Page 8 of The Salted Sceptre
Athair paused and looked down at me. ‘Oh,’ he said with faux innocence, ‘you want to watch? You should have said.’ He removed his foot from my chest, grabbed the front of my shirt and hauled me to my feet. As he did, I felt a wave of magic surge up from below. Thank goodness.
I glanced down and saw the small collection of assembled elves, plus Hugo, Miriam, Rizwan and Becky and a smattering of others who had joined them. They’d combined their powers to blast the encroaching fireball with water magic of their own.
A wide grin spread across my face as they doused it, extinguishing its might in one fell swoop. Go, team.
Athair looked neither surprised nor annoyed, and my smile vanished. He’d expected that to happen; if he’d wanted to set alight the group below, he could have done it without a slow-moving fireball. The stark truth was that he could kill anyone at any time. This was about putting on a show and proving a point.
My thoughts must have shown on my face because he nodded. ‘I don’t need to hurt anyone. Being a fiend doesn’t mean I’m compelled to murder – the power I possess is about much more than mere life and death. I don’t take pleasure in killing anyone unnecessarily.’
I jerked my thumb at the building’s façade. ‘Oh really?’ I asked coolly. ‘What about your bloody message? How many unnecessary deaths did it take to createthat?’
‘Perhaps the blood donors were evil. Perhaps they deserved to die. Perhaps it was not me who killed them.’ He tilted his head, dark amusement flashing in his scarlet eyes. ‘Besides, they served a purpose. Would you be here now if I’d used paint? I wanted to talk to you so I sent you a message and here you are.’ He paused. ‘Talking. My plan worked.’
‘You know, there’s a great invention you might have heard about,’ I said sarcastically. ‘It’s called a telephone.’
‘Don’t be facetious, darling, it doesn’t suit you. We both know you would never answer my call.’ He spread his arms wide. ‘I want to get to know you. I want you to get to know me. Is that so very much to ask?’
I turned my head and my eyes landed on Gladys; she was only a few metres away but it might as well have been a mile.Even if I held her in my sweaty hands, I couldn’t beat Athair. I couldn’t even come close – but that didn’t mean I had to yield.
‘You told me once that I had free will,’ I said, surprising myself with how clear and calm my voice was. ‘So I’m exercising that free will. I don’t want anything to do with you, not now, not ever.’
Athair linked his fingers and gazed at me in a fatherly fashion that made my intestines recoil. ‘Your opinion of me has been warped by others. You don’t know the real me, Daisy. Is it so much to ask that you get to know me instead of listening to nasty gossip?’
It was considerably more than gossip. ‘Get out of my life,’ I hissed.
He smiled. ‘No.’ He released his fingers, leaned to the side and pointed down. ‘I’ll take that one,’ he said.
I didn’t know what he meant but I felt a chill through my bones. ‘Athair, don’t do anything rash,’ I said, trying not to allow panic to overtake me. ‘Don’t?—’
‘I told you that I’d like you to call me Dad,’ he said mildly. His words were followed immediately by a sharp scream.
I looked down and saw Detective Inspector O’Hagan twist upwards as she rose through the air as a result of Athair’s magic. The elves tried to counter it but even their combined efforts were no match for Athair.
Sir Nigel leapt upwards, grabbed O’Hagan’s ankle and tried to haul her down. Athair gazed at him for a moment then shrugged. ‘Two for the price of one,’ he said. ‘I guess I’ll take him too.’
I snarled and threw myself at him. Without even glancing in my direction, he slammed out a powerful burst of magic to hold me back. Sir Nigel and O’Hagan continued to rise in the air as I scrambled to my feet, sparks dancing around my fingertips.
I’d throw everything I had at him.Everything. I’d beaten the fiend Baltar by doing that – I hadn’t killed him but I’d certainly stopped him in his tracks. I’d do the same to Athair. I sucked in a breath, preparing to act.
‘You wouldn’t want me to drop your friends in mid-air, would you, Daisy?’ he asked.
Hugo and the others would catch them before they hit the ground so I didn’t have to worry on that score – but then Athair tossed a third burst of magic. There were more yells on the ground as flames erupted across the square. Hugo – and everyone else – suddenly had their hands full avoiding the fires and trying to extinguish them at the same time. Athair smirked.
I released my breath and my shoulders sagged. ‘Please,’ I said. ‘Stop.’
‘Agree to have dinner with me tomorrow night and I will.’
I stared at him. That’s what he wanted? All this for a fucking meal?
‘It’s your choice, Daisy,’ he said softly. ‘You know I could end the existence of everyone here. I don’t want to do that but I will.’ He paused. ‘Give me your word that you’ll have dinner with me tomorrow. Two hours of your company, that’s all I’m asking for. Give me that and I’ll walk away now.’
O’Hagan was screaming as both she and Sir Nigel hovered in mid-air. They’d risen so high that they’d drawn level with us and I turned my head to look at them. Sir Nigel’s lips were moving but I couldn’t tell what he was saying. I’d never seen him look so pale.
I knew that you should never negotiate with terrorists but I was on my own and out of options. ‘Fine,’ I snapped. ‘I’ll have dinner with you. Once.’
‘Fantastic,’ Athair said. ‘I will send a car for you at six o’clock prompt.’
And then, before I could say another word, there was a sudden, blinding flash of light.
