Page 80 of Fiendish Delights
There was a faint scuffle in the tunnel behind us and two voices drifted in our direction.
‘There’s no treasure here.’
‘There’s no dragon, either – but I can definitely sense something magical. We should check it out to keep Athair sweet.’
A few bone shards skittered towards us. A moment later, two fiends appeared and gaped at us in the dim light.
The Fachan smacked his lips. ‘Them,’ he said with immense satisfaction. ‘I’m hunting them.’
Hester and Otis might have been prepared to battle the Fachan, but the two fiends made them squeak in alarm and spin away. Fear juddered through me, but even so I raised Gladys.
Hugo also reacted immediately, blasting the shocked pair with a heavy burst of air magic that knocked them off their feet. So our magiccouldaffect them, even if it was only because they’d been taken unawares.
The Fachan gave Hugo an irritated glare. ‘This my hunt, elf. Stay out of it.’ He glanced at me. ‘You too. You’re too pathetic for this sort of fight.’
My ego was more than capable of taking that hit. I relaxed my grip on Gladys’s hilt and stepped back. ‘Have at it.’
Hugo started to move towards the fiends but I grabbed his arm and shook my head. ‘Let the Fachan do this. It’s what he wants.’
The Fachan sniffed, dismissing us both. He turned to the fiends, who were struggling to their feet. ‘We will do battle now,’ he intoned. ‘Unsheathe your weapons.’
The fiends exchanged glances. ‘Who the fuck is this guy?’ the first one asked.
‘Not a bloody clue, Horst. But you know who she is, right?’ He pointed at me.
‘Yes.’ Horst’s red eyes flashed. ‘Baltar was correct.’
‘Enough talking!’ the Fachan roared.
‘Who’s Baltar?’ Hugo whispered.
I swallowed. ‘Maybe he’s the fiend we met yesterday.’ I didn’t understand why all these fiends knew me, but I couldn’t exactly question them about it. They were completely occupied by the Fachan who had unsheathed his massive sword and was swinging it around his head in a lethal arc.
‘You will regret this,’ Horst snarled. He leapt forward, ducked underneath the swinging sword and threw himself at the Fachan. He didn’t have a weapon – but I wasn’t convinced he needed one with those pointed four-inch talons.
Horst opened his jaws to reveal his sharp yellow teeth and snapped at the Fachan’s throat. I drew a sharp breath but the Fachan only laughed and spun his sword in the opposite direction before slicing into Horst’s upper arm. Dark blood spurted out, spraying the cavern floor: the Fachan had nicked an artery.
I tightened my grip on Hugo’s arm in grim anticipation but, as we watched, Horst’s wound sealed itself in mere seconds. ‘Shit,’ Hugo whispered. Shit, indeed.
The other fiend, whose name we didn’t know, was on the move. He paced around the cavern as the Fachan focused onHorst then he smiled nastily and launched himself at the Fachan’s back.
‘Look out!’ I shouted. ‘Behind you!’
I shouldn’t have worried; the Fachan was already ducking. He rolled aside and neatly returned to a standing position in the blink of an eye. The same couldn’t be said of the fiend whose momentum meant that he couldn’t stop his flying attack. He collided with Horst and both of them crashed to the ground in a tangle of patchy golden limbs.
I frowned and peered more closely. Huh. Unlike Zashtum, and presumably Baltar yesterday, these two looked different. Their skin wasn’t perfectly smooth and golden and there were several spots on their bodies where a more natural colour was visible. Perhaps they were younger than the others so they were less powerful. The thought filled me with sudden hope.
Then I spotted that the fiend called Horst had pointed ears and I swallowed hard. Once upon a time he’d been an elf; he’d been just like me.
A quick sharp pain flashed through my ear; I yelled and jumped a foot in the air before realising it was Hester. ‘This is our chance,’ she said. ‘We can flee now while they’re busy.’ She hit my ear again. ‘Come on!’
Otis appeared in front of my face, his wings flapping furiously. ‘Once we’re outside, you can use earth magic to collapse the lair. Half the mountain will land on top of them. Even the fiends will struggle to survive that.’
‘No,’ I whispered.
Horst was already back on his feet, kicking out at his companion. He spat at the Fachan but this time didn’t attempt to rush him. Instead, his lips started to move, his patchy skin bulged in several places and his red eyes glowed. Wary of the Fachan’s sword, he was clearly planning to use magic instead.
‘Daisy!’ Otis hissed.
