Page 5 of Last Wish
The hooded man crossed his arms. ‘Not until I see Chieftain Adair.’ His voice was hoarse. I frowned. I recognised the accent.
‘I’ve already told you. She’s dead. We own these lands now.’
‘I don’t believe she’s dead at all,’ the man – or rather the Bauchan ? said huskily.
My eyes narrowed. Fergus might have proved knowledgeable on the few occasions we’d met in the past but that didn’t mean he should not believe I was dead. Had someone talked?
I stepped forward, inadvertently brushing against one of the trolls. He flinched, a movement so brief that I barely caught it.
Irritatingly, Fergus noticed it too. ‘Chieftain Adair!’ he called out. ‘How good of you to come and greet me!’
Sorley spun round, searching for me. ‘You’re seeing things,’ he growled. ‘Because unless Integrity Adair’s ghost is haunting these parts, she’s not here.’
‘It’s alright, Sorley,’ I said softly.
He stiffened, rage at his security measures being discounted lighting up his eyes. He took his job very seriously. I skirted through the trolls until I was by his side. ‘I know this guy,’ I told him in a half whisper. ‘He’s helped us out before and—’
‘And you made me a promise,’ Fergus said. ‘Tell me, did you steal Invisibility from Tipsania Scrymgeour? Or did she give it to you?’
I hissed. He had better sources than the Nile, the Amazon and the damned Mississippi combined. First things first, though. ‘Are you alone?’
He pushed back his hood, displaying his face for the first time. His good looks were marred by several ugly bruises. I couldn’t be sure but it also looked as if his nose was broken. The dark shadows round his neck suggested that his croaky voice wasn’t down to an overly energetic karaoke session. ‘Yes,’ he said pleasantly, ‘I am.’
Truth. I relaxed slightly. During the Sidhe Games the previous year, I’d inadvertently stolen all of Kirsty Kincaid’s Truth-Seeking Gift. The action had almost killed her, although she was relieved when she discovered what had happened because she’d found being able to separate truth from lies too onerous a burden. So far, I was finding her Gift very useful. All the same, I wasn’t about to let my guard down entirely.
‘How did you know?’ I asked. ‘How did you know that I was still alive?’
Fergus’s mouth lifted into a half-smile, revealing two chipped front teeth. He had indeed been in the wars. Curiouser and curiouser. ‘A certain green-eyed assassin,’ he said. I stiffened. There was no way that Chandra had given me up. ‘She undertook a perilous job to kill a certain Sidhe and yet, despite the obvious dangers, she abandoned her team to complete the murder alone.’ He shifted his weight. ‘She could have killed this Sidhe on a previous occasion but she chose not to because they were old friends. However, weeks later, she changed her mind and suddenly assassinated her bestie in full view of the Moncrieffe heir and his mate.’ His smile grew. ‘And a couple of Fomori demons. I’m told this assassin still has no trouble sleeping.’ Fergus shrugged. ‘I like puzzles. And this one was easy to solve.’
I tried to breathe normally. ‘Who else knows?’
‘I’ve not told anyone, if that’s what you mean. As to who else is as intelligent as I am and has managed to work it out, I couldn’t say.’
It was difficult to intimidate someone when they couldn’t see you but I still tried. I hardened my voice and crossed my arms. ‘Yes, you can. You’ve proved you’re intelligent enough.’
Fergus nodded smugly. ‘Yeah, alright, you’ve got me there. I don’t believe anyone else has put two and two together. Not with the state Byron Moncrieffe has been in. He’s been marching up and down the Highlands and growling at anyone who so much as glances in his direction.’ He smirked. ‘Your boy is hurting.’
Pain stabbed at my heart. The urge to leap through the border and grab Fergus by his blood-stained lapels and demand he tell me everything he knew about Byron was almost overwhelming but I had to act responsibly. My role demanded it. ‘You’ve been in a fight,’ I observed, glad that my voice remained tremor-free. ‘Tell me about it.’
‘I’d love to. But,Chieftain, why don’t you let me inside first? You promised me sanctuary.’
‘I promised sanctuary in the event of more Fomori attacks,’ I pointed out. ‘I don’t believe they’ve ventured across the Veil since I died.’
‘You’re nit-picking.’ Fergus stepped forward, letting the bike drop to the ground. His features were clearer now that he was closer to the flickering torches and I realised how pale he was. He was in considerable pain. ‘I need asylum.’ He swayed slightly.
Alarmed as I was by his condition, I still needed to know more. I couldn’t afford to be soft-hearted. ‘Why?’
‘I might have slightly irritated the Innes Chieftain.’
‘Go on.’
Fergus’s eyes were growing unfocused. ‘I might have met his only daughter in a Dundee nightclub. And I might have taken her back to my place.’ He paused and shrugged ruefully. ‘She had fun but Daddy Dearest is less than impressed. Our Sidhe overlords don’t like the idea of their bloodlines being tainted.’
Tiring of the conversation, Sorley waggled his spear. ‘I suggest we keep him outside the border until we can be sure, Chieftain.’
‘Let him in,’ I said. ‘He’s telling the truth.’
Sorley’s heavy bottom lip jutted out. He did as I bade, however, gesturing to two other trolls who took hold of Fergus by the arms to help him.
