Page 22 of Fiendish Delights
Jeez. I shivered. ‘So if she had all that power, why would she be interested in some old treasure? Why would she need to worry about wealth?’
‘It was not money she was after,’ Hugo told me. ‘A fiend’s only goal is to find more magic to abuse for their own devices and to sustain themselves for more lifetimes. If she found one of the mythical treasures, she would drain it of its power.
‘A fiend doesn’t start life as an evil being, Daisy, but that’s certainly what they become. Zashtum wanted to find this treasure to become even stronger while extending her life further. And if we really are talking about one of the thirteen mythical treasures, the power it contains would make a creature like her unstoppable. She already possessed incredible strength – I’ve only heard of one fiend who was strong enough to manipulate his form like she could. He conjured the plague into existence in the fourteenth century for no other reason than his own amusement.’
‘So fiends are pretty bad, then.’
‘Yeah, pretty bad. Hundreds of thousands of deaths pretty bad.’
I shuddered. ‘At least she’s gone. Mud banished her.’ I didn’t know to where, but I hoped it was nasty. I nibbled my bottom lip as I thought of something else. ‘If he’d not done that…’
‘We’d be screwed.’ He met my eyes. ‘Nobody in recorded history has ever killed a fiend, and there’s no prison in this realm that will hold one for long. For them, it’s magical banishment from this world or nothing.’
I absorbed this unsavoury piece of information. I was starting to understand why the fiends’ existence was kept secret from most of the population: they were bloody terrifying. ‘He said there were others.’
‘Not many, and thankfully they’re not organised. They’re lone beasts. But,’ Hugo added, ‘if they also know about thistreasure, they’ll be like her. They’ll risk everything to find something with such potential.’
My jaw tightened. Zashtum had fooled me but, now I knew what fiends were and what they were capable of, it wouldn’t happen again. I wouldn’t allow it. Icouldn’tallow it. ‘What else don’t I know? What other dangerous secrets are there like blood magic and fiends?’
‘That’s it,’ Hugo said. ‘There’s nothing else.’
I sniffed. ‘Would you tell me if there was?’
He didn’t look away. ‘Yes, Daisy. I would.’
I wasn’t exactly mollified but I couldn’t throw a tantrum at Hugo for problems that were society wide. I changed the subject. ‘The thirteen mythical treasures? What are they?’
‘They’re all Welsh. They’ve existed since medieval times. Two were located years ago and are kept in strict conditions in the deepest vault at the British Museum – it’s the only place safe enough to house them. The rest of the treasures are believed to be lost.’
Hester was beaming broadly. ‘We’re talking gold, right? Lots of shiny, pretty gold? And maybe some jewels?’ She gestured to my ears. ‘Daisy could still get some diamond earrings?’
A ghost of a smile crossed Hugo’s face. ‘Most of the thirteen are utensils or everyday objects.’ Hester’s expression dropped instantly. ‘The British Museum holds the Horn of Bran Galed from the North. It’s a wooden cup.’
‘A wooden cup?’ Hester threw up her hands. ‘Who cares about a wooden cup?’
‘This wooden cup will fill itself with whatever drink the holder desires.’
Otis looked interested. ‘Any drink?’
‘Whatever you want.’
‘Hot chocolate?’
Hugo shrugged. ‘Sure.’
‘With marshmallows?’
‘Yes.’
‘And whipped cream?’ Otis’s expression was awestruck.
Hugo nodded good-naturedly.
Hester crossed her arms. ‘Boring. What’s the second one?’
‘The Mantle of Tegau Gold-Breast. Essentially it’s a cloak,’ Hugo said.
‘A very old cloak, no doubt,’ Hester grumbled. ‘In fact, likely so old it will smell worse than the inside of Daisy’s pockets.’
