Wraith(37)

I ripped my eyes away from Gabriel and re-focused on Ghrashbreg. He seemed amused, flicking his gaze from Gabriel to my bruised lips. It was only when his eyes drifted downwards to glance at my fingers, as if checking to see if they were still broken from his earlier torture, that I brought myself back to the here and now.

‘Well,’ the goblin said briskly. ‘Shall we? I will escort you both back to the castle forthwith. Your transport out of Stirling is already waiting for you. I’ve cleared a space for Ms Buchanan so she can leave with you.’ He paused. ‘I haven’t seen your manservant for a while though. Ryland, is it?’

‘Rymark,’ Gabriel growled, his voice still husky. ‘And he’s not my servant, he’s an esteemed colleague. I’m afraid we can’t leave Stirling until he is located. It would be dangerous to leave him here, given his position at Holyrood. I’d hate to think that the Gneiss goblins could burst through the city walls and get hold of him. The knowledge contained inside his head is rather valuable. We can’t have it fall into the wrong hands. And we all know there’s a wraith lurking around here somewhere.’

He finally seemed to have learnt the value of lying. I nodded in agreement and tried not to react to his mention of the supposed wraith assassin.

Ghrashbreg, however, was unimpressed and his expression hardened. ‘We can keep a lookout for your man and send him on to join you once he’s found. He’s not in the castle so he could be anywhere. And I wouldn’t worry about the wraith – we’ve captured it again and we won’t let it go like you did.’

Nausea rose inside me at Ghrashbreg’s words. He wasn’t done yet either. ‘There might be others, though. Its target was your charming Fior Ghal and she is still very much alive. You should get her to safety while you still can.’ He lifted his head and scanned the skies. ‘Goodness knows if the Gneiss goblins are going to try to bomb us again or how many dangerous prisoners escaped when the Tolbooth was destroyed. This siege has created many monsters.’

I almost laughed aloud at that last part. Still, I was glad that Ghrashbreg was laying it on too thick. His mention of the wraith made Gabriel stiffen as well as me and I was aware of the worried look he shot me. It was a piece of the puzzle the Dark Elf had yet to work out – thankfully – but his concern for my safety could ruin everything. The Stone of Scone was what was important, not my ability to pop out an elven kid. All the same, if I got the chance to help out the captured wraith, I would. I owed him that much.

‘We shall wait until tomorrow,’ Gabriel said. ‘It’s possible Rymark has got himself entangled with some of Stirling’s other delights and will return later. If he has not appeared by noon, then we shall have to depart.’ He reached for my hand, entwining his fingers with mine. A pleasant buzz spread through me but I ignored it. Like hell was I departing Stirling. ‘I would also like to interrogate the wraith. I assume you’re keeping him at the castle?’

‘We are. He is still in shadow form and we have the situation under control. He’s in the dungeon and cannot escape again.’

‘All the same,’ Gabriel said, his voice taking on an edge of steel, ‘I want to see the wraith myself.’

‘Fair enough,’ Ghrashbreg said, with false cheeriness. ‘I have plans this evening as I was not expecting your company. I will escort you to the wraith tomorrow morning. I don’t suppose it will be a problem if I arrange for you to sup dinner in your room tonight?’ His mouth twitched. ‘It will enable you and Saiya to … to get to know each other better.’

‘That will be fine,’ Gabriel replied smoothly. ‘Let us leave for the castle at once.’ He gestured at himself and I realised that our embrace had transferred a lot of slimy goo from my body to his. ‘A hot shower would be particularly welcome.’

I’d not experienced a hot shower for more than two years. Was that even possible? It almost made returning to Stirling Castle surrounded by goblins worthwhile.

***

We said little on the journey back. Even when we reached Gabriel’s rooms and the door closed behind us, he motioned at me to keep quiet, indicating that I should be careful about what I said.

‘Home sweet home,’ he said aloud. He walked over to a small desk, opened a drawer and took out a piece of paper and a pen. With elegant penmanship, he scratched out a message: We leave again at midnight.

I took the paper, my fingers brushing against his. I wanted my touch to linger against his but I focused and, with considerably messier handwriting, wrote my response: They’ll still be watching.

Gabriel’s follow-up was simple: I know.

I didn’t know whether he had a plan to sneak out from under the eyes of a thousand goblins or he was merely full of bravado - and I didn’t get the chance to find out. There was a brisk knock on the door and a moment later a string of servants appeared, each one carrying a bucket full of steaming water. They seemed to know where they were going; they traipsed across the room, through another door next to the main bedroom.

A nervous-looking woman appeared, her uniform rather like the grubby chef’s whites I’d put on when I’d been here earlier. She half curtsied and half bowed, her eyes fixed on a spot over Gabriel’s shoulder. ‘Lord Ghrashbreg has ordered that your bathroom be prepared for a shower. If we draw you a bath, the, uh, dirt covering will simply slide off and float in the water.’

I was intrigued. So they really could shower properly here. A shiver of delight ran through me, despite my distaste at the waste of electricity.

‘You mean the wooden contraption?’ Gabriel asked.

The woman nodded. ‘I will show you.’

Smoothing her hands down her front, she walked into the bathroom. The last of the water-bearing servants had just departed. There was a ceramic bathtub in one corner but in another was a wooden tub with high sides and a ladder propped up against it. From the steam rising at the top, it seemed that this was where the hot water had been deposited.

‘There’s a pump here,’ the woman said, pointing. My eyes followed her finger and understanding finally dawned. She squeezed the lever up and down a few times and a sprinkling of water appeared from a shower head. The setup was ingenious. Then another more sobering thought occurred to me.

‘Wait,’ I said. ‘The pump is here. The shower is there. Someone needs to be in the room to pump the water while I shower.’

The woman nodded vigorously. ‘Oh yes. There are only three of these showers in the castle and we would never expect the users to have to pump for themselves.’

I suspected there was an innuendo in there somewhere but this wasn’t really the time. ‘Right,’ I said slowly.

‘But don’t worry,’ she continued, ‘we’ll arrange for a servant to do that for you.’

Absolutely no chance. It wasn’t a modesty thing, it was the thought of some poor sap sweating while I enjoyed a hot shower that offended me.

‘Saiya and I will manage for ourselves.’ Gabriel smiled.

Whoa. Absolutely no chance – and this time it was a modesty thing. Forget that he’d already virtually seen me naked; I wasn’t going to shower in front of him. No way.

‘As you wish,’ the woman replied.

I opened my mouth to argue but Gabriel’s hand shot out and squeezed my arm in warning. I glared at him. He ignored me.

‘Dinner will be brought to you at eight,’ she added. ‘We will set it up in the main drawing room.’

I knew that room well; it was where my shadow had been trapped inside the salt circle.

‘Perfect. Thank you very much.’

She stumbled out as if she couldn’t wait to leave. As soon as I heard the click of the main door, Gabriel turned to me. ‘Get your clothes off then.’

My mouth dropped. ‘Excuse me?’

‘You’re filthier than I am, Saiya.’ He stretched over and tested the shower pump. As a gush of water sprinkled down from above, he lowered his voice. ‘And with the water running, they can’t eavesdrop.’

Oh. A flutter of disappointment coursed through me. Fair enough.

‘I’ll shower after you,’ he said. ‘So come on. We don’t want the water to get cold. Clothes off.’ His tone was business-like; he could have been a doctor performing a routine inspection. It didn’t matter; I still felt awkward.

Turning my back on him, I fumbled with my top. A good amount of Death Worm gunk had dried on it, making the material stiff and unyielding so it wasn’t easy to remove. After a moment or two of watching me struggle, Gabriel apparently had had enough. ‘Don’t move,’ he murmured.

I felt rather than saw him behind me. His warm breath clouded against my neck, followed by his fingers gently edging their way round. I was frozen to the spot.

‘Saiya?’

I squeaked.

‘Don’t forget to breathe.’

All at once I expelled the air I hadn’t realised I was holding. ‘I…’ I stammered.

‘Shh.’ He reached up, brushing his fingers against the soft hairs that curled round my ear. ‘I know. I was there for that kiss too. The connection runs deep, Saiya, deeper than even I could have imagined. I felt what you’re feeling. I feel the same now.’