He smiles sadly at me and shakes his head. ‘If Cillian didn’t care, he would simply have killed you during the hunt. And I know Rose loves you, Niamh. When she met you, she defied Cillian to invite you to that party, defended her choice of you as a friend more than once. And it wasn’t just to stick it to her brother. I know we didn’t know each other all that well, and I’m sorry that she was with me rather than you when your parents were killed. But I’m glad you’ve been there for her. It’s made me being here so much easier to bear.’
‘Matt—’ I stop, more unsure than ever about what to say to him, but really sure now that he needs to know. ‘About Rose…’
‘What?’
‘I’m worried about her.’
‘Why?’ He’s turned to face me, his face tense, concerned. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.
‘She just… she’s changed so much since you’ve been gone from her life. She never settles for any guy, she’s wild, reckless. You were the only one for her, and she won’t accept a replacement. She’s miserable without you.’
Matt’s face falls, and he shakes his head. ‘No, tell me that’s not true. All I’ve wanted, hoped for, these past few years, is that she’s been living a normal life, or as normal as a Hunter’s can be. But, Niamh… you know I can’t leave. Because of Vincenzo, I’ll be found guilty. I have no chance of a fair trial. And even on the off-chance the Court exonerates me, Vincenzo would still hunt me down.’
‘He’d get away with that?’
‘He’d find an excuse. Vincenzo gets away with anything, nowadays.’
‘How can you be so sure?’
‘Because it already happened to my father. That’s why I was such a convenient patsy. The son of a traitor? Who would even bother to defend me?’
‘Then how did you get here?’
‘Cillian hunted me. He caught me, but for some reason he believed me. And then he let me go, gave me the chance to come here. He sees it as a sort of test, I think. Only those who deserve to, find sanctuary before the dawn. I know he sees through Vincenzo but the rest either don’t, or don’t care.’
‘Cillian saved your life?’
‘He did.’
I smile, as I cling to this knowledge. I’m not deluded. At the core of his being, Cillian Hunter is a good man.
‘I’ll defend you,’ I promise Matt. ‘If Cillian thinks you’re not guilty, then neither do I.’
But he drops his head forward, his shoulders sagging as he sighs. We both sit in silence for a minute, then the monastery bell tolls and he groans.
‘Finally. I need to go and help with the bloody delivery.’
‘Is there food in it that comes from the human world?’
‘Should be. Oh, right. Yes, why don’t you come and make sure you know what’s what. It might help you… last longer here.’
We exchange wry smiles, pull on our robes and head for the monastery.
‘I can hear an engine,’ I say to Matt. ‘How?’
He frowns. ‘The delivery.’
‘Yes, but how did it get to the island, does the causeway reappear?’
Matt notices the glint of hope in my tone. ‘There’s no way to escape anyway, I’m sure Declan will have warned you.’
‘He did.’
‘The landscape in the human world is very different,’ he says. ‘The loch has been mostly drained and a road leads right up to St Marnox. You should stay here in the Underworld. The deliveries all arrive in the human world, but we’ll bring the food through and leave it in the kitchen for you to put away. Just go and wait there.’
‘Okay.’
Matt heads towards the sound of the lorry, while I head for the kitchen. I’ve only just reached the walled garden when I notice that the door in the wall leading towards the front of the monastery is open.
