When we burst through the school’s main doors, Gabriel de Florinville and his companion, Rymark, were already there. There was no mistaking the relief on his face. Ignoring everyone else, he sprang forward and pulled me into his arms.
‘You made it,’ he whispered into my ear, his warm breath tickling my neck. ‘That’s it. I’m not letting you out of my sight again, Saiya. No matter what happens we’re staying together.’
I coughed, aware that everyone was staring at us. ‘You got away.’
‘And managed some misdirection. The Filits won’t come near here for some time. Between their search for your friend, Marrock’s whispers and the fallout from the Gneiss bombing, they have things on their mind other than Rymark and me. Or you.’ He pressed his lips against my temple with a strange, searing heat.
Sally, who was rubbing the back of her head and groggily spitting fiery insults at her teenage ward, stopped talking and gazed at us open-mouthed.
‘I want everyone to know,’ de Florinville said aloud, realising that we were the object of everyone’s attention, ‘that Saiya Buchanan is my Fior Ghal.’
Becky, Ange and Martin looked confused but a smile twitched the corners of Sally’s lips. ‘Your Fior Ghal?’ she crowed. ‘Excellent! This is the best news I’ve had in years!’
I stared at her. The best news? That I was destined to become an incubator for Gabriel de Florinville’s sperm? What the hell was wrong with her? The Dark Elf might be extraordinarily good looking, with intelligence and power to boot and, yes, my tummy might feel a little odd whenever he looked at me with those dark glittery eyes… But as a matter of principle I hoped for a say in the matter of whether I had children – not to mention who I had those children with.
‘What’s a Fior Ghal?’ Becky asked.
‘No one important.’ I glared at de Florinville. When all this was over, he and I were going to have some serious words – if I ever saw him again. Destiny shmestiny.
Gabriel smiled at her. ‘Someone very special to me. Saiya is unique.’
Irritated, I interrupted them. ‘Where’s this tunnel? We need to get out of here.’
Pat, Marrock’s annoying henchman, peeled himself away from the far wall where he’d been skulking. ‘I’m here to show you,’ he declared, in a voice that suggested we should bow down and be grateful to him. Then he glanced at de Florinville and bowed himself. Idiot. ‘Follow me.’
Our little group trailed after him, past old display boards with ragged posters for long-since-forgotten dances and warnings about bullying. Most children had managed to get out of Stirling in the early days of the siege. I glanced at Becky. Most of them.
I bloody hoped de Florinville was paying attention. His kind could have stopped all this long ago. In response he gave me a warm smile. It made my toes feel tingly and I scowled to myself while doing what I could to smile back. This wasn’t the time, I reminded myself. There were far bigger things afoot than my feelings.
When we reached the end of the dusty corridor, Pat pointed into a classroom that looked as if it were filled with old boxes. Desks had been pushed into one corner; in another there were towering stacks of uncomfortable looking chairs. It was the perfect place for an ambush.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought so. De Florinville stepped forward, motioning to the rest of us to stay where we were, then he entered without a backward glance. Without thinking, I followed.
‘Stay in the corridor, Saiya!’
He was worried his baby mama might damage her womb if there was a fight. I ignored his command and put my finger to my lips, pointing to the left. I didn’t wait to see if he did as I bade but slipped to the right, peeking over the boxes and glancing into the crannies. It seemed safe. It seemed that we were alone.
‘Happy now?’ Pat’s voice echoed round us. ‘Marrock told me to get you out of Stirling safely and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.’ He sounded miffed that we didn’t entirely trust him. ‘You can count on me.’ He added a smile for good effect. It didn’t really help.
I didn’t bother reminding him that a few nights ago I’d stripped in front of him because he’d threatened me and demanded to check for weapons, or that he was a sleazy bastard who would probably sell his grandmother if it meant he’d get another foothold in the hierarchy of life.
‘Saiya?’ De Florinville asked, deferring to me in a manner that almost made me fall over in shock.
I gave him a tight nod while Pat’s oily, unpleasant grin widened. ‘She trusts me,’ he said. ‘She knows me,’ he added a wink.
I ignored de Florinville’s questioning look and raised my eyebrows. ‘Let’s get on with this,’ I said.
Pat shrugged. ‘The entrance is over here.’ He shuffled over to a large cardboard box labelled ‘Exam Texts’ and pulled it to one side, revealing a gaping hole in the floor. There was a precarious-looking rope ladder going into it. I eyed it with concern; I’d manage it and so would de Florinville and Rymark – but Ange? Becky? Sally? It looked as if it went a long way down.
‘How far is it?’
Pat pursed his lips. ‘Fifty feet maybe? It takes you down to the old sewers that lead under the city. There are rats but if you wave a torch around they usually run away. I’ve used it plenty of times to bring in supplies for Marrock. There are torches at the bottom that you can use.’ He bared his teeth. ‘Are you scared?’
I didn’t bother responding. I’d simply have to get everyone down first and then come back up on my own. No doubt de Florinville would try and stop me but I’d worry about that when the time came.
‘I’ll go first,’ de Florinville declared. ‘Then send the boy down.’
I considered and nodded. ‘Good idea. I’ll help Becky. She might struggle but she’ll want to do it and if she gets down then Ange will follow. Then your man can go before Sally—’
‘Rymark.’ From behind me, he cleared his throat. ‘My name is Rymark, my lady.’
I’d never been called ‘my lady’ before. I stumbled slightly but de Florinville was already there, catching my elbow and steadying me. ‘Thanks,’ I muttered.
‘Gabriel,’ he said.
I forced a smile. ‘Thanks, Gabriel.’
His face lit up in a smile, a dimple creasing his cheek, and my heart missed a beat. Good grief. Coughing to cover my embarrassment, I nodded at Rymark. ‘It’s good to be formally introduced,’ I said. ‘And, um, thanks for earlier at the castle. It was nice of you to help me when you didn’t know who I was.’
He smiled at me with a friendly twinkle. ‘Any time.’
Let’s hope not.
Gabriel moved to the hole and swung himself easily over the edge. Keeping his eyes on mine, he lowered himself down. As soon as he was swallowed up by the darkness, I beckoned to Martin. He looked nervous and scratched at his neck with shaking fingers. ‘It’ll be fine,’ I reassured him.
Once the tension was released from the rope ladder, I called down. ‘Is everything okay?’
Gabriel’s voice floated back up. ‘It’s fine. Hang on.’ There was the faint sound of fumbling and then a brief roar. A moment later, light appeared as he lit one of Marrock’s torches. I peered over and saw him beckoning.
‘Go on, then,’ I said to Martin. ‘You can do it.’
The boy gulped but he’d been with Sally long enough to do as he was told. He found it more difficult than Gabriel to lower himself but, after a few attempts and some nervous tugging at the rope ladder, he managed it. Once he was halfway down, I walked back to Becky. She was still clutching Ange’s hand as if she were afraid to let go in case her mother disappeared again.
I addressed them both in a low voice. ‘We can’t let the goblins get the Stone. Not the Filits and not the Gneiss. We have to find it first. If I can search for it then I might be able to do something about it.’ I met Ange’s eyes. ‘You’ve seen what I really am. You know I’m capable of this.’
Ange looked back at me fearfully. If she hadn’t worked out what I was when I’d approa
ched her in her Tolbooth cell, then she had to know by now. She’d been watching from the fisherman’s shed when I’d spoken to the other wraith. To her credit, she hadn’t yet mentioned it – but I’d seen the look she gave me after we’d left the area.
‘I’m not like the others you’ve heard of, Ange,’ I said, praying she’d believe me.
She licked her lips and swallowed before finding her voice. ‘I know,’ she whispered. She knelt down beside Becky. ‘Tell Saiya where you hid Daddy’s box.’
Becky didn’t hesitate. ‘Five doors to the left from Sally’s house. In the garden in a hole in a big tree.’
‘Thank you.’ I glanced at Ange. ‘Do you know what’s in it?’
She shook her head. ‘Not a clue. And I was telling the truth before. I really can’t open it. What lies inside might lead to the Stone. Then again, it might not. I couldn’t say for sure.’
Except her ex-husband had believed it would. He’d probably never gone after it himself because he couldn’t open the box. Maybe the goblins would be in the same position but they believed in its contents as well. If I was going to trust in the existence of an alternative, true version of the Stone of Scone then I ought to believe in everything else attached to it.
There was a muffled shout from the tunnel. I smiled down at Becky. ‘It’s your turn.’
Her hand tightened round Ange’s and her face went white. ‘Okay.’
I gave her an approving nod. Her knees were knocking together in terror but she wasn’t going to be the one to hold us back.
‘I’ll be right behind you, sweetheart,’ Ange promised.
I gently propelled Becky over the edge.
Sally pushed herself up out of the wheelchair and gazed down dubiously.
‘How are you doing, Sal?’ I asked.
She didn’t look at me. ‘I’ve got an egg-shaped bump on my noggin and I have to go down a hole on a rope ladder which probably won’t hold my weight because I need to cuff the ear of the damn boy who gave me the bump in the first place.’
I breathed out. ‘Good.’
Her voice lowered a fraction. ‘The bang on the head has done me some good. Apparently it really is time to cut and run. Despite what appearances may suggest, I don’t have a death wish, Saiya.’ She raised her eyes to mine. ‘Do you?’
I didn’t bother answering. Instead, I manoeuvred into position so I was hanging from the rope ladder with one hand and used my free hand to beckon over Becky. ‘I’ll go first,’ I told her. ‘You’ll be right behind me. That way, if you fall I’ll be able to catch you. But you won’t fall. I’ll guide you all the way.’
‘Okay.’ There was a pause. ‘Saiya?’
‘Yes?’
‘Thank you. You saved my mum. She’d be dead if you hadn’t helped us.’
That wasn’t entirely true; there were others who had aided her escape both deliberately and inadvertently. And we weren’t out of the woods yet; Ange was still in danger. Even so, I took Becky’s words in the spirit in which they were given and smiled. ‘You’re welcome.’
Becky turned and edged her way down. I waited until her feet were on the rung directly above my head and stepped down. ‘That’s it,’ I said. ‘Lift your right foot and bring it down. Another inch. The next rung is right there.’
Becky gasped, her knuckles white with the strain of gripping the rope. The further down we went, however, the more she grew in confidence. By the time we reached the bottom, where Gabriel and Martin were waiting, she was climbing like a monkey.
‘I did it!’ The flicker of the torch lit up her face, showing her delight.
Gabriel grinned at her. ‘You were amazing.’ He glanced at me. ‘You were amazing too,’ he added. ‘You have a way with children.’
The warmth that had been spreading inside me chilled. ‘Great,’ I muttered. I craned my neck. ‘Hang on, Ange!’ I called. ‘I’m coming back up to help the rest of you get down.’ Without looking at the Dark Elf, I sprang upwards again, away from him.
Back up top, Pat was starting to look nervous. Keeping my senses alert for any sounds of goblins, I checked on him. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘You lot are very slow,’ he said. ‘This is taking a long time. Longer than it should.’
I gestured at the front of the school. ‘Is anyone there?’
‘No.’
‘Then stop whining. This isn’t a bunch of soldiers, they are children and women who’ve been tortured for days in the damn Tolbooth. If nobody’s out there, we’re still clear. We can take our time.’
Pat pointed at Sally. Rymark, it appeared, was already halfway down. ‘How is she going to manage it? She’ll get stuck.’
As if. I rolled my eyes at him. Sally took a different approach. Carefully wheeling her chair over, she gave him a sweet smile then she swung it upwards and smacked it into the side of his head. Pat sprang away just in the nick of time. ‘You bitch!’ he howled. ‘I’m on your side!’
She sniffed. ‘You could have fooled me.’
‘How’d you get to be so fat, anyway? Everyone else around here is starving and you…’
Sally reached for the wheelchair again. She only had to raise it slightly in the air for Pat to back off. ‘Screw the lot of you,’ he snarled. ‘I’ve done what Marrock wanted and brought you here. From now on, you’re on your own.’ He whirled away and stomped off, like a toddler denied his favourite sweeties.
As he disappeared, Sally breathed out. ‘I thought he was never going to leave. He can’t be trusted, you know. You can see it in his eyes. It’s important that he believes we’ve all used the tunnel to escape. We don’t want him knowing that you’ve stayed behind.’ She chuckled at my look. ‘You’re not as good at keeping secrets as you think you are, little Saiya.’ She patted my arm. ‘Use the shadows. You can do this. If anyone can find the Stone, you can.’
Without another word, Sally turned to the hole. Raising her eyes to the heavens and making the sign of the cross, she turned round to start her descent.
‘Wait a minute,’ Gabriel said. ‘I’m coming out.’ He braced his hands on either side of the hole and deftly leapt out, dusting himself off and offering me an arch smile.
I frowned. ‘What are you doing? I can help Sally get down. You don’t need to be here – stay with the others and make sure they’re alright.’
‘Saiya.’ He ran a hand through his hair. ‘You’re beautiful and intelligent and beyond brave. You’re also ridiculously naïve if you think that I don’t know what you’re planning.’
I put my hands on my hips. ‘I’m planning to get everyone out of here. Then you can take Ange to your Prime Minister mate and she can explain about the Stone and the goblins and what’s really going on.’
‘Rymark will do that.’
‘You need to keep Ange safe!’
‘I trust Rymark completely. He’s more than capable and he acts in my name. He’ll gain entrance to Holyrood and Prime Minister James just as fast as I would. I’m going to stay here so that you and I can search for the Stone of Scone.’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘That is what you’re planning to do? I have excellent hearing, you know. I heard every word you said to Ange about the little box. I’m disappointed you didn’t bring it up before but at least we have a decent clue to start with. I doubt this box is so complicated that I won’t be able to open it.’
His confidence was irritating and I was annoyed that he’d heard our conversation. I was getting sloppy – and sloppiness could cost me dearly. ‘You’re a Dark Elf!’ I exclaimed. ‘You’re the government’s Envoy! You need to get out of here and keep yourself safe.’
His expression remained calm. ‘You’re my Fior Ghal. I need to keep you safe. If that means traipsing around a besieged city while fending off hordes of goblins and searching for a slab of sandstone that has been missing for almost a thousand years, then so be it. I go where destiny leads me.’ For a moment amusement flickered in his eyes. ‘And you, Saiya, are my destiny.’
‘You don’t have a bloody clue who I
really am! If you knew the truth, you wouldn’t be so complacent.’ I glared at him, about to snap that I was a wraith and as far from his destiny as anyone could be, but Sally let out a high-pitched squeak.
‘Hey! Dark Elf chappie! Help me get down here, will you? I need a hand down the first few rungs and then you and lovely Saiya can skip off and save the world for us.’ She pursed her lips. ‘I’d appreciate it if you did it quickly. I’ve got next year’s potatoes in the garden and the frost will get to them if I’m not around to look after them.’
I narrowed my eyes at her but she didn’t look at me; instead she held out her hand and waited for Gabriel to help her. With little choice, he turned and held onto her hand while the rest of her body moved downwards. She didn’t look in the slightest bit panicked; I had a sneaking suspicion that, despite her bulk, Sally was nimble enough to dance down the rope ladder faster than the rest of us.
Gabriel waited until she’d reached the bottom then called out, ‘Take care!’
Rymark’s voice drifted back up. ‘You too.’ There was a chorus of chiming farewells from below. Clearly they all knew what we were about to do. So much for being surreptitious. I sighed.
Yielding to the inevitable, I moved the Exam Texts box over the hole to conceal it from prying eyes and looked at the Dark Elf. ‘I suppose it’s just us two then.’ I didn’t sound happy about it.
‘Alone at last.’ His voice held husky promise.
‘I didn’t mean it like that.’
He grinned. ‘I know. And I know you were about to tell me something important about yourself before Sally interrupted. Do you want to tell me now?’
I crossed my arms and looked away. The moment had gone. ‘No.’ I needed Gabriel on my side; I knew we’d have more luck locating the real Stone if we worked together. I supposed I could trust him. Slightly.
‘You can tell me later when all this is over,’ he said. ‘But whatever it is, we’ll work it out. I’m sure the truth isn’t as bad as you think.’
I’d liked to have heard the odds on that statement. I sighed and shoved my hands into my pockets before striding off towards the exit. A moment later, Gabriel followed.