Page 56 of Skullduggery
As soon as I’d acted, I realised my mistake. The cold water dousing the flames instantly transformed them into scorching hot steam that hurtled towards me. Hugo barrelled into me, knocked me to the ground and covered my body with his. Hester and Otis screamed and also dived. The hot air rushed past, but even with Hugo on top of me I felt the tips of my ears burning. Damn. Lady Rose was far cannier and more capable than I’d expected. The boiling steam could harm us far more than her fire magic.
A high-pitched voice yelled down from the open window, ‘Burn in hell, you bastards!’
I swallowed hard.
‘I think that counts as me saving you yet again,’ Hugo murmured in my ear.
Yeah, yeah.
‘Think before you shoot out any more bloody magic, Daisy!’ Hester shouted. She had a point. Unfortunately, they both did.
As soon as the steam dissipated, Hugo rolled off me. His skin was flushed but he was otherwise unharmed. He’d been lucky; we’d all been lucky. ‘Thanks,’ I said, trying not to sound too grudging.
He grinned. ‘Time for Plan B?’ he asked.
I picked myself up. ‘What’s Plan B?’
‘I was hoping that you knew.’
I grimaced and looked up. I couldn’t see Lady Rose but the window was still open. ‘We should move away. We’re sitting ducks if we stay here.’
‘Back to the barn to regroup?’ Hugo asked.
Hester pushed back her hair with an irritated hiss. ‘Anything’s better than staying here. That stupid elf in there is crazy.’
Otis glared at his sister. ‘She’s defending herself.’
‘From the time-travelling heroes who are here to save her,’ Hester snorted. ‘This won’t work if she doesn’t want to be saved – and anyway, we probably can’t alter history. Let her get killed. We can watch what happens from a safe distance and report to Gordon when we finally get home.’
I wasn’t giving up. ‘Let’s try the back of the house first,’ I suggested. I put my hand in my pocket and fingered my stash of spider’s silk. I could always swallow several pills in one go and put my addiction to good use; I’d done that once before when I’d needed to break through a ward. ‘There might be some weak points in the ward around the rear.’
Hester pouted, but Hugo nodded. Otis didn’t look enthusiastic,but he didn’t fly away at top speed in a desperate bid to escape.
We headed around the house, taking considerably more care this time. I racked my brains. There had to be a way to make Lady Rose understand that we weren’t a threat but nothing was springing to my mind. Not yet. I grimaced and set my jaw in a tight line. I would find a way to convince her. There was no other choice.
It didn’t take long to reach the back door. I knew it led to the kitchen, and I knew both what and who was inside. But I also knew that the air-magic trick I’d pulled in the future wouldn’t work here.
I turned to Hugo. ‘Can you tell what sort of ward it is? I can’t see anything so I’m assuming it’s not a typical salt ward.’
‘I didn’t get much chance to investigate it before Athair showed up,’ he said. ‘I’m not sure what sort of magic is powering it. And we don’t want to break it if it’s keeping Rose safe from him.’
I met his eyes. ‘She’s not safe, though,’ I said quietly. ‘We already know she’s in danger. She will disappear in five days’ time, Hugo.’
I squared my shoulders and walked closer to the back door with the invisible barrier pushing against me all the time, then I crouched down to examine the ground. There had to be something here that would give us a clue about what magic Rose had employed. If we could find a way to get past it and speak to her face to face, I was sure I could persuade her of the truth.
Hugo sighed heavily. He started to move forward to join me, but he’d barely taken three steps when he cried out in pain.
I spun around, alarm flashing through my bones. Hester and Otis zipped towards him and a split second later, they both cried out too. Shit, shit, shit. I ran to them. Hugo was one knee,sweat beads forming on his tanned face. Both brownies were groaning loudly.
‘What?’ I asked anxiously. ‘What happened?’ I glanced upwards to see if Lady Rose had thrown any more magic at us but the windows on this side of the house were firmly closed.
I darted back, crouched down and gazed at the three of them.
‘Uhhhhhh…’ Otis rubbed his forehead. ‘I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus.’
‘A bus that’s on fire, is carrying twenty fat elephants and has spiked wheels,’ Hester said. Her skin was pale and, despite the obvious exaggeration, she wasn’t well.
Hugo sucked in several sharp gasps of breath before pulling himself upright and staggering away from the house. I hastily scooped up both brownies and joined him. ‘So much for a weaker ward,’ he said, wiping his brow. ‘It’s stronger here than at the front.’ He sent me a long, worried look.
