Page 81 of Fiendish Delights
Hugo looked at me. ‘You’re worried about the Fachan.’
‘I’d have died in Smoo Cave if it wasn’t for him. He helped me.’ I licked my lips. ‘A lot.’ He had also wanted to fight me to the death, but I wouldn’t hold that against him.
‘If there are two fiends here,’ Hugo said, ‘there might be more at the other locations. I know you don’t want to abandon the Fachan, but if the fiends are working together the others might have already found the dragon. We can’t waste time!’
Cumbubbling bollocks, he was right. But if the fiends killed the Fachan, they’d come straight for us and we’d never make it to the next lair. We’d also be in danger of leading them directly to the dragon.
The second fiend was on his feet again. The floor of the cavern was starting to rumble as Horst’s magic coalesced.
‘You have no honour,’ the Fachan told him. He took three steps forward and swung his heavy sword at Horst’s head. The fiend dodged it with frightening speed, then he spat again. This time there was a loud crackle and the air sparked and fizzed. Bloody hell. Somehow he was drawing on the static energy in the air. That was magic that no elf was capable of.
‘Go,’ I hissed at Hugo and the brownies. ‘Go now! I’ll catch up.’
‘There is no fucking way I’m leaving you here, Daisy,’ Hugo swore.
The air surrounding the Fachan and the fiends was filling with sparks of tiny lightning bolts. ‘I swear to God, Hugo, I will catch you up. If the Fachan fails, I’ll bring the cavern down. But the fiends are already too powerful and if they get hold of that damned chess set, their strength will be even greater. We cannot allow that to happen.’
‘Daisy—’ His voice was strained.
‘Remember our pact,’ I said.
‘We’re not leaving you!’ Otis squeaked.
Several of the smaller sparks looped together and shot towards the Fachan. He raised his sword in the nick of time and the bolt bounced off the blade. But the second fiend was also muttering now, preparing to combine his magic with Horst’s.
I gave Hugo a shove. ‘You will go. All of you.’
‘For fuck’s sake.’ He grabbed my waist and planted a brief, hard kiss on my lips. ‘Don’t you dare fucking die.’
I met his blue eyes. ‘I won’t.’ I shoved him again. ‘Go.’
Hester’s eyes had filled with tears but she understood and she nodded. Otis gulped a farewell as Hugo reached for my fingers and squeezed them. Then the three of them dashed towards the tunnel and vanished, heading out of the lair while I sucked in a breath and turned back to the battle in time to see the Fachan block yet another bolt of lethal lightning.
As ideas went, this probably wasn’t one of my better ones.
Chapter
Twenty-Six
The dark space was illuminated thanks to the many tiny sparks of electricity as both fiends advanced upon the Fachan. His feelings were clear from his expression: although his single eye glittered with grim intent, his thin lips were curved at the corners. He was enjoying himself. Unfortunately, so were the fiends.
Horst took the right-hand side and the second fiend took the left. My hands slippery with sweat, I watched them exchange quick glances then attack, their faces frozen into identical grinning rictus masks.
Horst narrowly avoided the next swing of the Fachan’s sword and bit down hard on the Fachan’s upper arm, his sharp teeth latching on. The other fiend matched him on the other arm; now both fiends had their jaws embedded in his flesh.
The Fachan roared and started spinning, his feet moving with such speed that the nasty pair became a blur, with first their feet then their legs rising into the air until I was watching some sort of macabre, bloody spinning machine. The Fachan pirouetted on the spot for several long seconds, determined to shake off both the golden-skinned bastards.
Gladys buzzed with impatience in my slick hands, desperate to join the fray. ‘He wants to do this alone,’ I muttered to her.
She only buzzed louder and her blade jerked. I hushed her once more; I was prepared to step in at any moment, but the Fachan wouldn’t thank me and I knew I wouldn’t be much help. Not against two fiends.
Eventually, the Fachan’s spinning reached such momentum that Horst was forced to release his toothy grip. He crashed down to the cavern floor. The other fiend had a stronger jaw and his teeth remained entrenched in the Fachan’s bicep. I could see rivulets of blood dripping down the fiend’s cheeks, although the pain didn’t appear to bother the Fachan. He laughed coldly and then, with one heavy swoosh of his sword, slammed it into the fiend’s back. I sucked in a breath. I was no expert but it looked to me as if he’d severed his spinal cord.
The fiend collapsed and thudded to the ground. His eyes rolled back into his head and for one optimistic moment I thought he was dead. However Horst, who was already back on his feet, toed his companion and laughed. ‘Get up, you stupid bastard.’ He looked at the Fachan. ‘You must know you can’t kill us.’
The Fachan gazed back implacably. ‘Perhaps not. But I can make you hurt.’ And he drove the tip of his sword into Horst’s chest.
Horst screamed and a high-pitched sound of pure pain filled the cavern. He fell to his knees, the sword still embedded in his body. The Fachan allowed himself one small smile, then glanced at me.
