Veiled Threat (8 page)

‘What do you want?’ he snarled. He was dressed in ridiculously formal livery. Chieftain MacBain seemed to think she was living in the eighteenth century. It didn’t help that, of all things, he appeared to be carrying a spear.

I smirked. ‘Nice togs. Are you going to a fancy-dress party?’

The spear shook. ‘No.’

Okay then. I stared at him and he stared back at me. Eventually, growing bored, I sighed. ‘I’m Integrity Adair. I’m here to see Chieftain MacBain.’

‘I wasn’t informed. There are no visitors due today.’

I held up my palms, trying to get him to relax. It didn’t work. ‘It was a loose invitation. She wants me to help her retrieve something.’

‘If your name’s not on the list, you don’t get in. I don’t care who you are.’

I smiled pleasantly. ‘Why don’t you phone up and check? I’m sure when she knows I’m here, she’ll want to see me.’

The troll’s lip curled. ‘Rules are rules. Without her permission, you have to stay out.’

I jumped down from the car. He waggled the spear at me in what I assume he thought was a menacing fashion. ‘Keep back!’

‘You’re right,’ I said. ‘Rules are rules. It’s very important to stick to them.’

He sniffed. ‘I’m glad someone agrees with me.’

I nodded wisely. ‘Not everyone understands how important security is.’

He stood up a little bit straighter. ‘Yes! They complain to me all the time. Demand to be let in when they’re late. Forget to log out when they leave. It’s my job to make sure this area is secure! It’s me who’ll get in trouble when something bad happens.’

I noted he said
when
, rather than
if
. I murmured soothingly, ‘People just don’t get it, do they? They’ll learn when a marauding band of Fomori demon come marching through.’

He snapped his fingers. ‘Exactly!’ His gaze softened as if he was starting to think we were kindred spirits.

‘You’re a troll to be admired. Not all security specialists are as dedicated as you.’

He bowed. ‘Thank you.’

‘What’s your name?’

‘Sorley.’

I clapped my hands. ‘Great name!’ His cheeks went slightly pink. ‘Anyway, Sorley,’ I said, ‘I’d be so grateful if you could tell Chieftain MacBain that I’m here to see her. Don’t break any rules. It’s very important that you stick to them ‒ I wouldn’t want your security compromised in any way, shape or form. Honestly, I wish my Clan had as good a set up as this.’ I dropped my voice in a conspiratorial whisper. ‘Don’t tell anyone, but we don’t even have a proper border in place.’

Sorley looked utterly horrified. ‘What did you say your name was again?’

‘Integrity Adair.’

‘Adair? But...’ He clicked his heels together. ‘I see.’

See what? Before I could ask, hooves clattered up from behind. I turned in time to see a lordling I vaguely recognised pull up on a monster of a horse. Admittedly, all horses looked like monsters to me.

‘Sorley,’ he barked. ‘What’s the problem?’

‘Her name’s not on the list.’

The lordling, who had more muscles than I’d seen in a long time, leapt off the horse and landed on both feet. I glanced down and realised that his torso might be the size of an oak tree but his legs were more like puny saplings. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself laughing. Someone hadn’t been doing their exercises properly.

He cast a long look over me. He seemed rather wary. ‘Don’t you know who this is?’ he demanded of Sorley.

I winced.

‘I do now,’ Sorley replied shortly. ‘She’s Integrity Adair.’

‘Chieftain Adair,’ the lordling said.

‘Makes no difference,’ the troll mumbled. ‘Her name’s not down on my list.’

‘And your dedication is admirable.’ I broke in before the increasingly irate Sidhe let out a barrage of expletives. I smiled. ‘I really would appreciate it if you could check with Chieftain MacBain and then...’

The lordling clicked his fingers. ‘Let her in.’

The troll looked at him then back at me. ‘I cannot.’

‘You will do what I say or...’

I rolled my eyes. ‘I will wait here until Chieftain MacBain agrees that I can enter. Alright?’

Sorley threw a smug look at the lordling, who seemed very put out. ‘I will tell her you’re here,’ the lordling said huffily. Then he clambered back on his horse and cantered through.

Sorley checked his watch. He looked a bit upset.

‘Don’t worry about him,’ I told him. ‘He’s just another Sidhe wanker.’

Sorley’s eyes shot to mine and he coughed. ‘It’s not that,’ he said stiffly. ‘He said he’d be back at 10 a.m. It’s 10.12. I’ll have to log that and write a report. He should be more punctual.’

I pressed my lips together hard. ‘Mmmm.’

I was expecting Chieftain MacBain to make me cool my heels for some time. It’s what Aifric would have done ‒ anything to make sure I knew my place. Surprisingly, less than fifteen minutes passed before she appeared followed by a large retinue. She strode down the long driveway at such a brisk pace that her hangers-on struggled to keep up. I guessed that, for all her mistrust of me, Chieftain MacBain believed in manners.

‘Ma’am,’ Sorley said as she reached us.

She looked at him coldly. ‘How many times have I told you to address me as Chieftain?’

He shuffled his feet. ‘Ma’am, Stuart MacBain was twelve minutes late. I really do think you should have a word with him about...’ Her glare intensified. Sorley noted it but kept on going. ‘...about punctuality. What if we’d sent a search party out for him? It’s simply not good enough. You put me in charge of security.’

‘Enough of this nonsense.’ She said it quietly but there was more menace in her tone than the Bull could have managed with an ear-splitting bellow.

‘Chieftain Adair,’ she said, turning to me.

I almost fell over. That was the last way I’d expected her to address me. I recovered quickly, however, and inclined my head as if I was completely used to being treated as a highborn Sidhe noble. ‘Chieftain MacBain,’ I returned.

‘I was not convinced you were going to keep your word.’

I stood my ground. ‘I told you I would do as you asked and retrieve your uncle’s body.’

‘So where is he?’ She obviously wasn’t in the mood to waste time.

‘I don’t have him yet. Our agreement was that I would receive a favour from you in return.’

‘Yes, yes,’ she said impatiently.

‘Fifty people,’ I said, plucking a number out of thin air. It sounded like a lot to me. ‘I would like to borrow fifty of your people to help me clear the Adair Lands and make the mansion habitable. They need to be strong, capable workers.’

Something akin to relief crossed her face. I wondered what she thought I was going to ask for ‒ the soul of her firstborn? ‘How long for?’ she asked with a sniff.

‘Er ...’ I tried to calculate how much work would be involved. ‘Three weeks?’

‘Done,’ she said, snapping her fingers.

I blinked. Shite. I should have asked for a lot more. ‘Thank you.’

‘They will travel to you as soon as I receive the body.’

I nodded. That was good. It would give me time to impress upon the Foinse that it needed to stay hidden. Although how on earth I was going to tell it that was beyond me at the moment.

Chieftain MacBain stared at me. ‘Is there anything else?’

Sorley shuffled his feet. No one looked at him. I shook my head and tried not to appear too grateful.

‘Good. Then I have a demand of my own.’

Uh oh. ‘Go on,’ I said cautiously. I’d listen to her ‘demand’ at least.

‘I do not know you, Chieftain Adair,’ she said, ‘but I do hear certain things. I appreciate that I may have been too hasty in believing you stole my necklace at the Games. However, there is little about that you is trustworthy.’

I didn’t like where this was heading. ‘I can assure you that I will not go back on my word,’ I said, stiffening.

She didn’t blink. The woman was like a damn lizard. ‘And, strangely, I believe you won’t. But you did present me with a gold ring which was found near my uncle’s body.’

‘It was
on
his body,’ I said through gritted teeth. I was starting to understand. ‘He must have been wearing it when he died.’

‘Perhaps there was more than just his ring. When he left us, he was carrying a considerable amount of money.’

I couldn’t imagine why; I didn’t think the Fomori cared much for Sidhe cash. ‘If I find any money, I will bring it back and give it to you.’

‘Of this I am not so convinced. You are a thief, are you not?’

‘I
was
a thief.’ I tried to smile. ‘Surely everyone should get the chance to turn over a new leaf?’

Her mouth turned down. ‘Please do not use clichés in my presence. I simply abhor language of that ilk.’

I shouldn’t have done it but I couldn’t help myself. ‘Well, this worm has turned. I’ve moved onto bigger and better things, and I think even my harshest critic would say that I’ve come on in leaps and bounds.’

The expression on Chieftain MacBain’s face suggested that she was screaming inside. ‘You are not amusing in the slightest.’ The Gift I had stolen from Kirsty Kincaid informed that she was telling the absolute truth. Before I could throw another quip at her, she continued. ‘I would like someone to accompany you. Someone from another Clan that is not your own. Someone Sidhe.’

My heart sank as I thought of the rude lordling who’d stopped earlier and I tightened my jaw. ‘Someone from Clan MacBain? I think it’s my turn to show my mistrust, Chieftain MacBain. How do I know you won’t order them to stab me in the back once I’ve led them to the bones?’

She drew back with an incredulous shiver. ‘How dare you? A MacBain would never act in such a manner!’

Okay. Enough was enough. ‘So you won’t trust me,’ I said icily, ‘but I should trust every single one of you?’

Two spots of colour appeared high on her cheeks. Apparently Ma MacBain had suddenly realised how rude she’d been. She’d want to save face and not back down entirely, but I’d already learnt enough about the premium she placed on manners to wonder what she’d do next.

‘Then we compromise,’ she said finally. ‘You may choose someone from the main Clans. The important ones.’

I raised my eyebrows. The important ones? ‘You mean Darroch, Kincaid or Moncrieffe,’ I said.

‘They can all be trusted.’

I almost laughed aloud. This lady was more nuts than I’d realised. ‘Look, I...’ I paused. Hang on a minute. ‘Okay,’ I said. ‘I’ll accept those terms. I nominate Byron Moncrieffe.’

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. ‘Why him?’

Because Aifric would hold off on the assassination attempts if his son was hanging around. Of course that was the only reason. Definitely. Absolutely. One hundred smackeroony percent. ‘I know him. He’s a hero.’ My eyes gleamed. ‘And as the Steward’s son, he’s beyond reproach.’

I watched MacBain’s reaction carefully but all she did was agree with me. ‘True.’ She nodded. ‘I’ll send word immediately.’

‘Great. I’ll depart for the Veil as soon as he arrives.’

‘Excellent.’ She turned to go.

‘Aren’t you going to invite me in for a cup of tea?’ I called after her, checking how far I could test her civility.

She didn’t respond but Sorley coughed loudly. ‘Ma’am.’

‘Chieftain!’ she snapped again, over her shoulder.

‘Please...’

She sighed dramatically and turned round. ‘What?’

He looked at me. ‘She needs security.’

I was slightly taken aback. ‘Er, yeah.’ A lot of security probably but I wasn’t going to admit that in front of his boss.

He faced her. ‘I would like to tender my resignation and go with Ms Adair. I don’t feel that my skills are appreciated here and you have other trolls on your staff to take care of your needs.’

Chieftain MacBain raised her eyebrows while I took an involuntary step back and swallowed. Say what?

Sorley gave me a hasty glance. ‘If you’ll have me, of course.’

‘Sure, I’ll have you.’ What else was I going to say?

She addressed me. ‘He counts as one. You only get another forty-nine.’

Was she displeased or ecstatic at this development? I couldn’t tell. I shrugged in resignation. ‘Okay.’

She nodded again and strode off. I glanced at Sorley. ‘That was, uh, a bold move,’ I said finally. ‘I thought once you swore fealty, you were with a Clan for life.’

‘Trolls don’t swear fealty ‒ but neither do we all wish to be completely Clan-less. A group of us struck a bargain with the Sidhe decades ago.’ His expression made it clear that he thought the Clans had got the best deal.

Ah. That explained his refusal to call her Chieftain. I scratched my neck. ‘I don’t have much money at the moment to pay you.’

‘That is not a problem. I can wait.’

For someone who was such a jobsworth, he was remarkably laid back about remuneration. Taylor would love him. I sighed and pointed at the car. ‘Come on then.’

He smiled suddenly, a wide grin that spread from ear to ear. Then he stepped across the border and got in without once looking back. I had the feeling I was going to regret this – but at least Sorley was happy.

R
egardless of how gruff Sorley was while on duty, now he was in the car he proved to be quite the garrulous troll. He rambled on for almost the entire journey, barely pausing to take breath. I heard about the merits of magic versus machinery in keeping out larger species of wildlife; a treatise on punctuality; details about some failed key-card system which apparently the MacBain Clan had instituted in a bid to rid themselves of the trolls. At one point Bob roused himself, appearing in his usual flash of light. Sorley didn’t falter; he just kept on talking. It took Bob all of twenty seconds to decide that he was going back to sleep.

It hadn’t occurred to me that I’d be glad to see the Adair Lands but when we approached their border, I exhaled with relief. Sorley was well-meaning but even I had limits.

‘So you see, if you take a combination of an interlocking system and add it to a linear magic fold, then you’ll— Stop the car!’

‘Eh?’

‘I said, stop the car!’

I slammed on the brakes. ‘What is it?’ I hadn’t even finished the question when he leapt out and ran over to where I’d flung down Aifric’s old sign.