Page 90 of Fiendish Delights
At least she was interested in the egg. That was a start. ‘Sure,’ I said, ‘that would work for you. But it won’t be any use when a fiend shows up.’
Hugo nodded as he gently stroked the smooth edge of the old egg with his long, tanned fingers. ‘You’re no match for a fiend, Aine. Their powers are far beyond yours.’
I didn’t look at him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small shape buzz past. Hester. I curled my hands into fists. That damned brownie.
She flew up and landed on the tip of Aine’s snout. ‘I understand that you don’t want to negotiate,’ Hester squeaked. ‘Daisy here is only a stupid elf. She’s not even a high elf. And she’s lousy at life.’
For fuck’s sake.
‘But,’ she continued, ‘she’s a good person and she’s doing this for the right reasons. So’s Hugo. You can trust them – and it’s not like you can play chess anyway. The pieces are too small for you. Giving us the set will protect you from the fiends. You’re the last remaining female dragon in Britain and all we want is to keep you safe and prevent any fiend from gaining more power.’ She knelt down. ‘If it will help sway your mind, I will remain here as your servant from now on.’
Otis popped his head out of my pocket. ‘And me! I’ll stay too!’
I understood that Hester was awed by Aine, but the last thing I wanted was for her to sacrifice herself. ‘No! You can’t do that!’
Everyone looked at me and I pulled a face. ‘I mean, not unless you’d prefer to stay with Aine. But you can’t give yourself up like that, Hester. Neither can you, Otis. You’re my people.’
Hugo shrugged. ‘They volunteered. And you said it yourself – they’re pretty annoying.’
I still didn’t look at him. ‘No, the brownies are not part of the deal. If they want to stay once all this is over that’s a different matter, but they’re not part of this negotiation. We don’t barter with lives.’
Aine blinked slowly before fixing on Hester, her slitted eyes crossing as she focused on her. ‘You said she was lousy at life.’
Hester bobbed her head. ‘Oh yes. But she’s still a nice person.’
‘Hmmph.’ The dragon closed her jaws and shook her headgently, making Hester slide off her snout. ‘Wait here.’ She turned and disappeared into her dark lair.
‘I think it worked,’ Hugo breathed. ‘She’s going to give us the chess set.’ His hand reached for mine. As soon as our palms touched, my skin tingled.
‘It looks that way.’ A smile lit my face. ‘Put the egg down there, by the mouth of the lair. Let’s show her that we can be honourable and stick to our word.’
‘Good idea.’ He released my hand and crouched, placing the egg on a patch of bare ground.
‘Perfect,’ I called. ‘You should come back here now. You don’t want to spook her when she returns.’ My smile widened. ‘We’ve almost done it, Hugo. We’ve almost got the chess set.’
He started back to me, his blue eyes glittering. ‘We make a great team, darling.’
‘We’re amazing,’ I agreed. I opened my arms, indicating that I’d like a hug. He grinned and drew closer.
That was when I dropped my right arm, pulled out Gladys in one swift, terrified movement – and stabbed him.
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
He reacted fast, registering my attack in enough time to half-spin so that Gladys’s blade slid into the flesh of his left arm rather than his heart. Her hilt vibrated in my hand as Hester screamed in horror.
Otis threw himself out of my pocket. ‘Daisy!’ he shrieked. ‘What the fuck have you done?’
Hugo’s body turned to me and he bared his teeth in a snarl, his handsome face transforming into a vicious, ugly mask. Next he raised his right hand and walloped me on the side of my head. I was sent reeling backwards but I didn’t let go of Gladys. I was still ready to fight.
‘Stop it! Stop it!’ Hester threw herself into the air between us.
I shook my head to clear my vision. ‘Get out of the way, Hester.’
‘Yeah, Hester,’ he sneered. ‘Get out of the fucking way.’ He touched the wound on his arm and his fingers came away bloody. With slow, deliberate movements, he raised his hand to his mouth and sucked the blood away. ‘Mmm,’ he said. ‘Tasty.’ He grinned – and his body started to transform.
Hester and Otis gave simultaneous gasps of horror. I gripped Gladys’s hilt with both hands and advanced as his limbs writhed, his skin bulged and his smooth skin transformed into a gleaming gold colour.
