I slowed down when I reached the approach to the alley but no one jumped out in front of me to stop me. I suppose there was no longer any need for guards since Marrock was no longer there.
Once inside, I cast around. He might have mentioned other tunnels that led from here but I didn’t know where they were. I searched the front of the house, the deserted kitchen where the smell of old grease still clung to the air, and various nooks and crannies. There was nothing. Then my eyes fell upon the silent bowling alley lanes. Hmmm.
Skirting round the back to the door marked ‘Staff Only’, I found myself behind the lanes. The heavy apparatus that returned the skittles to their places lay dead; it hadn’t worked for a long time. I examined everything but it wasn’t until I reached the very end that I spotted the hole leading downwards. With my heart in my mouth, I wasted no further time and began to descend.
When I reached the bottom, my eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. There were three tunnels branching off; the left-hand one headed towards the river and the direct escape route that Marrock had mentioned. Whether the right tunnel or the middle one led underneath the Tolbooth was anyone’s guess. I debated for a moment and then elected to travel down the middle one.
For a long time, the only sound was my breath and my feet. I pounded along until I came to a dead end. The tunnel was impressively shored up with timber; in another life, I’d have stopped to admire the effort that had gone into it. Instead I cursed that it led to nowhere. I’d made the wrong choice and had to go back.
I was halfway back to the tunnel’s entrance when a shuffling noise reached my ears. I stopped dead, my heart racing. Something was there but I had no idea what.
Slipping into my shadow, I left my body and darted forwards. Whatever – or whoever – I’d heard was now silent but that didn’t mean they weren’t still there. I skittered on and caught a glimpse of something moving. I leapt up to the ceiling and speeded up.
My wraith form was soundless but when I saw who was there, I almost screamed. I dropped down, landing in front of Gabriel.
He jerked and stared at me. ‘Saiya?’
I nodded, before realising he could barely see the movement. I raised my shadow hand and brushed it against his cheek then, seething, sprinted back to my body. As soon as my consciousness returned, I shouted, ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ My voice echoed down the tunnel and, a moment later, his answer drifted back.
‘I couldn’t let a wraith take all the credit for saving Scotland,’ he yelled back.
I rolled my eyes. Was that supposed to be funny or was he being serious? ‘Don’t come down this way. It must be the right-hand tunnel that leads to the Tolbooth. I’ll catch you up,’ I called, silently adding ‘idiot’.
He must have kept his steps deliberately slow because he wasn’t far along the tunnel when I reached him. Huffing, I glared at him. ‘You shouldn’t be here,’ I said.
‘Neither should you,’ he commented. ‘I thought about what you’d said about moving faster on your own and I decided I didn’t care. You might need me.’
‘You were making a lot of noise. If someone else had come down here and heard you…’
He frowned. ‘First of all, I was completely silent. Secondly, if anyone else is down here you’ll definitely need my help.’
I scowled, even though there was a happy lurch in my stomach that he’d come. He watched me for a moment before speaking again. ‘The Gneiss goblins have broken through the walls. They’re here in the city. They wouldn’t be doing that unless they thought the Filits had the Stone within their sights. They seem to be moving towards the castle though. That’s great for us because they’re not looking this way. We couldn’t have planned for a better diversion.’
‘Mmm.’
‘You did it, didn’t you?’
‘Mmm.’
He sighed, scratching his chin in apparent resignation. ‘I don’t know how you managed it but it was a clever idea. It meant I could get here without any problems. It means we’ve got time to locate the Stone of Scone and do what’s required.’
I nodded. ‘Let’s get a move on. Time is running out.’
Together, we ran down the tunnel. The further in we got, the more difficult it became. Towards the end, we were both hunched over. Gabriel’s large frame made it particularly difficult for him. When I finally spied a ladder reaching upwards, he was all but crawling.
‘We’re here,’ I told him. ‘We’ve made it.’
‘I should go first,’ he said.
I ignored him and started upwards, making short work of the ladder.
‘Saiya…’
‘Shhh. I’m not trying to be a damn hero here, Gabriel. I don’t want to be a bloody hero. But I’m smaller than you are so, if the tunnel narrows again, it makes sense for me to do this.’
I sensed him wanting to argue but instead he climbed up after me.
At the top, there was a wooden cover. I heaved my shoulder against it and it thudded open. Holding my breath I looked out, immediately recognising the Tolbooth dungeon. I was right. The upper floors might have been almost destroyed but down here, other than an overpowering reek of decay and burning, the cells were intact.
The tunnel was located in one of the far cells and, judging by the straw and bits and pieces in it, had been covered up with debris to conceal it. Marrock had dared even more than I’d realised; he must have had inside help from some of the Filits to create it. I wondered who they were; I’d have liked to shake them warmly by the hand for their help. I pulled myself out of the tunnel and stood up, glancing around.
Gabriel followed, hot on my heels. ‘It doesn’t make sense,’ he commented. ‘If the Stone of Scone is here, the goblins would have found it already.’
I grimaced, nodding in agreement. ‘It must be concealed somewhere. Maybe we should start checking the walls and the floor.’
‘I’ll start this end.’ He jerked his head to the left.
‘Okay. I’ll try this way.’
I wandered through the cells, trying to avoid letting the lingering sense of ghostly desperation from old prisoners get to me. The knowledge of all the fallen bricks above our heads didn’t help the claustrophobic feeling and I could swear that the cells were even danker and more miserable than they had been when Ange was here.
‘Saiya!’ Gabriel spoke urgently.
I turned away from the gloomy cell I was inspecting. ‘What is it?’
‘I have something here.’
I darted over to join him in another cell. He pointed to the far wall. ‘There’s something there,’ he said. ‘I can sense it. There’s an entire room beyond this one. It might just be a quirk of the building but I think there’s more to it.’
I stared at the wall; it looked exactly the same as the others. I stepped over to it and thumped it. It sounded normal as well. ‘I don’t know how…’
‘Stand back.’
I moved out of the way. As I watched, he raised his hands and started to murmur, concentration etched on his face. ‘I have to be careful,’ he muttered. ‘The foundations are probably already weak. We can’t afford to have the rest of the Tolbooth come down on top of our heads.’
That was a strategy I could get behind. I pressed my lips together, tension stiffening my body, as Gabriel chanted a few more lines. A fissure appeared in the stone, then another and another. I blinked. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before. He really did have massive amounts of power at his fingertips.
With a grim smile, he fell quiet then lashed out with his foot, kicking the centre of the wall. Clouds of dust rose up, momentarily obscuring our vision. When it cleared, there was a large hole in the wall – certainly large enough for us both to fit through. We exchanged looks and I shuffled up and peered through. As soon as I saw what lay beyond, I gasped and pulled back.
‘It’s there. The Stone is really there.’
Gabriel grinned, looking smug. ‘See?’ he said. ‘I told you that you needed me.’
I couldn’t st
op myself smiling back then I raised my body and heaved myself through the gap.
I didn’t approach the Stone until Gabriel joined me. He murmured again, using the same magic as he had in the cave to create a glowing ball of light. The Stone of Scone stood before us, in the centre of a small chamber. It was as if it had been waiting for centuries just for this moment and for a second we stared at it. It was an oblong rock, grey in colour, with four sturdy stone legs. Set into its top was a rusted iron circle. Despite its nondescript appearance, power throbbed from it.
‘Unbelievable,’ I whispered.
Gabriel nodded. ‘It’s a thing of wonder. I can feel its magic from here. The strength is unbelievable.’ He paused. ‘Now you need to do everything you can to render it useless.’
I shook myself from my reverie and crouched down next to it. ‘Can you move the light?’ I asked. ‘I need to see the shadow.’
He did as I asked. Bit by bit, the dark shape of the Stone of Scone’s shadow elongated along the floor. I brushed my fingers against it. I could feel it – and if I could feel it then I could take the shadow away.
Curving my fingers round it, I searched for weaknesses. Just at the point where the shadow joined the far leg of the Stone, I found one. I lifted the shadow slightly, grunting with the effort, then I tugged. The only thing I felt was resistance. Trying harder, I shifted my position to get a better grip. I kept gaining purchase and losing it but, just when I thought I was never going to manage to get a proper hold on it, my hands tightened and I felt the shadow shift slightly. Awe flooded me. Come on, Saiya. Bloody come on. I heaved all my weight, effort and concentration towards spooling it away from the Stone. Bit by bit, it yielded.
‘I’ve almost got it,’ I said through gritted teeth. ‘I can feel it pulling away.’
The magic of the Stone trembled through my fingertips as if it were doing everything it could to resist losing its shadow. That was nuts, I told myself. It was just a stone. It might have ancient magic running through it but at the end of the day it was a hunk of rock.
I peeled away an edge, gasping at the effort. ‘Almost there…’
There was the sound of footsteps from beyond the dark chamber. I yelped and fell backwards. A moment later a face appeared in the gap in the wall and there was a loud shout of triumph. Pat! Bloody hell.
He pushed himself into the room with eight Filit goblins right behind him. When I realised that one of them was Ghrashbreg, dread flashed through me. I picked myself up and stood next to Gabriel. This probably wasn’t going to end well.
The little room had felt small before but now it was claustrophobic. Pat had a look of glee on his face. ‘I told you!’ he cackled. ‘I told you they were here. I saw her, then him, come into the alley and I followed them. I saw which tunnel they took. I even heard them shouting about it.’ He looked at me with delight. ‘Not so hoity-toity now, Saiya. I’ve bested you for good.’
Ghrashbreg stepped forward, his eyes glittering. ‘So you have.’ His hand snapped out and I just caught the glint of a blade before he plunged it deep into Pat’s chest. I let out a cry and lurched forward but Gabriel pulled me back behind him.
Ghrashbreg smirked. ‘He was helpful,’ he admitted. ‘But I don’t like traitors. You can never trust them.’
Pat let out a choking groan and a small bubble of blood formed at his lips. He sank to the ground and collapsed.
‘You two have been remarkably helpful. I have to thank you for sending everyone else to the castle. It means I’m free to make use of the Stone.’ Ghrashbreg looked down at the slab of sandstone. ‘Quite an ugly thing, isn’t it?’ He reached down and placed a hand on top of it, as if hoping to feel its power through his skin.
As he did so, several other Filit goblins appeared, brandishing lethal-looking weapons. I recognised two of them – Boxburn, the goblin who’d been posted outside my building to keep an eye out for Becky, and the guard who had let me into the castle under false pretences. Their expressions were stony.
Gabriel raised his voice. ‘You’ve not brought many goblins with you, Lord Ghrashbreg. Can I assume that you’re hoping to crown yourself King before anyone notices?’
Ghrashbreg snorted. ‘Can you blame me? Three years I’ve been looking for this damn thing. I’m not hanging around while the others decide which one of us is worthy. There’s nothing wrong with taking a bit of initiative – it’s what all good rulers do.’ He bared his teeth. ‘Not that I’m planning to be a good ruler. Not for the likes of you, anyway.’ He stroked the stone as if it were a pet. ‘I wonder what it will be like. Will I feel a sudden rush of power? Will sparks fly from my fingertips? I’m hoping for the ability to cause sudden death. Surely this old Stone is worth that much.’
I swallowed. ‘You don’t have to do this,’ I said. ‘We can bring down this roof and bury the Stone and no one need ever know it’s here.’
He let out a short laugh that echoed round the room. ‘Why on earth would I want to do that?’
‘No one person should possess so much power over an entire country. The responsibility will drive you mad. You can still do the right thing. This isn’t just about you, Ghrashbreg.’
The goblin Lord raised his eyebrows at Gabriel. ‘Can you believe her? First of all it appears that she’s the wraith we’ve all be searching for and now she thinks that my better nature will make me walk away from all this. As if I’m going to do anything of the sort!’
‘You should think about it,’ Gabriel said quietly. ‘You’ve persecuted the people in this city for three years. They’re starving and terrified. If you think that the power this Stone will give you will allow you to persecute the rest of the country, then you’re not thinking clearly. It won’t happen. The rest of the world won’t permit it.’
Ghrashbreg laughed again. ‘Just like the rest of Scotland didn’t permit what happened here? They’ll stand back and let the dice roll. Before too long, I’ll have such iron control over Scotland that it will be too late, even if anyone wanted to step in.’
‘You’re turning an ancient democracy into a dictatorship. How many dictators do you know who have come to happy ends?’
Ghrashbreg licked his lips greedily. ‘I think I’ll manage. I’ll have more power than anyone else has had in the last thousand years. It’s going to be quite a ride. Not that you two will be around to see it.’ He sniffed loudly, sat down on the Stone and gestured to Boxburn. ‘Come on then, let’s not waste any more time. When I have the Stone’s gifts for myself, I’ll experiment on the two of you first. You’ll go down in history, if nothing else.’ He leaned back and gave a cold, heartless laugh. ‘I can’t wait.’
Boxburn pushed back Gabriel and I and stood in front of Ghrashbreg. ‘Sire, are you willing to take this burden?’
Ghrashbreg beamed. ‘I am.’
Boxburn placed a gnarled hand on Ghrashbreg’s head. ‘Receive the magic, the power and the strength which is embedded in this Stone. Receive the glory and the righteousness of the crown. Receive the strength of this land and stand firm in the state of imperial dignity. The gathering here bears witness to your coronation. Arise King Ghrashbreg, ruler of Scotland!’
Ghrashbreg stood up, blinking slowly, before stretching out his arms. ‘I feel…’ he boomed ‘…no different.’ He glared at Boxburn. ‘You said the words wrong.’
The goblin stammered, ‘I said them as you instructed me.’
‘Well, try again!’ Ghrashbreg seated himself once more.
Boxburn coughed. ‘Sire, are you willing to take this burden?’
This time Ghrashbreg didn’t smile. ‘I am.’
‘Receive the magic, the power and the strength which is embedded in this Stone. Receive the glory and the righteousness of the crown. Receive the strength of this land and stand firm in the state of imperial dignity. The gathering here bears witness to your coronation. Arise King Ghrashbreg, ruler of Scotland.’ The words might have been the same but his tone was considerably less dramatic this time around.
Y
et again, Ghrashbreg stood up. He pointed a finger at Gabriel. ‘Die,’ he commanded. ‘By the power of the throne, I order you to die!’
Nothing happened. Gabriel smiled and made a show of feeling for his pulse. ‘Hmm. I don’t think it worked. What do you think, Saiya?’
Ghrashbreg growled and lunged for him. The other goblins stood back and watched while their Lord wrestled with Gabriel. The goblin let out a strangled curse. ‘Help me, dammit!’
I did what I could to stop the goblins but the nearest one slammed me to one side. They rushed forward, grabbing hold of Gabriel. ‘Stop and think about what you’re doing,’ he hissed at them. ‘You’re making a mistake, maybe the worst one of your lives.’
‘Shut up.’ Ghrashbreg brushed himself down and glared. ‘We probably need to take the Stone into the daylight. Being underground may be stopping it from working.’
‘Or you’re not worthy,’ Gabriel said, relaxing against his captors rather than fighting them. It made me think he still had a plan.
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Ghrashbreg snapped, but I could see the flare of panic in his eyes. I wasn’t the only one; the goblins around us shifted and murmured.
‘He’s right,’ I chimed in. ‘The Stone of Scone isn’t recognising your authority. You’re not meant to be King.’
‘Kill both of them now,’ Ghrashbreg snarled. ‘I’ve had enough of these two to last a lifetime.’
‘Sure,’ Gabriel said easily, ‘kill us and get some peace. It won’t last long. The Prime Minister knows we’re here. If we don’t signal him in the next hour, he’s going to level the entire city to the ground. Without the Stone’s power, you can’t do a thing to stop him. Scotland is a free country and it’s going to remain so, regardless of Stirling’s fate. The only thing to decide is what happens to the goblins who dared to threaten that liberty.’
‘I said kill them!’ Ghrashbreg screamed.
Boxburn and the others raised their weapons and my heart sank. By killing us, they were consigning Stirling and all her citizens to hell. We’d stopped Ghrashbreg but we hadn’t saved the city.