The hapless Tolbooth goblin swallowed. I tried to use the distraction to wrest my arm away from de Florinville. He released his grip but instead of letting me go, he curved an arm round my waist and drew me to him until I could feel the hard length of his body against mine. Instead of horror at his physical proximity, something entirely different stirred deep within my groin. Um…
‘Don’t worry,’ he murmured into my ear. ‘No wraith is a match for me. I won’t let it take you again.’ He looked up at Ghrashbreg, his voice hardening. ‘We have to capture it.’
Ghrashbreg stared at me. ‘The prisoner?’ he barked at the Tolbooth guard.
‘She’s fine,’ he answered.
‘She’d better be.’ Ghrashbreg cast his narrowed gaze up and down my body and I felt de Florinville stiffen next to me.
‘Which prisoner?’ asked the Dark Elf. His tone suggested nothing more than mild curiosity but I could hear the steel beneath.
‘No one that concerns you,’ Ghrashbreg answered. ‘You should get your Fior Ghal back to the castle. I’m not sure she’s safe in Stirling. Clearly, she’s a target for this wraith. Perhaps it would be wise for you both to take your leave.’
No chance. With a concerted effort, I wrenched myself away from de Florinville. He looked slightly puzzled rather than angry. ‘I’ve got things to do,’ I said huffily. ‘I’m not going anywhere other than home.’
Gabriel de Florinville chuckled. ‘You don’t need to go back there. I’m going to take you to my home instead. I’m sure you’ll like it.’ My mouth dropped open while he looked at Ghrashbreg. ‘But first I want to find this wraith. And I want to know who this prisoner of yours is. There must be a connection with him and Saiya if the wraith is after both of them.’
I could have happily slapped him. Ghrashbreg was already coming to that conclusion himself but the Dark Elf didn’t need to bloody well spell it out for him. ‘You forget whose city you are in,’ the goblin growled.
The air crackled with the tension. Desperately seeking a way to defuse it – and to extract myself from this deepening pile of manure – I took a deep breath. ‘Look, I think that…’
I was prevented from saying anything else by a sudden high-pitched whistle from overhead. All at once people scattered in every direction; screams and panicked yells rent the air. It was over a year since we’d last heard that sound but we all knew what it was – a Gneiss shelling bombardment.
De Florinville reached for me again, yanking me backwards and down onto the ground just in time. The missile smacked into the corner building, sending dust and stone and shrapnel flying in all directions. De Florinville’s body covered mine, pressing me down. I could feel the rapid thud of his heartbeat and smell the musky spice of his skin. Then the smoke cleared; where I’d been standing there was now a massive pile of rubble. Shit. That had been really close.
‘Thanks,’ I muttered to the Elf. I wriggled out from underneath him and stood, brushing myself down. A heartbeat later there was another whine. This time it careened into a building ahead of us about a hundred metres away. I stared at the devastation then at the cloud of smoke and new debris crashing onto the road. Oh God. Between here and there, there was only one building that mattered: the Gneiss goblins were aiming for the Tolbooth. Suddenly there was no question in my mind as to why, especially if they’d been the ones to send in the wraith. I’d done the wrong thing in letting my supposed kin leave. I started to run.
I was dimly aware of de Florinville shouting my name and then Rymark shouting his. The visitors could do whatever they wanted to; I had to get Ange out of there before the entire building came down. Leaping over the rubble and choking in the clouds of dust, I sprinted for the Tolbooth’s entrance.
A large chunk of stone broke off from the jutting roof and crashed down towards me. I narrowly avoided getting crushed by it, veering away in the nick of time. Small fires were already alight, flickering both outside and inside what remained of the buildings. I pulled up the collar of my dark jumper to cover my mouth and nose and ducked underneath a beam that had fallen in front of the Tolbooth’s doorway.
If visibility was low outside then inside I was virtually blind. Even detaching my shadow wouldn’t work here. It wasn’t the darkness, it was the smoke from the fires and the dust that were saturating every particle of the air. Within seconds my eyes were streaming.
I felt someone push up against my back and grab me. ‘What the fuck are you doing?’ exploded Gabriel de Florinville.
I pushed him off. ‘Piss off. Someone I know is in here and I’m going to get them out.’
‘You can’t…’
His words were swallowed by a small explosion from what I assumed was a gas canister. Three men barrelled past us, slamming into our bodies before they exited, and de Florinville staggered away from me. I ignored him. He was a Dark Elf; he could look after himself.
I plunged in deeper, weaving round fallen stones and furniture. The unmistakable sound of another missile reached my ears and the ground rocked.
‘Gabri…’ Rymark’s voice was lost as the Tolbooth’s entrance crashed down behind us, blocking our way out. That wasn’t good.
Hoping there would be another way out, I kept going. ‘Ange!’ I yelled, flailing my arms blindly in front of me. ‘Ange! Where are you?’
‘Saiya!’
I muttered a curse. De Florinville was really starting to get on my nerves. I ignored him and pressed on. ‘Ange!’ I shouted once more.
This time there was an answer. From the far corner, beside the staircase, there was a weak croak. ‘Here. Saiya, I’m here.’
I bounded towards her, stubbed my toe on more rubble and grimaced before continuing. It took longer than it should have to reach her but at least with the staircase beside her there was pocket of air that made it easier to breathe. I rubbed at my streaming eyes; when that didn’t work, I fumbled to see where she was tied up. There was a set of handcuffs holding her arms behind her back and a chain that appeared to be looped to the wall. I tugged at it, doing everything I could to pull it away but it wouldn’t budge. Yelling in frustration, I tried harder until I felt a hand on my shoulder. Bloody de Florinville. Again. He squeezed for a moment and then reached past me. I heard some kind of murmur, archaic words that I didn’t recognise, and there was a clink as Ange’s handcuffs fell open.
‘Now can we get out of here?’ he enquired with what sounded like simmering rage.
I stood up, pulling my jumper over my head and wrapping it round Ange’s face to protect her from the worst of the dust and smoke. ‘Now we can.’
He took my hand and pulled while I held tightly onto Ange. For a moment I thought he was going to head for the now-blocked door and I was about to protest. Instead he tugged me towards one of the walls.
‘Stand back,’ he instructed. ‘This could get messy.’
I was beginning to understand what he was capable of so I took him at his word and moved away, shielding a cowering Ange with my body. I was gripping her so tightly it was a wonder she still had circulation in her hand. There was more muttering and this time it felt as if the air around us was buzzing with his power. There was a loud crack and several thuds as more stones fell, then sunlight poured in from outside and de Florinville grabbed me again. The three of us fell into the open air and ran, just before the wall came crashing down.
My heart was thudding painfully against my ribcage and my lungs were burning but that was probably nothing compared to what Ange was feeling. Using my forearm, I rubbed my eyes furiously until my vision started to clear.
De Florinville was already at Ange’s side, peeling away the jumper from her face and using gentle fingers to check for wounds or serious injuries. Tears ran down her cheeks and her eyes were squeezed shut. She was heaving in breaths and trying to speak.
I touched her arm. ‘It’s okay, Ange. We’re okay. Don’t try to talk just yet.’
She nodded, wrapping her arms around herself and sliding down until she was a small tight ball
on the edge of the chaotic, war-torn street. From the other side of the towering pile of rubble and beyond the thick smoke, harsh, guttural shouts filtered through. I stiffened. We couldn’t stay here; I couldn’t let any of the goblins see that Ange had escaped.
My mind spun, seeking out the possibilities. The only thing I was certain of was how badly the Filits wanted Ange. If they knew I had her, they’d rip the city apart to find her. I needed somewhere to go where we’d be safe, even if only temporarily. The trouble was that the only place I could think of was the one place I’d already been warned away from. Bringing Ange with me for another visit was liable to end in blood.
I had to get rid of Gabriel de Florinville too. I didn’t know what this Fior Ghal thing was, even though it seemed to have something to do with me, but he was bound to work out who I really was sooner or later. He was a Dark Elf; he wasn’t an idiot. I glanced at Ange, while de Florinville continued to check her over. Maybe I could finagle this somehow after all.
‘Come on,’ I said suddenly. ‘We need to move.’
‘She needs medical attention and somewhere to rest. If we can get her back to the castle, I can sort her out.’
The very last place we were going was Stirling bloody Castle. ‘Don’t you get it?’ I hissed at him. ‘The Filits had her locked up. She knows something that they want about some stupid Stone thing. They’d cut open her skull and read what was inside if they could. We’re not in Holyrood now, mate. This is Stirling.’
His head lifted and his dark eyes stared at me. All of a sudden he was very pale. ‘What did you say?’
‘This is Stirling.’ I was getting impatient now. ‘And the Filits aren’t as sweet and friendly to us as they are to you. They’ll kill her, given half the chance.’
He didn’t blink. ‘About the Stone. What did you say about the Stone?’ His voice was low and urgent.
The shouts were getting louder. There would be goblins here before we knew it, scrambling over the rubble or running around via an alternative route. ‘There’s no time for this!’ I grabbed his arm. ‘We have to go now!’
For a heart-stopping moment I was sure he was going to refuse and drag me to the goblins. Then he gave a terse nod and stood up, helping Ange to her feet. She wobbled, barely able to hold her own weight. De Florinville did the decent thing and scooped her up into his arms as if she weighed nothing at all. Given how little she usually had to eat, even when she wasn’t being held prisoner, that was probably true.
‘Lead the way then.’
I swallowed. It was the middle of the day and it would be difficult to avoid detection. If we were going to do this, we would have to do it fast. I pointed right. ‘This way.’ A second later we were off.
I had no idea what Gabriel de Florinville was thinking and right now I didn’t care. As long as he kept up with me and kept hold of Ange, we’d be alright. The one thing in our favour was that the sudden shocking renewal of bombs from the Gneiss lines meant that the streets were deserted; everyone who had been milling around had no doubt taken cover in bunkers and basements.
I kept one ear cocked, listening for the chilling, familiar whine of missiles but it seemed as if the Gneiss goblins were done for now. I wondered if they’d been deliberately targeting the Tolbooth – and therefore Ange – or if it was de Florinville they wanted to kill. Maybe they were just bored. What the hell did I know?
Rather than taking the most direct route and marching through the main Stirling streets, I led the way down quieter side streets, pausing whenever I heard something. Unfortunately that was often; whichever way we turned, the sound of goblin boots hammered on the roads and pavements. They were certainly calling out the cavalry.
We skirted along a narrow street and ducked into an alley. I stopped to check on de Florinville and see whether he was managing with Ange’s weight. She might not have been heavy but she was awkward to carry. The Dark Elf merely smiled at me, a flash of white teeth indicating he knew what I was doing and that he was perfectly fine. Truth be told, he looked as if he were simply out on a jaunt. There was certainly no sign of strain on his face. I nodded in acknowledgement and turned back, confident that I could move a little faster.
At the end of the alleyway we came to a wider street that we needed to cross. Not only was it open, with views in both directions, but there was a market at one end that was frequented by both goblins and humans. There were also high buildings with excellent views of anyone down below. This spelled danger but there was no other side route we could take to get to our destination without being noticed. We simply had to take the risk.
I sucked in a breath, glancing this way and that before I decided it was safe. I’d barely taken a step into the street, however, when I was yanked back. De Florinville pulled me into his side, holding me close. I’d have protested if it weren’t for the sudden sound of a vehicle approaching.
It was alien to my ears; even the Filits hadn’t been able to procure petrol to use within the city walls since the first months of the siege. When they needed something carrying, they simply grabbed the nearest citizens and set them to work. The wealthier families who were still around did the same, although they offered token supplies in return. To be honest, I preferred the goblins’ brutal methods. At least they were more honest.
Ange moaned softly in de Florinville’s arms. Worried, I forgot about the approaching petrol guzzler, leaned across and checked on her. She was even paler than before.
‘She’s going into shock,’ de Florinville told me brusquely. ‘I can help her but we need to be somewhere safe first where I can lay her down.’
‘Ten minutes,’ I said, ‘if that.’ The sound of the approaching vehicle got louder. De Florinville hissed under his breath and stiffened. Alarmed, I jerked my gaze towards his. ‘What is it?’
‘Those aren’t Filits approaching.’
I shook my head in confusion. ‘Then who…?’ My voice trailed off when I heard the shouts from the few people who were brave enough to look out of their windows. ‘Gneiss?’ I whispered. ‘But how? Why now?’
‘Hush,’ he cautioned, urgency vibrating through the word.
A moment later the vehicle passed, some kind of armoured truck with its low suspension suggesting a heavy load. I stared. At least a dozen Gneiss goblins clung to the sides and the top. Their expressions were grim and fixed and they didn’t look left or right. Given our proximity to the road, that was probably what saved us.
‘Are they here for you?’ I asked, when I was sure they’d passed by.
De Florinville’s face was a mask. ‘Unlikely,’ he bit out. His dark eyes flicked towards mine. ‘They’ll be here for the Stone.’ I frowned at him. He shook his head. ‘I’ll explain later,’ he said. He paused for another moment as if listening. ‘That’s the only vehicle. They must be hedging their bets. At least we have something to be thankful for.’
This was making no sense. I didn’t have the faintest idea what was happening – and I didn’t like it. I wasn’t used to being kept in the dark; usually I heard enough whispers to piece together what was going on. Nothing about this was making any sense but it stiffened my resolve to get to safety as quickly as possible.
I glanced out of the alleyway once more. The coast finally seemed clear. I exchanged a quick look with the Dark Elf and he nodded. We ran, darting across to thoroughfare. The acrid smell of burning smoke clung to everything. The only good thing was that the wind was drifting in our direction, causing the smoke to move with it and help to obscure us. Using it to our best advantage, I let it camouflage us as we jogged the rest of the way. It wasn’t until Marrock’s bowling alley came in sight that I finally slowed. The air here was clearer but the danger was more palpable.
‘Whatever happens,’ I said in a low voice, ‘let me handle this.’
De Florinville’s eyes snapped to mine but he didn’t say anything. I hoped he had the good sense and intelligence that he’d shown glimmers of when I was eavesdropping on him. This was not the time for showy Dark E
lf antics.
Holding my hands up in the air, I walked slowly towards the alley. As expected, Marrock’s two goons stepped out. They were paler than normal; clearly they hadn’t been expecting the renewed shelling either. I wondered whether they knew that there was a Gneiss contingent in town. It was quite possible that this day would end up being the last for all of us.
‘You’ve already been warned off, Saiya,’ Pat said. To give him credit, his eyes were as steely as ever and his voice betrayed no tremor.
I tilted up my chin. ‘I think Marrock will change his mind,’ I said, ‘when he sees who I’ve brought with me.’ I gestured at Gabriel de Florinville.
Pat’s fellow goon, whose name I’d never bothered to learn, gaped. ‘That’s a Dark Elf!’ Her expression was so astonished that it was almost comical. When De Florinville strode forward before I could stop him, however, the astonishment was all mine.
He might have been holding Ange in his arms but he still managed to sweep out a half bow. ‘I am Gabriel de Florinville,’ he intoned. ‘And I am here to seek an audience with Marrock.’
Well, well, well. The Dark Elf was not only a good listener but he was as canny as I thought. That was both good and bad for me. In response, Marrock’s minion started to curtsey until halfway down she realised what she was doing and awkwardly straightened up again.
Pat the goon glared at her then he ran his hand through his hair and almost simpered. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you.’
‘The pleasure is all mine,’ de Florinville said smoothly. ‘I’ve heard a lot about the security here and I’m pleased to see that it meets all expectations. You two are really on the ball. I’d shake your hand but, as you can see, I’m somewhat occupied right now. If you could lead us to Marrock, I would be eternally grateful.’
‘Of course, sir! Yes! Right this way!’
I shook my head in amazement, thinking of all the times I’d had to fight tooth and nail to speak to Marrock. So much for handling this myself. I’d expected de Florinville’s presence to help us get inside but it hadn’t occurred to me that Marrock’s goons would become so greasily obsequious. But they hadn’t lost their edge entirely; when I started forward, a regretful expression crossed Pat’s face.