Last Wish (Highland Magic #4)

I ignored her and watched the demon. I didn’t have the energy to stand up again; the pain was too much. The demon scratched his head and looked away, glancing at something above. I rolled over. All six of the Fomori leaders were on their feet. The one on the end gestured to the demon. He nodded once and bent down towards me. I held my breath. Not again; I couldn’t cope with another blow. Rather than slamming into me, however, he dragged me to my feet then half pulled, half dragged me across the arena.

Now what? The demon on the end, who was wearing a cloak round his shoulders, gazed at me. He leaned over to his companion and murmured and I realised it was the English-speaking Fomori from earlier.

There was only one question. ‘Why?’

‘It was right,’ I gasped as another wave of agony rippled through me.

‘He was going to kill you.’

I gave a short, humourless laugh. ‘Who isn’t trying to kill me?’

The demon leaned towards me, his face looming closer. ‘Under our laws, if you won the battle we would have set you free. You had won. He was dying.’

I shrugged, almost immediately regretting it as I felt my knees shudder once more. Only my would-be executioner by my side was keeping me upright. ‘I’m a pacifist.’

The demon frowned, still struggling to understand. ‘A what?’

‘I can’t justify violence.’

His brow furrowed as he absorbed this. He murmured something to the boss man who stared at me, wide-eyed. Then he muttered something and his translator spoke again. ‘That explains why you did not use the knife and why you did not attempt to fight back. It does not explain why you healed him. He was dying as a result of a clumsy accident, not by your hand.’

I licked my lips. I knew this was my one chance; there was no other way I could explain myself and get the chance to turn everything around. ‘Standing by and not helping when I have the power to do so is the same as wielding a blade myself.’ I squeezed my eyes shut. ‘Forgive me. I’m not explaining myself very well. I don’t feel too good.’

He regarded me quietly. ‘Why do you not heal yourself?’

I started. It hadn’t even occurred to me that I could do that. ‘I…’

‘You told us you had one type of magic. We assumed that was the ability to control the air, which we have already seen. You apparently did not lie. And yet we saw evidence of several different sorts of magic that cannot possibly be connected in the way that Levitation and the creation of clouds could be. You do not seem to fully understand some of this magic yourself. What is the truth?’

You could have heard a pin drop. I felt rather than saw every member of audience lean forward as if they were afraid to miss my answer. ‘I steal,’ I said simply. ‘I am a thief and I can steal magic. That is my Gift.’

A twitch in his cheek was the only evidence he’d heard me. ‘You could steal my magic from me?’

I nodded then I focused on the invisible swirl within him. ‘You have the ability to teleport yourself,’ I said. I smiled in understanding. ‘And to learn any tongue should you so desire it.’

The demon rocked back and muttered quickly to the Fomori boss who gestured impatiently. The demon bowed in answer and looked back at me. ‘Show me,’ he demanded. ‘Show me how this works.’

I had no idea whether I still had the strength for this. If he would give me a minute I could see if I could use my stolen Gift to heal myself but I didn’t think that any delays would serve me well. Wasting no more time, I snatched and took a thread of his magic, drawing it into my own being.

He gasped, his hand reaching involuntarily to his chest. ‘I can feel it.’ He turned to his leader. ‘It’s gone. Not a lot, but I can feel that it’s lessened slightly. She took my magic from me. I might not have noticed if I hadn’t known what she was going to do.’

I tilted up my chin. ‘Think on this,’ I said in perfect Fomorian. ‘I could have stolen teleportation and taken myself far from here but I did not. You can trust me. I am here to negotiate, not to fight, not to challenge, not to steal. Neither am I here to destroy Alba.’ I met the leader’s eyes. ‘Deal with me.’

The watching crowed gasped. Unfortunately it barely registered with me because the energy it had taken to steal, not to mention how difficult it was to make my little speech, had almost done me in.

‘Stop!’ a female voice shouted. ‘Leave her alone!’

May strode out from the far gates with Byron, Fergus ? and presumably Bob ? in her wake. I was sure I was still having issues with my vision because May never walked with that kind of confidence. Neither did she speak with that kind of authority.

She walked up to us, glaring at the huge demon who was holding me up and then addressing the Fomori leaders. ‘She is not what you think she is.’

‘You can talk,’ someone burst out.

‘I have a tongue.’ May pointed at me. ‘Thanks to her.’

I looked past her. The expression on Byron’s face suggested that he didn’t know whether to attack every single Fomori in the place for even thinking about hurting me or whether he should run over and cradle me in his arms like a wounded child. I was hoping for the latter. Fergus, meanwhile, had his mouth flattened and his face masked. There was a glittering rage in his eyes as he watched May, which didn’t make sense.

‘She isn’t evil,’ May continued. ‘She isn’t planning our downfall. With this one we can really negotiate.’

A thought poked through the clouds of pain and confusion in my mind. ‘Wait,’ I said suddenly. I looked at the English-speaking leader. ‘Levitation. You said I could levitate. I only did that once though when—’ I looked at May. ‘You told them about that.’

She met my eyes. ‘Yes. That was before I knew what you could really do.’

‘So,’ the other demon said, ‘when you told us you only had one Gift and we knew you weren’t lying, we assumed it was something to do with manipulating the air. We had never seen such a thing before. But,’ he smiled slightly, ‘we have never seen anyone who could steal magic before either.’

My eyes drifted back to May then to Fergus whose jaw remained tight with tension. ‘May’s a spy,’ he spat, bitterness lacing every word. ‘She’s been working for the Fomori demons all along. She followed you across the Veil to watch you and report back. All along she’s been manipulating us. May is no victim.’

His words penetrated my skull and I wobbled, agony nibbling at my body. Byron cursed and marched over, glaring at the monster demon who shrugged and passed me over. Byron wrapped his arms round me so I could lean back into his chest. ‘You’re alright,’ he murmured into my ear. ‘We’re all still alright.’

And with that, I felt like I could let go. I’d been clinging to consciousness with every shred of my being; now Byron was at my back it was if my body decided of its own volition that I could relax. Voices continued but I closed my eyes and passed out. Later, my mind whispered. Later.





Chapter Nineteen


There was something on my nose. Even without opening my eyes, I was fairly sure as to what – or rather who – it was.