Last Wish (Highland Magic #4)

He nodded. ‘Indeed.’

‘And the others? The ones who aren’t Fomori?’ I leaned forward. ‘You don’t even allow them names.’

‘Names have power. They are powerless.’

My eyes narrowed. ‘Yes, but—’

He held up a hand. ‘It has been a point of contention for some time. We have struggles amongst our own kind ? fights, violence, death. I’m sure you have noticed the scars.’

‘I’ve seen the fights. I’ve seen your arena.’

‘We have to keep the peace somehow. If we permit the others to have names, they will feel more empowered and there would be greater possibility of riot. There would be more death.’

‘It’s wrong.’

‘Maybe.’ He sighed. ‘But things were not easy for us after the Fissure. We had to do something with the people from your side who remained. It was either kill them or find a way to keep them from hurting us further. I think we chose the more humane path.’

I wasn’t convinced. ‘It will have to change.’

He seemed amused. ‘Or what?’

‘There is no alternative. I am not threatening you, I’m here to help.’

The demon’s amusement grew into laughter. ‘You? How can you help? You’re not the Sidhe leader. They’ve been trying to kill you as much as we have. We’re not stupid, Adair, for all that you believe we are savages. May has told us enough.’

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed her flinch. Actually, I didn’t think she’d told them everything. I swallowed. ‘Bob,’ I whispered.

He didn’t waste his time burrowing out from his hiding place. The demons’ jaws dropped as Bob glared at them, daring them to do something. ‘He’s a genie,’ I said unnecessarily. ‘And I have one wish left.’

The leader recovered first. ‘It is unwise to ask a genie for anything.’ He regarded me soberly. ‘We have learnt this in the past.’

I nodded. ‘It’s true that there are always negative consequences but I’m sure we could put our heads together and think of a way to minimise the impact.’

He didn’t move. ‘What would you wish for?’

‘How about a return to your homeland, wherever that is?’

‘It is gone. It no longer exists in anything other than fairy tales.’ He continued to watch Bob warily although he addressed me. ‘Adair, we have lived here for three hundred years. This is our homeland.’

‘There is always a way.’

Bob wasn’t protesting much, which was uncharacteristic, and I didn’t think it was because he was scared of the demons.

‘You could wish for our demise. The prophecy—’

‘Oh, to hell with the damned prophecy!’ I snapped. ‘It’s worthless! It was probably made up in the first place. Even if it wasn’t, most prophecies don’t come true. Events don’t stay fixed and people take different paths. You should ignore that kind of mumbo-jumbo. There’s no future in prophecies.’

The demon’s mouth twitched. Then, almost inconceivably, he started to giggle.

Bob glanced at me. ‘These demons are even worse than I thought.’

I waited until the demon calmed down then walked to the edge of the parapet and gazed around. A lot of this place looked familiar; I could even see Arthur’s Seat from here. I massaged my neck. I probably only had enough Language magic left in me for a few more sentences so I was going to make them count.

‘I’ll prove to you that we can work together,’ I said. ‘That we can be on the same side and things can change. That, with the right circumstances, your entire society can change.’ I beckoned to them. May came over but the others were reluctant. I sighed. ‘I couldn’t throw you over the edge even if I wanted to.’

It took another moment but they got up and joined me. ‘When I steal part of a Gift,’ I said, ‘it doesn’t last for long. Eventually it runs out. When I steal all of a Gift, however, it’s mine forever. And this,’ I took a deep breath, ‘is a Gift I’ll have until I die.’ I flicked out my hands, using everything that Morna had taught me. I really hoped this was going to work ? with the dim light, it was possible there wouldn’t be much of an impact. Work, I prayed. Bloody work. And then it did.

It started at the edges, down at the base of the castle. At first it was difficult to tell what it was but the demons had better eyesight than me in this dark land. They gasped. Byron stood beside me, placing an arm round my shoulder and sliding out Bob’s letter opener from his sporran. He passed it to me and I carefully tucked it away. He didn’t say anything; it was enough to know that he was beside me.

I continued my work as if I were merely rolling out a carpet. Grass unfurled, followed by flowers. I cast my power out towards Arthur’s Seat. Screams reached my ears even from that far point as the people there were terrified by what was happening all around them. I didn’t stop, though. My heart was racing, hammering out a beat against my ribcage and it was painful to breathe. To the east, I produced wheat; to the west, it was barley. I was hardly aware of the demons staggering as the scent of fresh, plant life rose into the air.

Then there was a loud crash and I stumbled.

A demon raced in from inside the castle. ‘The Sidhe!’ he yelled. ‘They’re here! They’re attacking!’

The Fomori leader snapped his eyes to me. ‘Bitch! You did this to distract us! You…’ his words fell away as the last of the Language magic left me and Fomorian became incomprehensible once more. Another four demons burst through the door, each one dragging a captive: Lexie, Speck, Brochan and Taylor.

Bob shrieked and disappeared in a flash of light and I stared in dismay while all hell broke loose.





Chapter Twenty


Almost immediately we were rounded up and backed against the wall. Three Fomori stood in front of us, ready to cut our throats at the first command. Their weapons were unnecessary; I could see what magic swirled inside them and it made my veins run ice cold. ‘Listen,’ I began. ‘We…’

The Fomori leader spun towards me with such force that I stopped. He barked something, no doubt along the lines of shut the hell up, then he turned to the messenger and spat out a question.

‘This is no good,’ I muttered. I had to understand what was going on.

I looked at the English-speaking Fomori. His brow was creased in a worried frown and he was poised for action. I hissed softly and then, as delicately as I could, reached out for his Language Gift once more. I tried to think of myself as a sneak thief and hoped he wouldn’t notice what I was doing. Unfortunately, he was now so aware of my abilities that he sensed my magic grab almost instantly. His eyes narrowed and snapped towards me – but instead of a vengeful return attack he gave me a grim nod. Maybe, despite appearances, he was coming round to my side.

The messenger was explaining what had happened. ‘We were unprepared,’ he babbled. ‘They didn’t pass through the border, they came from the coast in boats and passed through the Veil there.’