Marrock jerked slightly, my words obviously coming as news. ‘The Gneiss have broken through the siege?’
‘Not many of them.’ I told him what I’d seen from the alleyway.
‘Just the one vehicle?’
I nodded.
His face grew dark. ‘That doesn’t make sense. If they have the power to break through into the city then why just send one carload?’ He jerked his chin to where de Florinville and Ange had gone. ‘What makes you think this is to do with her and not him?’
‘They want her,’ I said quietly. ‘They don’t want him.’
His eyes met mine. ‘We need to know more. Come with me.’ Marrock strode away. I jogged to catch up with him, unsure where he was going or what he was planning.
‘I have an unrelated question,’ I said, keeping my voice low. ‘Have you heard of a Fior Ghal before?’
Marrock sent me a sidelong glance. ‘Yes.’
‘And? What is it?’
‘I’m curious why you’re asking.’
I pressed my lips together. Never give away more information than you need to. Apparently, however, I didn’t need to because realization lit Marrock’s face. ‘That’s why he hates me.’ He gave a loud laugh that echoed around us, bouncing off the silent bandit machines. ‘Now it makes sense!’
I glared at him. ‘I don’t see how.’
‘You’re his Fior Ghal. You have no idea what that means, do you? Or how precious it makes you.’
I sighed in irritation. ‘Marrock…’
‘Haven’t you ever wondered why there are so few Dark Elves in Scotland?’
I crossed my arms. ‘I wonder what’s going to be in my weekly rations and whether I’ll live long enough to eat them. I wonder whether today will be the day that the goblins break down my door. I don’t wonder about Dark Elves.’
‘Why would the goblins break down your door, Saiya?’
‘Why wouldn’t they?’ I retorted.
‘You’re Gabriel de Florinville’s Fior Ghal. That’s reason enough, I suppose.’ His eyes gleamed. ‘But we both know there’s even more to you than that.’
‘I’m sexy, smart and wonderful. Yes.’ I was hardly about to tell Marrock I was a wraith. ‘Now enlighten me. What is a Fior Ghal?’ I repeated.
He jabbed his finger at me. ‘Bear in mind this information is third hand. I don’t move in Dark Elf circles so I don’t have all the lowdown.’
‘I hear you. Tell me what you do know.’
‘You’re his baby mama.’
I blinked. ‘Excuse me?’ Of everything I’d expected to hear, that certainly wasn’t on the list.
Marrock’s grin split his face, creasing it from ear to ear. ‘There are so few Dark Elves because for each Elf there’s only one other person in the world who can have their babies. You’re the only person on this earth who can carry Gabriel de Florinville’s child to term. It’s destiny. It can’t be altered.’ He laughed again.
I thought of the strange jolt I’d felt when de Florinville first touched me, the gentle way he’d treated me and his willingness to follow me into burning buildings. It suddenly made sense. ‘I’m a brood mare,’ I whispered.
‘Yep.’
‘A Dark Elf incubator.’
‘Indeed.’
I felt nauseous. ‘Can…’ My voice was faint. ‘Can I have any Dark Elf’s child?’
‘Nope. Just his.’ He chuckled.
I wondered whether I should rejoice or whether it made me feel worse. I’d been starting to warm to the Elf, despite what had gone on before. Now I didn’t have to worry that he’d kill me if he found out I was a wraith; he needed me more than I needed him. Then a second more horrifying thought occurred to me. He didn’t actually need me, he just needed my body as a vessel.
‘Mr I’m-not-a-Lord-de-Florinville doesn’t like me because he thinks we’re an item. You and me! What a ridiculous idea!’ Marrock chuckled. ‘You’re looking rather pale, Saiya.’
No shit. I was feeling kinda bloody pale. The urge to run and get as far away from Gabriel de Florinville as possible was almost overwhelming.
‘Where are you going?’ The voice of the Dark Elf himself floated over from the gloom somewhere to my right.
I couldn’t prevent an alarmed squeak from escaping my lips. Marrock’s response was far cheerier. ‘We’re going to do a little spying on the goblins,’ he said. ‘Wanna come with?’
I felt de Florinville watching me but I couldn’t look at him. I couldn’t even say anything.
‘Sure,’ he said finally. He walked up to me and hooked a proprietorial arm round my waist. I flinched and drew away. Something dark flickered in his gaze but otherwise he didn’t respond.
Marrock laughed again. He seemed to be under the impression that all this was simply a show for his own entertainment. ‘How’s the woman? Ange?’
‘Sleeping. She’ll be alright.’
I folded my arms and moved as far away from the Dark Elf as I could. I wasn’t ready to use Marrock as a shield between De Florinville and myself but I wasn’t too far from that point. ‘When can she be moved?’ I asked.
‘In a few hours.’ He was still looking at me. Damn him. ‘It’s not like fixing some broken fingers. She’s sustained considerable abuse over a period of time and there was internal damage to sort out.’ Fury lit his words as if he were only just finding out that the goblins didn’t tuck us up in bed at night or hand out sweets and chocolate and free hugs to make us feel safe.
Marrock spat on the floor. ‘Ach,’ he said, ‘I’ve seen far worse.’
So had I. I was under the impression that the Filits had been afraid to go too far with their torture of Ange in case they accidentally killed her. Whatever she knew about this Stone thing was clearly important to them. From the way de Florinville had reacted when I mentioned it, he thought the same. Not that I cared what he thought.
‘Boss.’ Another of Marrock’s minions sidled out of the darkness. It would drive me crazy having people do that all the time – and I was a damned wraith who lived for dark shadows. ‘Word is there are Gneiss goblins in town.’
Marrock’s lip curled. ‘No shit. I knew that half an hour ago. Where are they now?’
The minion smirked. ‘Mercat Cross.’
Marrock clapped his hands together and rubbed his palms. ‘As I’d hoped. Excellent.’ He smiled, first at de Florinville then at me. ‘You’re going to enjoy this.’
Somehow I doubted it.
***
Marrock took us up a narrow fire escape that led out of the bowling alley onto its flat roof. The worst of the smoke from the Gneiss’ shelling had dissipated but the sky remained grey and lifeless.
‘I don’t do this very often,’ Marrock called over his shoulder.
‘Take people up to the roof of your building and throw them off?’ I muttered while de Florinville shot me a look filled with equal measures of surprise and amusement.
‘Saiya,’ Marrock chided. ‘So cynical.’ He grinned at de Florinville as if sharing a joke. To the Dark Elf’s credit, he looked away.
Although I could have easily sent my shadow up here, I’d never actually been on the roof of the bowling alley. I’d never had any cause to be here; Marrock’s machinations held little interest to me. I sold him the secrets he wanted and didn’t think too hard about what he did with the information he paid for. Maybe the day I became a saint, I’d be in a position to judge him but that wasn’t today. All the same, when I saw what was sitting on top of Marrock’s roof, my jaw dropped open.
The wee man obviously took pleasure in my surprise. He puffed out his chest and strutted over to the gigantic, angled mirror. ‘You’re not the only one with secrets to tell, Saiya,’ he called. ‘I have more methods of seeking out the truth and keeping an ear to the ground than you might imagine.’ He licked his lips in self-satisfaction. ‘You get the best view if you stand here.’
Warily, I edged over with de Florinville on my heels. When I got to the point where Marrock was standing, I realised what he meant. We were over a mile away from Mercat Cross but the reflection in the mirror was of those streets. I could see a large group of Filit goblins facing off against a smaller group of Gneiss goblins. Each faction glared at the other, with the only the odd twitch proving that the image was live rather than static.
I stared harder. ‘This is happening now?’
‘There’s about half a second delay. But essentially, yes. Normally I use it when there’s a hanging taking place – not to be voyeuristic, you understand. It helps to know who is being targeted by the Filits. With the gallows currently out of action, I assumed the system would be defunct.’ His smile grew. ‘I couldn’t be more wrong.’
De Florinville hissed under his breath. ‘The auction block. It’s used for hanging?’
‘When we don’t have Dark Elf dignitaries in town,’ Marrock responded.
I was barely listening; my attention was wholly on the mirrored device. ‘Is it magic?’
‘Physics.’ Marrock took me by the arm, ignoring the way de Florinville suddenly stiffened, and drew me to the side of the roof. ‘There,’ he said pointing. ‘It’s angled into the block of flats there. The entrance has caved in and I make sure no one is curious enough to venture inside with some well-placed warnings and traps. The mirror here reflects the mirror on the top floor of the flats. That in turn reflects a smaller version set into the old clock tower, which is angled down into Mercat Cross. It took considerable time and effort to get it all right. It’s rather nifty engineering though, isn’t it? We’re trying to establish a similar version to look into the castle but the angles are more complicated and, alas, we can’t see through stone.’