Icefall (39 page)

The guard behind him had righted the chair. Rory stared at Kate, breathing hard, but of course there was nothing to say. He sat down and put his head in his hands.

‘Now, let's get down to business. Tear a gap in the Veil here, Rory. A foot or so. Let's see if there's anything I can do to … enlarge the wound. Keep it open.'

‘Bitch,' he whispered.

‘Come, come.' She waved at the air between them. ‘We'd better work this out quickly. You don't want it to take days, do you? Alasdair doesn't need much sleep.'

He lifted his fingers. Trembling again. Angrily, he clenched his fist, and when it was steady he flicked her the finger. The guard gave him a clout that made his head reel.

‘Don't play silly games, Rory.' Kate sighed. ‘I have the patience of angels, but please don't provoke me.'

Shaking his head, he raised his hand again, extended his fingers. Beneath them he felt the Veil. Soft, silky, insubstantial.
Oh, gods.
He wanted to weep but instead he lowered his hand, and pushed back his chair from the table.

‘I can't. Not here. It's an underground dun. The Veil's too strong here.'

Kate, examining the back of her hands, sounded bored. ‘You're lying.'

‘No, I—'

‘Your hold on it has been strengthening since you were an infant, Rory. Four years ago you tore the Veil close to a dun, remember? Just last May, you tore it inside one.'

‘No—'

‘Yes. You did. You tore the Veil at Dùn-Cnuic.'

He gaped at her. ‘I haven't been in a—'

‘Oh, sharpen
up,
child. Dunnock. Dunnockvale, as Alasdair's wretched marketing people insisted on calling it. And may I say, you showed a mature ruthlessness in dealing with those bodies. I'm sure your father was very proud of you.'

‘Shit,' he whispered. He wished his bloodstream would find its way back to his brain.

Kate brightened, her face all innocence. ‘Yes, your father! Do you think he'll last a week? I'm quite sure he will. Alasdair and his men would love to have more time with him and your stepmother.'

‘Stop it. Stop. I'll
try
.'

‘You'll do more than try, Laochan. I'll have my personal guard start building the pyres. That'll focus your mind.'

Clenching his teeth, he stroked the Veil, gripped it hard.

~
I'm sorry,
he told it.

Kate gave a little chuckle.

What was the point in pretending she was wrong? She was right, and she knew that he knew it. He was stronger, and the Veil was weaker. That much he could feel. That, and the fabric of it stretching and giving and ripping. It had the strength of tattered linen, perhaps. No more. His face contorted with grief as he tore it wider, a ragged awful wound.

‘It heals itself. Am I right? We don't want that. What we want is to … oh, push the self-destruct button, metaphorically speaking. Hm?' Kate tapped her cheek with a long finger, nibbled on her lip and closed one eye. Stretching out an idle hand, she ignited the edge of the tear in smoky black flame.

Rory started, gasped a protest. But before his eyes the flame guttered, and died.

‘Dearie me.' Kate pouted.

He took a breath. ‘You're not even trying!'

‘Do make up your mind, child. Of course I'm trying! But I've waited a long time for this. And Alasdair has scores to settle.'

He sank his face in his hands, swearing. ‘If this is it, let me say goodbye to them. Please.'

‘Oh, grow up. Of course this isn't it! You think after all these centuries I'm going to destroy the Veil in an underground cave with three witnesses? This is a rehearsal, Rory!'

‘You want to grandstand?' he growled.

‘You're joking, aren't you? Of course I do. I deserve a little spotlight, and so does your father, for all he's put me through. We're all going to have an audience! They'll be screaming for you, believe me.'

This time, she couldn't keep the vicious hatred out of her stretched smile.

Dad,
he thought dully.
Dad, just die.

Oh, Kate was right about too many things, but she was wrong about one. He'd make sure his father was dead. He'd make sure Finn was too, and Hannah, and everyone else he loved.

After that he had an oath to keep. He had a claim to take, for that matter. It was a matter of honour as well as desire, he thought. You couldn't fight tradition. You couldn't fight the blood and oaths of centuries.

He wouldn't die, not before his time. And his time would only come when he'd killed her.

 

Finn

There are things you can't kill, Finn, and you mustn't even try.

*   *   *

I reached out for it.

 

Hannah

There was no pleasing me. So the guard said. I didn't seem to like a torchlit cell any more than I'd liked the dark one. My wrist hurt, with a deep stinging pain, and I rubbed and rubbed at the ugly scar, but I knew it was nothing. Nothing. I had too much time to think about it, that was all. Too much time to think, full stop. About other damage being done, other hurts inflicted, other terrible things happening beyond my cell.

I don't know how I managed to sleep, but I did. When I woke I didn't feel any better, but my senses immediately zinged into overdrive. There was someone in the room with me.

I leaped to my feet, taking a harsh breath, panicking too much even to reach out with my mind. I was still trying hard to block, anyway, though I'm sure it wasn't keeping Kate out. I'm sure even rowanwood couldn't do that. How did we ever imagine we'd beat her?

‘Hannah.' The voice was low and calm.

Sionnach. I gasped with relief as I made him out in the flickering shadows, sitting against the wall with his arms resting on his knees. He didn't look too bad. He'd been roughed up a bit but not much more than that. He looked up at me but he didn't move.

‘Don't be scared,' he said. ‘It's me.'

I don't know what came over me then. I burst into tears, I couldn't help it. Sionnach reached out a hand. ‘Come here,' he said gently.

I sat down against the wall beside him and he put his arm round me and hugged me in silence. My tears dried quickly. I didn't see any point in them. When I rubbed my hands across my face and gulped, he said, ‘Are you okay?'

‘I'm fine. They haven't laid a finger on me.'

‘Since they slit your wrist?' His voice was dry.

‘I'm sorry, I've got no right to cry.'

He squeezed my shoulder gently. ‘Yes, you have.'

‘What about you?'

‘Fine. I wanted them to take me instead. It doesn't bother me. I didn't want to live this long anyway. I told them to take me instead of him but—'

It was a long speech for Sionnach and it ended very abruptly as if he'd run out of words. But the silence was so heavy I turned my head and saw something I'd never seen before, something I'd never expected to see: Sionnach weeping, silently, as if his heart would break.

I wriggled round and put both my arms around him, pressing my face into his shoulder. He put his cheek against my hair. After a while he stopped crying, and he didn't start again.

‘Are you scared?' he whispered.

‘Yes,' I said. It was long past the point for playing games.

‘That's okay. Don't feel any shame, that's important.'

‘I promise.' I hoped I could keep it.

‘I don't have long, Hannah. They've only parked me while they look for a free cell, so listen. They won't let you near Rory but he'll be with you, okay? Even if she blocks you both, his mind will be as close to yours as he can get it. Don't forget.'

‘No. I won't.'

‘You'll see him again, Hannah. After all this is over.'

‘Yes.' I was trying to believe it.

‘I'll stay as close to you as I can, okay? If I can be in your mind I'll try. I don't think she'll bother to block us.'

‘I'd like that. Thanks. Thanks for everything, Sionnach.'

‘Same to you. Be brave, Hannah. If you are, I might be too.' He pulled away a little and winked at me. ‘Okay?'

I nodded and hugged him tighter, but he raised his head sharply at the sound of footsteps.

‘They're coming for me,' he whispered. ‘I'll see you later, okay?'

I kissed his scarred cheek and then held him as tight as I could until they opened the door and bright light flooded in and they dragged us apart and manacled his hands behind him. He gave me a last wink and then they'd taken him.

I felt as bereft as if they'd pulled off a limb, but I didn't have time to cry about it, thank God. I stood up as someone else came into the room, knowing who it was. Not that I could read her mind: I could just feel her. I just knew her. I was
part
of her.

Kate gave me a smile that was the smuggest I'd ever seen. ‘We're all done here, Hannah. You'll be glad to hear we won't be needing you.'

I felt cold, and very sick. ‘I want to see Rory.'

‘Out of the question, I'm afraid.'

‘Then let me see Finn and Seth.' I was trying not to sound aggressive but I had to grit my teeth.

‘Seth? Absolutely not. But you can go and see your … what is she? Stepmother-in-law? Aunt? Cousin thrice removed?'

‘She's my friend,' I spat.

‘Oh, of course. You care for her. You all care for each other, don't you? Let me tell you something, Hannah. If you'd truly cared for your friends you should have talked them out of their treason.' She laughed. ‘And you should never have baited a trap for them.'

I could only struggle to breathe properly, struggle to keep my fists at my sides. ‘You took me!
You
made them come!'

‘Ah, yes. But only because I had to. I had to put a stop to you somehow.' Her eyes glittered. It wasn't the glint of madness; the old bitch was all too sane. ‘I wanted you, Currac-sagairt, and you spat in my face. The rest of them kept my Rory from me. I killed his clann one by one and still Seth wouldn't come, the coward. I had to take Conal's bastard to force that, do you see? But if you'd all given up this nonsense earlier … ah, too late now, isn't it?' She stood back by the open door. ‘Go to Finn. Get her cleaned up a bit, will you? You'll be on parade within the hour and you'll want to look your best in the circumstances.'

I shoved past her. The guards fell in at my sides but they didn't try to grab me. They all knew fine we were beaten. The fight was out of us. It was over.

They escorted me even deeper into the caverns, down twisting tunnels that stank of misery. I recognized Goggles as soon as we turned the last corner, lounging against another rowanwood door and laughing with a second guard. As we approached he unfolded his arms and stepped lazily aside to let us through, jerking his head.

‘There you go. Murlainn's whore.' He smirked.

There were scratches on his face, and real hatred in his eyes. My stomach was heaving, but I think I managed not to let it show. I didn't even give him the satisfaction of my hate, but ignored him and went into the cell. Behind me the door crashed shut and I heard the bolt shoot home.

My heart was slamming. It was gloomy in there, but I saw her quickly enough, crouched tightly in a corner of the cell. Her arms were wrapped round her knees, but the fingers of one hand twisted and wrenched obsessively at a lock of her hair.

Finn looked up at me, her twisting fingers going still, the dull misery and fear on her face turning to something like relief. Her left eye was bruised and swollen, her cheekbone gashed. There was a bad cut on her eyebrow and a thick rivulet of dried blood under her nostril. She tried to smile.

I sat down beside her and put my arms round her. She pressed her face into my chest but she couldn't let go of her knees, as if she was desperately trying to hold herself together. She choked out a single dry sob.

‘Are you okay?' I whispered. Stupid question, but what else was I supposed to ask?

‘I'm fine. I'm fine.'

‘Did they hurt you, Finn?' Another stupid question. I was full of them.

She shook her head, far too quickly. When she lifted it, her eyes were filmed and clouded with grief; the Sithe light that should have been in them was barely detectible. There was something else there instead. Maybe it was my overworked imagination, but I didn't want to look at it too hard.

She whispered, ‘Not as much as they hurt him.'

‘How do you kn…' My voice dried.

‘Alasdair showed me.' Her voice was a husk. ‘Some. In his head. He let me See.'

I couldn't answer. I was too scared of throwing up.

‘Hannah. Have you seen him? Have you seen Seth?'

‘No,' I said. ‘I'm sorry.' I hugged her harder.

‘I want to see him.
I want to see him.
'

‘Sh,' I said. ‘Listen, Finn, you mustn't cry. Please. Please don't cry. It won't be long. They're taking us out soon.'

She pulled away a little, searching my eyes. ‘I see,' she said very quietly. ‘You're right.' She let go of her knees at last to rub her eyes with her fists. ‘Sorry, Hannah. I'm acting like a child.' She took hold of my arms. ‘Listen, you might be all right. She's your great-great-grandmother.'

‘That means nothing to her. Nah, Finn. We're in this together, okay? Hold it together. It'll be within the hour.'

‘So they broke Rory. Did they hurt him?'

I looked away, but that was cowardly, so I met her eyes properly. ‘No. No, I don't think so. They didn't have to.'

‘Of course.' She hugged her knees again and laid her cheek on them, closing her eyes in grief and exhaustion. ‘I wish it was over.'

‘Me too. Soon it will be. Finn?'

‘Mm?'

I swallowed, and muttered, ‘Is it true, what you saw that time? When you saw Conal. Are you really sure?'