Rob turns, his body tense, and I feel him swallow.
‘Hand them over,’ Cillian orders, his sharp, compelling tone striking fear deep inside me, let alone what effect it’s having on my abductors. I can’t do anything but stare at the man I hope will be our saviour. Right at this moment, he looks anything but. Dark and dangerous. An avenging angel. I blink a couple of times as the shadows in the lane deepen. My skin prickles as a chill brushes over it, and although I can’t see anything move, it feels like everything around me is shifting somehow. Everything feels so confused.
But more confusing still is the shadow looming behind Cillian. The shadow of a huge, horned stag surrounds him, making him seem like some kind of monarch of the glen, powerful, majestic and utterly in control. For a second, his smart black suit is gone, replaced with what looks like a leather tunic, trousers and boots. He lifts his head, and I see not only that but a cloak covering his shoulders and head, huge antlers an integral part of the hood. Four small, dark creatures poke their heads out from under the car. I frown as one catches my eye, and then they’re gone as if they were never there. I’m more drugged than I thought. Before my addled mind can find an answer, he speaks again.
‘Now.’ Cillian’s tone is icy-cold. Dead, almost. ‘You’re going to hand the girls over, tell me who you’re working for, and then you’re going to get down on your knees and beg foryour lives.’
Their lives? What?
Frank steps forward, handing Rose over to Aiden who puts her in the limo. Cillian jerks his head to one side and Aiden takes me from Rob. He’s careful to pull my dress, arranging it so that it’s covering me, and I let my head rest against his chest, somehow managing not to weep with relief.
I force my eyes open again, watching the scene from a different angle now. Rob and Frank are on their knees in front of Cillian, but Ed is still standing, sneering at him. I don’t miss the way he glances repeatedly at Vittoria before slowly turning his gaze back to Cillian.
‘You’re a fool!’ Ed says. He laughs and looks Cillian up and down. ‘You know, I know what she likes in bed, how she fucks, the noises she makes.Scemo!’
For a horrifying second, I think he’s referring to me, even though I’m pretty sure nothing’s happened. But Cillian is shaking his head slowly, a smile of contempt on his lips.
‘And yet she’s choosing to marry me,’ he says. You’re not quite the stud you think you are. Especially since you have to drug your victims first…’
I let out a shaky breath. They’re talking about Vittoria. But is Ed really stupid enough to say that to Cillian’s face?
My eyes widen as Ed takes another step towards Cillian, his hand going behind his back as if reaching for a weapon. But before he can bring it out, Cillian punches him, twice in quick succession. The first catches him under his chin, snapping his head back, the second lands in his stomach and he falls to his knees with a sickening groan. A swift kick to his chest has him toppling awkwardly backwards, landing on his back with a loud cry, with the sickening sound of his head cracking on the cobblestones. His body goes limp, but Cillian isn’t finished yet. He rears up and grabs Ed’s head and with a sharp snap, he twists it to the side. Ed doesn’t move again.
Bile rises in my throat and I squeeze my eyes shut. That didn’t just happen. It can’t possibly have happened. And yet… I’ve always known that the Hunters lived their lives too close to the edges of the law. And that both Cillian– and Rose– have a ruthless streak. But this…?
Now, across the alley, Cillian’s eyes meet mine, and in them I can see victory.
‘Cillian!’ Aiden’s shout startles me, and I jerk in his arms finally able to move enough to look back towards where Rob and Frank are kneeling. Both men have pushed themselves to their feet and are scrambling past the limo clearly hoping to reach the road and get away.
Cillian is after them in an instant, whirling around in pursuit. Aiden puts me down and goes to assist him. I watch as Cillian barrels into the two men, tackling them to the ground. He stands, dragging them both up with him and I see the shadowy figure around him once more, like the presence of some ancient hunter. Cillian is somehow bigger, larger than life, his fists flying as he takes on Rob while Aiden takes on Frank.
And suddenly, I understand. Cernunnos– the name of their house– the Celtic god of hunting. Except it’s not just a name, is it? CillianisCernunnos. I press my hands over my ears, hoping to drown out the sound made by his fists pummelling flesh as I struggle to make sense of what my senses are telling me. None of this can be real. It’s impossible. What is real, however, are the cries of pain from Rob and Frank.
I scream as Frank twists away from Aiden and heads towards me holding a large knife. But he’s quickly grabbed from behind by Aiden, who snaps his wrist, sending the knife clattering to the ground beside me. I stare at it for a moment, just out of my reach, as the fight continues to rage. Frank gives Aiden a Glasgow kiss, and Aiden howls and grabs his nose, blood pouring from between his fingers as Frank whirls once more and leaps for me.
I don’t even think, I simply react, and somehow the knife is in my hand, and I watch in horror as I sink it into Frank’s throat, his hot blood pouring onto me. I scream again as his body collapses onto mine and starts to shake uncontrollably. I’d push him off, but my fingers are still wrapped around the handle of the knife which is still embedded in?—
Aiden pulls Frank’s body off me, the knife ripping his throat further open. Then he dumps him onto his back beside me. He is very, very dead. I’ve gone from judging Cillian mere moments ago, to being a killer. Just like him.
‘You okay?’ Aiden has to ask this twice because I’m simply staring at him, and finally I manage to half-nod, half-shake my head. Behind him, Cillian catches Rob under the chin with an uppercut. There’s a vomit-inducing sound and Rob slumps to the ground.
‘Make sure he doesn’t get away,’ Cillian orders, striding towards me. ‘Are you hurt?’ he asks, kneeling beside me.
‘Not really,’ I whisper as I see Vittoria lean over Rob. There’s a flash of silver, a brief gurgle then an unnatural silence descends on the lane.
I sit up cautiously, staring at the bodies on the ground beside me as dark liquid pools around both Frank and Rob. I feel sick. I can’t think. Can’t speak. Can barely breathe. But what I definitely don’t do is close my eyes. I’m afraid that if I do, I won’t ever open them again. My heart’s beating so fast and so hard that I’m sure the others must be able to hear it.
‘Vittoria,’ Cillian says, pushing to his feet and turning to look at Vittoria standing over Rob’s body, knife in hand. ‘What the actual fuck? I had questions.’
‘I knew you wouldn’t let any man who wanted to hurt your sister live. Besides, it would have been a waste of time. He wasn’t going to answer,’ Vittoria says, glancing down at them and poking Ed’s body with the toe of her shoe.
‘He was a lover,’ Cillian states.
‘Not a memorable one.’ She shrugs. ‘I’ll get people on it. We’ll pull the CCTV but some of the other Kennards have been causing problems recently, although we don’t know who, which is exactly why my father invited them to celebrate our engagement. Keep your enemies close?—’
‘That’s why I wanted them alive to answer my questions.’
Vittoria walks up to Cillian and places her hand on the side of his face. She leans in to kiss him, and I can see that the top button on her dress is undone, missing, even. I wonder if my message caught them in the middle of something. My insides tighten, I have no right to be jealous, he’s not mine and never will be. She pulls back from him, her piercing eyes coming to rest on the scene around us.
