Gifted Thief (Highland Magic #1)(70)

He shifted his grip on the sword. Even from here, I could tell that his palms were sweaty. He was as likely to drop it on the ground as he was to strike me with it. ‘Evil. It has to be. No-one else has an aura like yours. I see greens, blues, reds. Every hue under the sun. You’re the only person, Sidhe or troll or damned kookaburra, who’s got black. No wonder you hang around with the dirty Clan-less.’

I was taken aback by the venom in his voice. Was that why I’d been treated so badly when I was his ward? Because everyone thought I was evil? I didn’t feel evil. I was a thief, sure; I wasn’t always on the right side of the law. But pure, unadulterated evil? I was confident that if my soul truly was like that, then I’d know it. Hell, I’d probably revel in it. That’s what evil people did.

‘Your father was evil,’ the Bull spat. ‘And you’re evil.’

‘I thought you said I was the only person you’d ever seen with a black aura?’

‘His was close enough. Dark grey.’

‘Have you seen a lot of those?’ I was genuinely curious.

‘What are you trying to do? Are you going to kill me or talk me to death?’

‘I could tell you a few jokes,’ I suggested.

He stared at me as if I were insane. Right now, he probably wasn’t far off the mark. I was trapped in a room with the man who’d caused virtually every nightmare I’d ever had, and half his Clan were trying to break down the door. If anything was likely to make me crazy, then this would be it.

The continued banging on the door finally had some effect. Whoever was on the other side had kicked hard enough to make some headway. Now there was little more than the table between me and several vicious Scrymgeour goons.

Panicking, I pulled out the letter opener and sprang towards the Bull. He was three times my size – it was no wonder how he’d earned his name. If I could put the blade to his throat, however, the rest of his Clan might back off. It was unlikely but I was desperate.

‘You think that’s going to work?’ he sneered.

No, not really. I kicked upwards, knocking the sword out of his hands. It fell to the ground with a clatter.

‘You made a mistake coming here, girlie. It’s a shame you won’t live long enough to regret it.’

‘Believe me,’ I grunted, shoving the letter opener towards his throat and grabbing him from behind, ‘I’d rather be falling out of the sky than here with you.’

The door burst open and a number of grim-faced Sidhe piled in, a few of whom I recognised. Before I could say so much as boo, however, my body was yanked backwards.

‘Teleporta…’ the Bull started to yell. Except his shout was swallowed up in the billowing wind. We were no longer in his quarters. Sodding hell: we were falling through the sky.

My stomach lurched. Bob. I kept my grip on the Bull but I was losing control of my body. We twisted and tumbled through the air. The ground seemed a long way down. As I spun one way, I could just make out the dot of the castle below. It might look far away but it wouldn’t take us very long to go splat.

‘What the hell have you done?’ the Bull yelled. Instead of pulling away from me, his hands frantically scrabbled forward, latching onto my shoulders. ‘Get us out of here!’

‘Bob!’ I screamed. ‘You wanker!’

There was the inevitable flash of light. I heard a curse from the Bull, before the genie appeared in front of my face.

‘Hi, Uh Integrity!’ The little shit had a parachute strapped to his back.

‘First you send me to him and now you do this?’

He shook his head. ‘Nah, I didn’t do this. You didn’t say “I wish”.’ He gave me a salute. ‘I’m here at your service if you need me, though.’ A tiny furrow lit his brow. ‘You must have … never mind. I seem to be stuck here with you.’

He spoke the truth. I switched my attention to the Bull, who was gaping at Bob. ‘What are you?’ he whispered.

‘None of your sodding business,’ I snapped, trying to time to stretch my body in the way I’d seen free fallers do on television. ‘I thought you said your Gift was aura reading?’

‘It is! This is down to you, you Adair bitch!’

Huh. I jerked my head down. The castle was getting bigger. Maybe I had received a Gift after all: I really could do teleportation. Pretty cool. I grinned to myself.

‘What are you smiling at, you freak?’ he yelled. ‘We’re going to die!’

I released my grip on him. His eyes widened in terror. ‘Don’t do that! Hold on to me!’ He clutched at me in desperation, his fingers white-knuckled.