Page 81 of Last Wish
‘Well,’ Bob piped up, ‘that’s because she didn’t have a tongue so she couldn’t tell you.’
I ignored him. ‘She was doing what she thought was right. She’s probably a hero to the Fomori demons. She thought she was risking her life to spy on someone who was supposedly the greatest threat to the existence of her race. We shouldn’t be upset that she wasn’t a helpless victim, we should admire her. In her position, I might well have done the same.’ I watched him. ‘And so far everything’s turned out alright. She helped us, Fergus. She weighed up all the evidence and decided that we weren’t monsters after all. She even fell in love.’
He blinked. I smiled and knelt beside him. ‘Are you sure you’re not annoyed because she fooled you and you’re not used to that?’ His eyes narrowed but I ploughed ahead regardless. ‘Maybe,’ I told him softly, ‘you’ve met your match.’ Fergus wasn’t a fool and I could see him absorb my words.
There was a sharp knock on the door. We all stiffened and exchanged wary glances. Bob zipped over, burrowing into my collar to stay out of sight. Byron took a deep breath, walked over and opened it. As soon as he did, he was all but bowled over by a demon bustling in and shoving past him. My stomach tensed when I realised it was the furious female demon who’d been my guard down by the arena.
I put up my hands to ward her off but it was to no avail ? she wasn’t going to be stopped. She threw her thin arms around me and squeezed. ‘Thank you! Thank you! What you did for May was more than I could have asked. If you need anything, you ask for me.’
‘What is she saying?’
I translated for the others who seemed as taken aback as I was. I met Fergus’s eyes meaningfully and he nodded, getting to his feet and picking up his bag. I pulled back from the demon. ‘We would like to meet with your leaders now,’ I told her in Fomori. Probably the sooner the better. The language Gift I’d acquired was only a tiny dose and it wouldn’t last for long.
‘Yes, yes!’ she beamed and bowed, before nodding towards the door and heading out.
I looked at the others. ‘This is where it really gets serious,’ I warned.
‘All for one,’ Byron muttered.
Bob whispered into my ear. ‘Screw that. If this goes tits up, you lot are on your own.’
I just laughed.
***
There was something unsettling about the sky always being dark. Part of me expected dawn to break at some point and for the sun to illuminate everything in golden brilliance, even though I knew it wouldn’t. I itched to get back to the clean, fresh air of the Highlands. I was actually pleased when May’s friend took us outside to a parapet rather than deeper into the bowels of the castle. The darkness was claustrophobic enough without being kept inside. No wonder the Fomori demons slept on the rooftops instead of inside the old buildings which remained from the pre-Fissure days.
The same six demons from the arena faced us, seated in a row. May stood to one side and her eyes immediately sought Fergus. Without turning, I couldn’t tell what his reaction was. I cleared my throat. ‘Thank you,’ I said.
‘For what?’ asked the robed Fomori.
‘For not killing us. For listening to what I have to say. For the chance to change all our futures.’
‘The prophecy remains. You are still a threat.’
I lifted my chin. ‘I don’t believe I am.’
He knitted his fingers together. ‘We shall see.’
I ran my eyes across them, seeking potential allies but their expressions were masked. Even May’s expression was studiously blank. These guys would be fantastic at poker. I swallowed and began. ‘Across the Veil, we have a fixed view of what you are like. It is a given that you are evil, that you are monsters who have no qualms about who you murder. Recent evidence bears this out. Your demons attacked one of our northern cities and there were several deaths. You have encroached onto our land and it rarely ends well.’
A couple of the demons stirred. The robed leader held up his hand to still them. ‘We might say the same of your kind,’ he replied mildly. ‘You have made incursions into our territory. You have threatened us. We have nothing and yet you still seem to want to take that away.’
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.’
