Last Wish (Highland Magic #4)

‘I think we all agree that May is different.’

I couldn’t argue with that. Everyone treated the mute Fomori demon who’d tailed me back from beyond the Veil as if she were made of glass. Even Lexie and Bob, initially the most reluctant to befriend her, were now going out of their way to help her. Having her around was proving to be a welcome distraction and the busier we kept, the less we worried about the outside world. And the less I thought of Byron and the look on his face when he realised I was apparently dead. I could still taste him on my tongue. It was a ridiculous notion; I had brushed my teeth many, many times since we’d last kissed. And yet…

I sighed. No. Keeping busy was definitely important.

Taylor popped his head out from the mansion entrance. ‘Grub’s up,’ he said cheerfully. ‘Some tasty looking game birds which made the mistake of wandering across the border. Last one to the table is a rotten egg.’

‘Your old mentor has no doubt laid a bet with one of the trolls as to which one of us will get there first,’ Morna muttered in a disgusted undertone. ‘The man is incorrigible.’

Taylor twinkled at us. ‘Brochan will snarf it all down if you don’t hurry. And Lexie’s pissed off at waiting. That’s not to mention some very hungry-looking trolls who—’

I held up my hand. ‘I got it, Taylor.’ I glanced at Morna. ‘What did the gamekeeper say to the Lady of the Manor?’ She responded with a long suffering sigh. I grinned. ‘The pheasants are revolting.’

Bob winked back into existence by my shoulder. ‘I don’t get it, Uh Integrity. Where’s the funny?’

I narrowed my eyes at him. He grinned and spun up to my shoulder, perching next to my ear. ‘It’s not all bad, is it?’ he whispered.

I smiled. ‘I guess not.’

***

Taylor was right about one thing ? dinner was indeed very tasty. It was just a shame I didn’t get to eat more than a few bites before we were interrupted.

Lyle burst through the doors when I was mid-chew. ‘Chieftain!’ he gasped, doubling over, his sweat-sodden hair straggling against his bulbous forehead. ‘The border! Someone’s there!’

I muttered a curse. I’d been sure we’d have another few days before the next Clan contingent arrived. I pushed back my chair and stood up. ‘How many?’

He held up a single finger. I frowned. One? That was unusual enough to merit notice. One interloper was more intimidating than several; it suggested a diversion – or an ambush.

‘The other lookouts?’ I asked.

‘They’ve been alerted. Nothing as yet.’

‘Is our visitor Sidhe?’

Lyle dropped his shoulders. ‘I couldn’t tell.’

I grimaced. Disguised, then. That didn’t do a damned thing to assuage my concern. Someone friendly would have no need to conceal their identity.

Brochan was already on his feet and handing me my jacket. Tipsania waved her hand. ‘Do you want…?’

I nodded. ‘If you wouldn’t mind.’ I hated having to resort to magic all the time but I had to be careful for all our sakes. She flicked her fingers towards me while I squeezed my eyes shut, reminding myself that I didn’t want to steal her Gift. She’d give it all to me if I demanded it.

The only indication that she’d finished was the faintest prickle across my skin. I opened my eyes and glanced down. The strangeness of not being able to see my own body encouraged a rush of nausea. These days I felt sick more often than a pregnant woman in her first trimester. I gave her a hasty thanks and darted for the door. ‘Anyone who’s not a troll stays put,’ I yelled behind me.

Lexie’s plaintive complaint rang out across the dining hall. ‘Aw, Tegs, come on.’

‘The only ones who are supposed to be here are trolls, Lex. Everyone else needs to stay hidden.’ What I didn’t say was that if the border had been breached I’d also need people I could count on to stay back here and hold the mansion. We had to be prepared for every eventuality. Even with his knowledge of my apparent death, I could never be sure what Aifric was planning.

I sensed the blue-haired pixie pouting but she fell quiet. I barrelled out of the door and sped towards the border, doing everything I could to avoid looking down again at my own body. One of these days I was going to get the trolls to build a giant slide from the mansion down to the bottom of the hill. Either that or learn how to roller-skate.

The only light visible by the border was cast by old-fashioned torches which used flame rather than electricity to illuminate the area. The flagpole remained in place but, in order to keep to the fiction that the Adair Clan was finally gone for good, Sorley had taken down the flag. Instead he’d concealed some stitched Adair colours into the flat top of the pole to maintain the border magic but to keep my presence secret from prying eyes.

I scanned the area and spotted a small army of trolls glaring at the lone figure who stood across the border and who was, incongruously, holding a bicycle. The nearest settlement was miles away; it was a long way to cycle, especially in the dark.

Whoever our visitor was, he was wearing a hooded top and keeping his face shadowed. Sorley was closest to him and was gesticulating wildly. ‘Show yourself!’ he hissed.

The hooded man crossed his arms. ‘Not until I see Chieftain Adair.’ His voice was hoarse. I frowned. I recognised the accent.

‘I’ve already told you. She’s dead. We own these lands now.’

‘I don’t believe she’s dead at all,’ the man – or rather the Bauchan ? said huskily.

My eyes narrowed. Fergus might have proved knowledgeable on the few occasions we’d met in the past but that didn’t mean he should not believe I was dead. Had someone talked?

I stepped forward, inadvertently brushing against one of the trolls. He flinched, a movement so brief that I barely caught it.

Irritatingly, Fergus noticed it too. ‘Chieftain Adair!’ he called out. ‘How good of you to come and greet me!’

Sorley spun round, searching for me. ‘You’re seeing things,’ he growled. ‘Because unless Integrity Adair’s ghost is haunting these parts, she’s not here.’

‘It’s alright, Sorley,’ I said softly.

He stiffened, rage at his security measures being discounted lighting up his eyes. He took his job very seriously. I skirted through the trolls until I was by his side. ‘I know this guy,’ I told him in a half whisper. ‘He’s helped us out before and—’

‘And you made me a promise,’ Fergus said. ‘Tell me, did you steal Invisibility from Tipsania Scrymgeour? Or did she give it to you?’

I hissed. He had better sources than the Nile, the Amazon and the damned Mississippi combined. First things first, though. ‘Are you alone?’