mouths open. Even Brochan looked like a fish. ‘Tell that lot to get themselves inside as well.’ I checked my watch. ‘I don’t have long.’
‘Yes, Chieftain.’
I began to stride away. ‘I’m going to search for Morna,’ I shouted. I spotted a haggis a few hundred feet away. It seemed like a good place to pick up the older woman’s trail. I hoped she wasn’t bringing more problems. If she fell to her knees and swore fealty, I might drop everything and find the nearest boat heading for Timbuktu. Enough really was enough.
***
I found Morna about a mile away. She was bending over, carefully examining a tiny patch of grass on this side of the border. I couldn’t see what was so interesting about it but, hey, I wasn’t exactly green-fingered like she was.
She didn’t bother to look up as I approached. ‘So you’re finally back.’
‘Hello, Morna. It’s so lovely to see you again.’
‘Why haven’t you answered any of my summons?’
I blinked. ‘What summons?’
She hissed in frustration. ‘I’ve sent at least twenty! What’s wrong with you, girl?’
‘I didn’t receive anything.’ A haggis squeaked at Morna’s feet. Suddenly I understood. ‘Oh. You mean them. You sent them.’ No wonder so many of them kept appearing.
‘Obviously. I thought you’d understand that you should stop playing house and come and see me. You’re not as smart as I gave you credit for.’ Despite her words, her tone was mild. She brushed her fingers against the ground. As I watched, a cluster of tiny snowdrops burst up from beneath the soil. Wow.
Morna grunted, wiped her hands and stood up straight. When she looked directly at me, her mouth twitched. ‘Ah.’
‘Ah what?’
‘You’ve been practising. I can see the magic in you.’
‘Really?’
‘I’ve been doing a little practising of my own,’ she told me. ‘When there’s someone running around with powers as dangerous as yours, it seemed appropriate to put my knitting to one side for at least a short spell.’
I couldn’t tell whether she was making a joke or being deadly serious. ‘Look,’ I said awkwardly, ‘it’s very kind of you to come. But I can’t stick around here. Byron Moncrieffe has been—’
‘Taken prisoner by the Fomori.’
I drew back. ‘How did you know?’
‘I pay attention.’
I watched her for a moment. I should introduce her to Fergus. ‘Well,’ I said with a shrug, ‘I’m going to rescue him. So I really can’t hang about.’
‘I wouldn’t worry about him,’ she said dismissively. ‘There are plenty of Moncrieffes. Besides, I had the impression that he didn’t want anything to do with you.’
‘That was last month.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘You might be able to draw Gifts inside you more effectively but can you stop yourself from taking them? Do you have the self-control to deny yourself something that you want?’
I thought of Tipsania and the way I’d had to run off to avoid stealing all of her invisibil
ity. ‘I’m working on it,’ I said stiffly.
‘Then you have to realise you’re putting others in incredible danger.’
I cocked my head. ‘Moi?’ I clasped my heart dramatically. ‘But I’m supposed to be the saviour of Scotland, not the destroyer.’
Morna sighed. ‘So you’ve finally heard the prophecy.’
‘Is it true?’
‘How the hell should I know?’ she snapped. ‘You’re the one connected to the magic and with the Foinse strapped to your back. No wonder your border feels so strong. It’s not just the trolls bolstering it – you have the source of all magic here with you.’
I’d forgotten about that. I coloured. ‘I didn’t steal it. It just ... came here of its own accord.’
She regarded me seriously. ‘Then I think you already know whether the prophecy will come true or not.’
I shivered involuntarily. ‘I didn’t ask for this.’
Her expression told me exactly what she thought of that statement. ‘Deal with it.’
I unhooked the bag from my shoulders and reached inside. The Foinse buzzed as I drew it out. Bathed in its glow, Morna’s expression was one of awe. I took advantage of her distraction. ‘Is that why you’re here?’ I asked. ‘You want to help me save the Highlands?’
The Foinse jiggled slightly then zipped up into the air in a giddy spiral. It tumbled across the border and vanished, unimpeded by the magic.
‘I’m here to stop you from hurting innocent people by stealing from them,’ Morna said when it was clear the Foinse wasn’t coming back for more aerial displays.
She was telling the truth. I thought of how closely I’d come to stealing the magical essence of a thirteen year old. Perhaps she had a point.
I ran a hand through my hair, realising just how tangled it was. Using my fingers to work through the knots, I sighed. ‘I told you. I’m going through the Veil to rescue Byron Moncrieffe.’
‘You don’t have time to dilly-dally around with love. What about the rest of the country?’
I gritted my teeth. ‘I’m working on it.’ Giving up on my hair, I dropped my hand and looked down at the ground. ‘Can you make other things grow? Not just plants?’
