Page 17 of A Skirl of Sorcery
‘You think she’s dangerous?’
I shrugged again. ‘Maybe. Or maybe she’s in danger and hasn’t told me. She’s already unsettled several of my neighbours through no fault of her own, and she’s only been in my house for a couple of hours.’
Trilby scratched their chin thoughtfully. ‘You can handle your neighbours, Kit, and you’re more than capable of dealing with any danger that comes to your doorstep. A ban sith, even a sick ban sith without her powers, would realise that. I don’t think you’re in any danger from her. Neither are your cats,’ they added.
‘So what should I do? Leave her alone and trust that everything will be fine?’
Trilby smiled. ‘I expect the answer will present itself to you very soon.’
Chapter
Seven
Iwas annoyed with myself for feeling wary when I turned the corner onto my street, but there weren’t any baying neighbours at my gate and there were no signs of carnage, ban-sith related or otherwise. All the same, I quickly went inside to check on all five of my cats, plus Tiddles.
As soon as I opened the front door, they emerged from different doorways with the same insistent miaows that told me they wanted their dinner. I gave in to the inevitable and obliged. Anything for a quiet life.
As soon as they were fed and watered, I climbed the steps to the flat upstairs. The door was closed; if Keres was inside, there was no sign of her. I hesitated before knocking quietly. There was no answer.
I pursed my lips, reminding myself how tired and drawn she had looked. She needed to rest and I couldn’t allow my uneasy suspicions to get the better of me because I had no hard evidence that she was up to no good. Although it was wise to be cautious, Trilby’s words and Boris’s grunts had gone some way towards reassuring me and I shouldn’t invent scenarios that hadn’t happened.
I decided to sleep on the matter then speak to Keres the following day. Nevertheless, I’d be keeping my favourite curved dagger close at hand. If she tried anything during the night, I’d be ready for her.
I pushed the matter out of my head and made myself a salad to compensate for the unhealthy pizza I’d eaten earlier, then settled down in my comfiest chair to read. As three of the cats vied for prime position on my lap, I tried not to wonder what Thane was up to.
The cats eventually came to a compromise with She Who Loves Sunbeams curled up on one side and He Who Crunches Bird Bones and He Who Must Sleep on the other side. She Without An Ear was on guard duty, sitting by the window and blinking out at the darkening sky.
Tiddles and He Who Roams Wide had ventured outside. I’d watched them until they left the garden to make sure they weren’t slinking towards Keres’ flat, but they were too smart for that. They didn’t once look up in that direction, and He Who Roams Wide only twitched his tail when I told him to keep Tiddles out of trouble.
With every passing purr, feline snore and chapter of my book, I relaxed. I had been jumping at shadows. Keres wasn’t here through nefarious means; I’d never crossed the ban-sith community and, threats or no, Louise was living proof that they didn’t interfere with assassins no matter what they might sense about us. I was fulfilling the terms of my favour to Mallory and helping out a woman in need at the same time. There wasn’t a problem.
Or at least there wasn’t until I heard a sudden thud reverberate through the ceiling above.
My house was old and sturdily built. The soundproofing might not be modern but it was surprisingly effective, and it was rare to hear any but the loudest of noises from the flatupstairs even without magical muffling intervention. I wouldn’t have rented the place out otherwise. But I had certainly heard that particular noisy thump. Whatever Keres had done up there, it had been dramatic.
All four cats with me were now standing and staring upwards with various degrees of raised hackles and wide eyes. ‘Everything is fine,’ I soothed.
She Without An Ear swung her head towards me, sending me a look that told me I was a complete idiot; to be fair, she might have been right. I stood up, walked out of my door and up to Keres’ flat.
As far as I could see, nothing had changed in the past few hours. I knocked loudly and, when there was no answer, called, ‘Keres? Are you there? Is everything alright?’
There was no immediate response so I knocked again. I’d break the door down if I had to, but it had only just been repaired after the trouble with Nick MacTire and it was a rigmarole I didn’t want to go through again. Besides, Keres deserved her space; for all I knew she was a fan of breakdancing and was having a mini ban-sith rave.
I knocked again, more sharply and insistently. ‘Keres!’ I called. ‘Let me know that you’re okay and I’ll leave you in peace.’
For a few moments, I heard nothing but eventually I was rewarded with the sound of heavy shuffling footsteps. The door creaked open and Keres appeared, swaying alarmingly from side to side. Her skin was ash grey and her eyes were feverishly bright. Shit.
Any lingering doubts that this was a strange ploy to attack me disappeared: Keres was in real trouble. Suddenly Trilby’s words echoed through my mind. They’d called her asickban sith. Damn it. I should always pay close attention to Trilby’s choice of words.
‘What’s wrong? What’s happened?’
Keres’ voice was weak and strained, as if she were dragging the words out of her own mouth. ‘I’m fine,’ she whispered. ‘I had a nap and I was a bit woozy when I got up. My legs gave out for a few moments and I fell down. I’ll be fine in a few minutes.’
I doubted that because she looked seriously unwell. ‘Let me get you some water,’ I said. ‘You need to sit down and?—’
I didn’t get the chance to finish my sentence. Keres stopped swaying, stared at me unblinkingly then her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed into my arms.
Caught unawares I staggered backwards, though it certainly wasn’t her weight that made me unsteady. Although she was a grown woman, she was little more than skin and bones. I hissed under my breath then picked her up, carried her to the bedroom and laid her on the bed.
