The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself, page 24
I shake my head. ‘She isn’t.’
‘She’s come to capture you or spy on you or kill you. They are using her to get you.’
‘You’re wrong.’
‘Am I? She’s a Fairborn Witch. Pure Fairborn. I bet half her family are Hunters or Council members.’
‘That doesn’t mean she’s like them.’
‘Oh, of course not. She’s different.’ His voice is mocking. ‘And she thinks you’re special, she understands you, she knows you’re not bad really, she doesn’t mind that your father is the most wanted Blood Witch, she’s not interested in him, just in you. She sees the real you. The kinder, gentler you. And she swishes her blonde hair and smiles her bright smile and –’
But I’m out of there.
I run. It feels like the only good thing to do, running until I can’t run any more. I sleep in the forest, badly, even though I’m exhausted. I stay there for most of the day, walking, staring at the sky. It’s only five days until my birthday and I feel like everything is spinning out of control. I can only imagine Annalise is here because things have got bad back at home with her family. And for her to risk coming to Mercury it must be really bad. But she is not here for her Giving; she was seventeen in September.
Late in the afternoon I go back to the cottage. Preparations are underway for stealing the Detheridge from a house full of Hunters.
As I walk in Gabriel continues what he’s doing, which I’m surprised to see is cleaning a gun.
‘Do you know how to use that?’ I ask. I can’t stop myself from sounding angry, even though I told myself not to be.
‘I lived in the US of A for more than a year, didn’t I?’ His voice is soft, joking.
‘But have you ever actually shot anyone?’
He stops cleaning the gun and looks up at me but doesn’t answer.
And I almost see the Blood Witch in him.
‘Who did you kill?’
He keeps his eyes locked on mine and says, so I can only just hear, ‘A spy.’
‘That’s your speciality, is it? Killing spies.’
‘Nathan, don’t.’ He starts cleaning the gun again.
‘I’ve known Annalise a long time. She’s not a spy. I trust her.’
‘Those are the ones they choose.’
‘So that’s it? There’s nothing she can do to convince you otherwise? Everything she does will be suspicious because of who she is.’
He doesn’t reply, just carries on cleaning the gun.
‘And if Mercury told you to shoot Annalise, would you do it?’
He doesn’t look up from the gun but at least he’s stopped cleaning it.
‘Would you?’ My voice is quiet but unsteady.
He shakes his head but looks me in the eyes as he says, ‘If I was certain she was betraying you I’d kill her, whether Mercury told me to or not.’
‘So you’re not certain?’
‘Not one hundred per cent. But Nathan, if there’s one thing I’m good at it’s reading people and there’s something not right about her.’
‘Or maybe you just want to see that but you can’t actually find anything wrong with her, because there isn’t. Because she won’t ever betray me. Because she’s actually a good person. But you don’t want to believe that. You want her to be a spy!’ And I realize I’m shouting and shaking with anger.
‘Nathan. I know this is difficult for you.’ He comes to me and puts his arms round me. I don’t hug him back but I don’t hit him.
Rose appears from her bedroom, sees us and blows me a kiss.
I swear at her and go and sit in the corner.
Rose is dressed as inappropriately as ever in a long, swirly, figure-hugging grey dress a bit like Mercury’s. Her hair is immaculate, piled on her head in a sleek twisting knot. She looks like she is going to a Halloween Ball, except that her feet are bare. She shows Gabriel her hairpins, which are decorated at their ends with skulls. Small black skulls are for picking locks of doors, small red skulls for opening safes or more complex locks and the large white skull is … she blushes … for killing Shitborns.
Mercury blows in. She is smiling in her own way.
‘Before you go for the Detheridge, Gabriel, I’d like you to bring Nathan’s friend to us.’
Gabriel looks uncertain.
‘If she’s been sent to spy on us I want her in my hands and unable to give any warning.’
And I know she really wants Annalise in her hands so that she has another hold over me.
‘When you and Rose are ready to go, bring her here. Give her no chance to do anything.’
Gabriel and Rose go through their plan. Then we eat in silence. Even Rose looks serious.
At sunset Gabriel goes on to the roof and through the cut.
I wait on the grass.
I don’t have to wait long.
Gabriel and Annalise appear, holding hands. Gabriel drops hers as if she is plagued. Annalise is sprawled across the roof, her eyes closed.
Gabriel calls to Rose and she appears, comes to me, kisses me on the cheek, steps on to the roof, over the body of Annalise and into Gabriel’s arms, but Gabriel’s eyes are on mine all the time. I hear Rose giggle as they disappear through the cut.
Annalise
Annalise and I are sitting together. Close. She always seemed so much more mature than me but now she seems much younger. Her face has changed, become longer and thinner, even more stunning. She is dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and pale blue jumper but her feet are bare.
I wonder when Mercury will come. She is letting me have some time with Annalise. There will be a motive behind it.
I take Annalise’s hand in mine and ask her what happened.
She blinks and tears run down her cheeks.
‘I’m in such trouble, Nathan.’
I wipe the tears with my fingertips, hardly touching her skin.
‘After Kieran attacked you, he told my father about us. My father was angry but he said I wouldn’t be punished. I just had to regain their trust. I had to do as I was told in every little detail. And I didn’t have any other options, so I tried to be good. But they never trusted me, however good I was. My father or one of my brothers was always with me if I left the house. I wasn’t allowed to see any of my old friends. I was lonely but it was bearable. But then, after my Giving, the Council asked to see me. They questioned me about you. My Uncle Soul was there. He treated me like I was a traitor. I didn’t answer their questions about you, I said I’d forgotten. But it was frightening. I was summoned again that day I saw you in the Council building. Then a few nights later my uncle came to our house and I overheard him telling my father that you had escaped and that I would have to go back for more questioning. I wasn’t sure what to do but I knew I couldn’t face any more of it. I thought that if you’d escaped then maybe it was possible for me too. So I ran away.’
She looks into my eyes and the silver in hers twists slowly. ‘I thought that if I could find you … Well, I didn’t think much beyond that. But I wanted to find you. I’ve always wanted that. And I heard that Mercury helped Fairborn Witches for a price. The only thing I did have was money. I can’t believe that I’ve found you … that you really are here.’
I wipe her tears away again, this time tracing my fingers over her cheek, feeling the smoothness of her skin. She tries to smile and reaches over to brush my hair back from my face.
‘Your eyes are how I remembered them. They haven’t changed.’ And her fingers are on my cheek now and before I can think about it I turn to kiss them and then I press her hand to my mouth and kiss her palm.
She strokes her fingers over the tattoo on my hand and looks at my neck and strokes that tattoo as well. But she doesn’t ask about them. And the silver in her eyes tumbles and catches the moonlight and more tears come into her eyes.
We sit together and still Mercury doesn’t come.
‘I’ll help you, Annalise. But they think you’re a spy. They don’t trust you.’
‘But you do?’
‘Of course.’ And I hold her; she’s so fragile and shaking. ‘I’ll speak to Mercury … convince her.’
Annalise nods.
‘We have to wait for her here on the roof. You mustn’t step off the roof unless you are touching Mercury.’
‘Or else?’
‘Gabriel told me that you fall into a death-like sleep.’
‘Gabriel doesn’t trust me. He doesn’t like me.’
‘You’re a Fairborn Witch, he’s a Blood –’
‘Pilot wouldn’t have me in her house.’
‘Mercury is more … business-minded.’
Annalise nods. ‘I heard Pilot say that Clay is in Geneva.’
And with that a warm breeze blows over us.
I wait for Mercury to appear but she doesn’t. I think she’s hinting that she wants to know more.
‘Do you know anything about a special knife called the Detheridge?’ I ask her. ‘I think Clay may have it.’
Annalise frowns. ‘Yes, I’ve heard my father talking about it with Kieran. It’s important, but I don’t know why. Different people take turns to look after it. Only those most trusted by the Council. My father had it for a time last year. My uncle has had it too and Clay is also one of the ones who guard it.’
Annalise grips my hand; hers is damp now. ‘You’re not thinking of trying to get the knife, are you?’ She turns to look at my face.
I shrug.
‘It would be madness. There will be Hunters everywhere.’
‘If someone was … invisible, say, and could sneak into Clay’s headquarters.’
Annalise shakes her head. ‘There will be trespass spells to protect the building.’
‘Like the one on the roof here?’
‘Yes, Clay will have a spell to protect the house. The spell won’t kill you; it will just make you incapable. Kieran told us a story about a fain who tried to break into a Hunter’s bunkhouse once and was found wandering around in a drunken stupor. They did things to him … laughed at him …’
‘All the doors and windows will have the spell?’
‘There will be one door that his Hunters use; that’s the only door that will be safe. If you use a different door or break in through a window, you’d be caught by the spell.’
The warm breeze kisses my cheek. I guess that Rose will be able to work this out.
‘I’ve also heard Kieran telling Niall and Connor about other spells Hunters use. The entrance door, the one the Hunters use, will have a password spell. You say the password before you cross the threshold and the trespass spell is lifted for a short period of time. There may be different words to go in and out. I’m not really sure …’
The breeze has gone cold. Rose doesn’t know about these spells. Perhaps they will realize …
The breeze gets stronger and colder.
I stand as Mercury appears. She doesn’t look happy. The wind picks up more so that I’m pushed backwards up the slope of the roof.
Annalise is on her knees, her hair blowing wildly.
‘Annalise. What a charming child you are.’ Mercury’s voice is cold. ‘Come, let us get better acquainted.’
Mercury stands on the grass near the roof and holds her hand out to Annalise. Annalise looks back at me and I try to move to her but the wind holds me back. Annalise rises and takes hold of Mercury’s fingers. But just as she steps off the roof another gust blows Annalise sideways. Her fingertips reach out but Annalise is not touching Mercury as the wind blows her on to the grass. And the wind is holding me back, holding me still, though I fight against it and I try to reach for Annalise but it’s too late.
I can’t hear what Mercury says because I’m shouting and the wind is blasting in my ears. Annalise is lying on the ground, only her chest is moving, heaving, and her mouth is open and gasping for breath.
Mercury stands over Annalise, watching her. And I’m shouting and shouting.
And Annalise’s chest is not heaving now. She is completely still. Her eyes are open and I’m screaming at Mercury.
Mercury slides her hand down Annalise’s face, closing her eyes.
Annalise’s body is pale on the dark ground.
The wind is relentless, pummelling me as I scream curses at Mercury.
Mercury’s voice is part of the wind in my face. ‘You must warn Rose and Gabriel about the password spell. There is still time to help them.’
‘What about Annalise?’ I shout, pointing at her body.
‘She’s asleep. Not dead. Return safely and I’ll wake her.’
She’s not dead. She’s not dead. Gabriel said it was a death-like sleep.
‘If she dies, Mercury …’
‘Enough of this. Go.’
The Detheridge
Mercury has been as business-like as ever. She has drawn a map to show me how to find Clay’s house. I’ve heard all the plans so I know that the house is an hour’s walk from the apartment. I run it in just over twenty minutes. Assuming Rose and Gabriel didn’t dawdle they’re over an hour ahead of me but they should still be watching the house, waiting for it to go quiet.
I have to concentrate on them because, if I don’t, all I see is Annalise’s body lying on the grass. She looked dead; her chest was still, her eyes were open.
I’m nearly there. I’ve got to concentrate.
The house is in a quiet suburb on a back road with large houses sitting in their own spacious gardens. Behind is a wooded hillside. I scout out the roads round the house and through the wood at the back.
There’s someone at the edge of the wood. His back is to me. He’s watching the house.
And all the training I did with Celia comes back to me. It’s easy, second nature, the way reading is to Gabriel. I tread slow and quiet, taking my knife in my hand. The figure begins to turn as I take my final step and grab his body, the blade at his throat. Poetry in motion.
Gabriel’s body is stiff against mine. I keep the knife pressed against his skin.
‘Not good enough,’ I hiss in his ear.
‘Nathan? What are you doing here?’
‘Where’s Rose?’
‘Watching the front. What’s going on?’
‘Mercury sent me. I need to tell Rose something about the spells on the house. Something useful that Annalise told me.’
He doesn’t reply, so I release him and push him away from me.
‘What did she say?’
I tell him and he nods. ‘Let’s tell Rose then.’
We work our way round to the front of the house. It’s still early, before midnight. Rose is in the garden of a house across the road. She doesn’t giggle as I explain the situation, but she doesn’t want to give up either. She thinks she can work it. All the Hunters enter and leave through the front door. She’ll shadow the next Hunter to arrive and listen for the password.
Now I’m at the back of the house again, leaning against a tree on the edge of the wood. There’s no fence but there is a lawn that stops just before the trees.
Rose and Gabriel are round the front.
The house is divided into two apartments: the upper one on the first and second floors is occupied by several Hunters; the lower one by Clay. From what I can make out Clay has an office and a bedroom at the back. I can see several Hunters moving around in their apartment; if they are going in and out they’re not using the back door, or the windows for that matter.
The weather is warm but overcast and a fine drizzle has started to fall.
I asked Rose what to do if something goes wrong.
She smiled. ‘Escape if you can. Run. If you can’t run, kill as many as you can. They killed your ancestors and they will do everything to kill you, Nathan. Kill them all.’ She kissed my cheek and said sweetly, ‘When you’ve killed them all, then you won’t need to run any more.’
I don’t want to kill anyone. If it came down to kill or be killed, I’d fight for sure but I’d try not to kill. But then again if it was Clay or Kieran …
What was I thinking about?
Rose appears beside me. She has come through the garden using her mist, her Gift. She evaporates like mist and so does my memory of her. Even as you watch her, you forget about her. It’s strange … confusing. But if she touches you, skin on skin, the confusion goes, and while she’s touching you she’s visible. It’s hard to work with her because of the mist and you can’t keep hold of her hand all the time. Gabriel says that the best way to work with her is not to watch her at all but to know what she will do and look away while she clothes herself in her mist so that your thoughts remain clear.
Rose asks, ‘How many Hunters are in there?’
‘Four upstairs.’ And none of them have Kieran’s bulk. ‘I think Clay’s in his office.’
‘I’ll wait here until he goes to bed, then I’ll go round the front and in. I listened in and heard the password. “Red rain”.’
Nice!
‘By the way, I think there’s a cellar,’ I tell her. ‘There’s a grate in the ground to the left of the house. A light came on earlier. I think Clay was down there.’
‘A good place to keep weapons.’
‘Maybe. If I was Clay …’ What would I do? ‘… I’d keep the Detheridge near me. But he has guns to store for his troops, I guess; guns, bullets, whatever. So maybe …’
‘Anything else?’
‘If I’m at the back, how will I know that you are out of there?’
‘Don’t wait here. When I go in, you go round the front and wait with your boyfriend.’
‘Do you know how irritating you are, Rose?’
She giggles softly.
I nudge her and nod to the house. The light in the office has gone out. A few seconds later the light from the cellar comes on.
‘Is he putting his weapons away for the night?’ Rose wonders.
And I know the answer. ‘No. He’s a Hunter. He never sleeps without them.’
‘Under his pillow then.’
‘I have the feeling he sleeps with his boots on and the Detheridge strapped to his thigh.’
‘I like a challenge.’
The cellar light goes off and the bedroom light comes on. A shadow. Two shadows. Clay and his girlfriend move around, come together, kiss, separate. Clay’s shadow goes. The office light comes on again.
