Last Wish (Highland Magic #4)

In the end, it took me little more than an hour. I faced the door in case any demons appeared. My hands kept slipping and I almost knocked over the bucket on at least three occasions. Thankfully it stayed upright; the last thing I wanted was to be soaked by the contents of someone else’s bladder and bowels.

Although the rope was wrapped tightly round my wrists and the knots were cleverly secured, it wasn’t difficult to free myself. My thief background made it easier for me than it might have been for someone else, but the ease of the process gave me pause. I inspected the frayed edges of the rope; it wasn’t very well made. I pursed my lips and considered. There was still no sound from outside and I seemed to be very much alone. I was beginning to wonder, however.

Shrugging, I loosened the gag. My mouth was unpleasantly dry and I’d have been tempted to sell Bob for a glass of water. I tried to work up some saliva and began to unknot the rope round my ankles. I didn’t hurry; I had a feeling about what was going to happen once I was free. When I unwound the last loop and kicked the rope away there was a scuffle on the other side of the door and it swung open. Shite. Sometimes I hated being right.

The light was dim and the figure staring at me was difficult to make out. I tilted my head to one side and squinted. The Fomori demon spat on the ground and stepped inside. As his features grew clearer, I realised he wasn’t looking at me with fear or apprehension. There wasn’t any malevolence or sense of triumph in his gaze; he seemed simply curious. ‘Adair.’

I decided that was a question. Staying on the ground to show that I was happy to remain subservient, I nodded. ‘Yes.’

He grunted. In stilting, albeit grammatically accurate English, he asked, ‘Why did you not use magic to free yourself?’

So it was a test. What would they have done if I’d had Teleportation as a Gift? Were they prepared for every eventuality? Given the neutrality of his expression, I thought the answer was probably yes.

I chose my words carefully, wanting to ingratiate myself without appearing manipulative or sneaky. ‘One who relies on magic alone is a fool,’ I said.

The demon rolled his tongue around his sharp, yellowing teeth. I suppressed a shudder and continued to look at him as if we were having an idle chat in a café.

He nodded. ‘This will be interesting then.’ He stretched out his bony arms and cracked his fingers one by one. I guessed I was supposed to be intimidated and I was. I was probably also supposed to ask why ‘this’ would be interesting but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.

If he was disappointed by my silence, it didn’t show. He looked at me and I looked at him and absolutely nothing happened. It was like a bizarre staring contest. I was tempted to remain quiet and see if I could break him. Be good, Tegs, I told myself. This wasn’t about my ego.

I licked my chapped lips. ‘You speak English very well.’

The demon snorted. ‘Yes. Our kind spent considerable resources learning Gaelic so we could communicate with your people.’ He didn’t crack a smile. ‘Imagine our unbridled joy when we discovered that more spoke English than Gaelic.’

My eyebrows raised. Sarcasm? From a demon? ‘Are you in charge here?’ I asked.

‘No.’

‘Then,’ I said, without irony, ‘take me to your leader.’

‘No.’

I scratched my head. Okay, then.

The demon gave a guttural noise and two more appeared and walked past him. They looked more nervous than him as they hauled me up by my armpits until I was face to face with their apparent boss, even if he wasn’t the boss.

‘We know of your prophecy,’ the demon said.

‘Prophecies are tricky things,’ I returned. ‘They often don’t come true.’

He inclined his head and a length of straggly hair fell from his forehead. He tucked it behind his ear with one gnarled hand. ‘You are correct. It is also true that to blame the individual for the words of a prophecy is to blame the tide for rising.’

I was starting to like this guy. ‘So,’ I said softly, ‘there is no need for us to be at odds with each other.’

He smiled for the first time. ‘There is plenty of need for that. Furthermore, the Fomori are not in the habit of taking chances, even if we are less bloodthirsty than our Sidhe neighbours.’

Less bloodthirsty? I’d seen compelling evidence to the contrary so that was an interesting statement. ‘The prophecy is vague,’ I pointed out. ‘It could refer to anything.’

‘Vague?’ he asked.

‘It means—’

‘I know what the word means. There is nothing vague about the prophecy however.’

I was prepared to argue the point, even though the demons on either side of me had tightened their grip painfully. ‘One Adair will save Scotland.’ I shrugged. ‘Or Alba, anyway. That could mean anything. Technically, the Lowlands are part of Scotland.’ I leaned forward as much as I could. ‘We are all Alba.’

‘That is not what the prophecy says.’ His lip curled. ‘One Adair will destroy Alba.’

I shook my head vehemently. ‘No! That’s not the wording.’

‘Yes, it is.’ He regarded me calmly. ‘Your own king confirmed it.’

I almost spat. Aifric. ‘He is no king.’

‘Whatever.’ The demon flicked his hand dismissively. ‘We are not monsters, regardless of what your kind may believe. But we will not take chances either.’ For a brief moment, I saw sympathy flicker in his eyes. Then he gestured to the other two. ‘Bring her.’ He turned on his heel and left.

***

I was dragged through many narrow corridors. Given how vast this place was, together with the fact that it appeared to be made entirely of stone, there was only one answer: I was in Edinburgh Castle. That was both good and bad.

I kept my eyes peeled and my wits about me, trying to learn as much as I could during the uncomfortable journey. Other than a large number of closed doors and a lack of decoration, there was little I could work out. The silence, however, was gradually giving way to a strange sort of thunder. I’d never been past the Veil when the weather was anything but hot and muggy but it was possible that storms occurred.

Eventually I was taken up a winding flight of stairs. A female demon was waiting at the top; she glared at me with such ferocity that I thought she was going to kill me right then and there. Instead she unlocked the door next to her and I was shoved inside.

Shaking my head and rubbing the bruises on my arms, I looked around. The noise was deafening. It waxed and waned but it sounded too unnatural to be a storm. I still couldn’t work out what it was.

‘It’s you!’

I jumped half out of my skin. From the shadowed corner of my latest holding pen came the tiny, familiar figure of a pixie. The last time I’d seen her, she was chained to a wooden pole on Arthur’s Seat. Now she didn’t look any the worse for wear for the experience; she was smiling so broadly, I wondered if her cheeks would split.

‘You’re here to save us,’ she breathed. ‘You came back.’