Wraith(8)

Marrock regarded me silently for a moment. ‘That’s easy. I should ask, though, if you are planning a rescue mission, little Saiya. I’d hate to have my best purveyor of truths destroyed in a foolish errand of mercy.’

‘I’d hate to be destroyed too, Marrock,’ I countered. ‘I’m not planning on getting myself killed by the Filits. What I do with the information is my business.’

He laughed. ‘So it is.’ Lifting one hand, he beckoned. From the far corner, a young man ventured towards us, stepping across the bowling lanes. When he reached Marrock, he bent down and listened while his boss murmured in his ear. After some murmuring back, Marrock looked at me. ‘Tell me about this visitor then.’

‘I need your assurance first that—’

‘Enough!’ The spark of anger in his eyes was enough to warn me off. It was never easy to tell where the line was with Marrock; apparently I’d just crossed it. ‘If I deem your information good enough, I will tell you what you need. Quid pro quo, Saiya. Quid pro quo.’

There were other information dealers I could go to but Marrock had never done me wrong before now. Of course, there was a first time for everything but I had to trust someone. ‘Fine.’ I shrugged at him. ‘Drum roll please.’ I paused for effect before saying, ‘It’s a Dark Elf.’

The fact that Marrock didn’t even twitch told me everything I wanted to know. He was as surprised by this information as I had been. The Dark Elves had power, wealth – lots of both – and there were very few of them. For one to risk visiting Stirling was news indeed.

The minion beside him was less capable of controlling himself. ‘Bullshit!’ he blurted out. ‘She’s lying.’

Marrock shook his head slowly. ‘Saiya doesn’t lie. Not to me. She knows what will happen if she does.’

‘But…’

‘Fuck off, Bear.’

Bear opened his mouth as if to argue before belatedly remembering who he was about to argue with. He marched off with a face like a winter storm.

‘So?’ I said, not even smirking when he slipped on one of the lanes and almost went flying. ‘Why have the goblins taken Ange Horrocks?’

Marrock shrugged. ‘I have no idea.’

Anger flashed through me. From the way he’d spoken, I’d assumed he had the information I wanted. ‘You—’

‘Relax, Saiya. I don’t know yet. But I will know.’ He smiled at me like a benevolent dictator.

I gritted my teeth. ‘This information is time-critical.’

‘Of course.’ He waved a hand. ‘I will get you what you need but I would like to extend our bargaining a little further.’

Wariness crept through me. I had a very bad feeling about this. ‘Go on.’

‘If there is a Dark Elf within our city, everyone will know about it within hours. Information like that doesn’t stay secret for long.’

Of course he was right. Hell, Isabella Markbury had known that the Elf was going to be at Kanji. He might be traipsing around town with a hood over his head but by morning everyone would know he was here. It was one of the reasons why I’d made the effort to get to Marrock so quickly.

‘There’s power in being the first to know,’ I pointed out.

‘True,’ he acknowledged. ‘But I still want more.’ I could already feel the resignation seeping in. I knew what Marrock wanted; nevertheless he spelled it out for me. ‘I want to know who the Dark Elf is. Knowing his identity will go a long way towards knowing why he’s here. Because, Saiya, I also want to know his motivation. His real motivation.’

‘I’m not a mind reader. His name is one thing but his motivation? I’m not sure I can get you that information. I’m not sure anyone other than the damned Dark Elf himself could get you that information.’

Marrock gazed at me meaningfully. ‘Try.’ He paused. ‘The rewards will be worth it. Not only has this got to be more interesting for you compared to seeking out the sleazy affairs from the underbelly but, in return, I will personally ensure that your friend is released.’

I stared at him. ‘You don’t have that kind of power.’

‘A lot of people owe me a lot of favours. I can manage it.’

I looked into his eyes. Marrock wasn’t boasting, he was simply telling it as it was and for some reason that made me feel more nervous. Perhaps I’d massively underestimated him. ‘In that case,’ I said, because I really didn’t have a choice, ‘we have a deal. But I want Ange freed as soon as I come back to you with the information.’

‘I trust you. I’ll start preparations immediately.’ He beckoned over to the dark corners of the alley again, indicating that our conversation was at an end. ‘And remember, Saiya, as you said, time is critical.’

Yeah, I thought sourly as I stalked out of the bowling alley, grabbing my first-aid kit from an outstretched hand as I left. And nothing said impending disaster more than a ticking clock.





Chapter Four




The countdown might have started already but there was little I could do about it in the immediate aftermath of leaving Marrock’s. I retrieved my knife from his still-growling security guards and headed home, crashing out as soon as my head hit the pillow. It wasn’t until I woke up the next day that I began to plan. I sipped at my dandelion drink, a surprisingly tasty substitute for coffee made from the roots of the weed, and considered my options.

There would only be one place where the Dark Elf was staying for the duration of his visit. Stirling Castle loomed over the city, its shadow far more constant than mine. Perhaps once upon a time it had been looked up to as a beacon of hope and optimism, a symbol of the might of not just this city but this country. These days, it was just the building where a great deal of our misery came from. Orders and pronouncements were decided within the castle walls and issued from the castle gates. Virtually all of the Filit goblins lived there. It was certainly big enough to house them all.

The one curiosity was that even though the castle was a massive, obvious target, the Filits never seemed to consider abandoning it and the Gneiss hit it only once during their initial bombardment. In fact, after the large crater appeared in the south side of the castle’s outer wall, the shelling stopped for almost a month.

Most people seemed to think that the goblins wanted to preserve the history of the building and were doing their best to avoid damaging it – although they certainly had no qualms about destroying other historical areas of Stirling. These days Cambuskenneth Abbey was more piles of rubble than impressive ancient stonework and the Tolbooth prison building was once hit so badly that all the prisoners inside escaped through a hole in the wall. Unfortunately it had been quickly repaired. Perhaps the Gneiss left the castle unscathed because they wanted it as their seat of power and they didn’t like redecorating.

Whatever reason the goblins had for preserving for Stirling Castle, it stood over all of us as a permanent backdrop to our lives. Those walls, turrets and towers saw everything. Sometimes I was almost jealous.

My shadow self had ventured inside, especially during the early days of the siege when we were all sure it would be finished by Easter but the Filits were too damned cautious. They had a nasty habit of regularly scanning the castle and its environs for beasties – wraiths included. On two occasions I’d almost been caught.

A while back the Filits put a bound shadow on display at Mercat Cross after its owner had attempted to assassinate one of the cannier goblin lords. It took a full day for the wraith to writhe and silently scream its way to death; at that point I promised that I wouldn’t step inside that dratted castle ever again.

I finished the dregs of my dandelion coffee. Promises, much like rules, were made to be broken. I knew that I could still walk away if I wanted to; women like Ange and kids like Becky were two a penny. Very few people would miss Ange. The only way I could guarantee my own safety would be to tell Becky that I’d tried my best but I couldn’t find her mother. She’d be sad for a while but she’d get over it. Eventually.

Standing up, I went into my small bathroom and turned on the tap. A few drips of water splashed miserably into the sink while the pipes clanked and complained. I sighed. If the water would didn’t come on again soon, I’d have to make another trip to the river. I was fast running out of supplies. Still, I thought, as I cupped water in my hands from an old jerry can and splashed it over my face, if I died saving Ange Horrocks I wouldn’t have to worry about rations or water or anything like that ever again. What a cheery thought.

Even if I hadn’t had Becky’s pleading, tear-stained face at the forefront of my mind, I’d have felt compelled to do my best for Ange. When we let the Filits arrest whoever they wanted for whatever made-up reason they wanted, we’d have given up. In that scenario the only alternative left to us was to lie down and die. I gave a wry smile. My life wasn’t worth much these days anyway. The sad truth was that no one’s life in Stirling was.

The only way I could leave the castle alive and with my shadow intact would be to avoid the areas where large groups of people congregated. The hallways and corridors of the buildings on the outer fringes would be safer, although the Dark Elf would probably be staying in the King’s Old Building in the Inner Close. In the days before the siege, important guests and visitors were given rooms there. As long as I didn’t venture too deeply inside the Inner Close, I had a chance of lurking in the shadows and finding out the information that Marrock needed.