The Sapphire still churned through my bloodstream, chasing away most of the doubts and fears flaring in my mind. Gritting my teeth, I unsheathed my sword and stalked toward the spot the hobgoblin had appeared. The ground level of the building I approached was lined with several thick archways that led to the blackenedunderside.
With my back pressed up against the side of one of the archways, I peered into the depths, half-expecting a Sluagh to jump out and chomp me on the leg. In the distance, a clock chimed, startling me to the point I thought I might keel over fromfright.
Why the hell was I so shaken up? I was Moira Talmhach, warrior and badass fae. I could do thisthing.
It’s just...it was really, really bloody dark beneath thisbuilding.
And so I did what every muppet in a horror film does. I inched into the darkness and called out, “Saoirse?”
Something slammed into the back of my head, and my sword was yanked out of my hands. Stumbling forward, I winced at the pain radiating through my skull. I whirled toward my attacker, fisted hands held at the ready, but I could see nothing more than the ripple of shadows in thenight.
I’d been pushed deep beneath the building, and I couldn’t see a damnthing.
A deep laugh echoed around me. “How does it feel getting hit by a metalsign?”
Ice slipped down my spine, and I jogged to the left, hoping I could confuse the attackers with where I’d gone. I had no idea how many of them there were. If it was the same as the attackers in Barrie’s Close, it would be at least ten. Which meant I was sorely outnumbered. Without a sword, without backup, and without even a damnsign.
And they had all of thosethings.
“Not too tough now, eh?” another voice said, this one female. Was this the leader I’d seen fight Lugh? Maybe. Her voice sounded distantly familiar, like I’d heard itbefore.
I pressed my lips together, refusing to say a word. That would give away my location, and if I had any hope of getting out of this thing alive, I’d have torun.
An irritated sigh filled the silence. “Fine. We’ll use our hearing then. We’ll be able to hear youbreathing.”
Stilling my breath, I focused my own enhanced senses on my vision, letting the darkness fade into grey. I still couldn’t see very well. Everything was a dusty, smudged painting, obscured by the extreme lack of light. But there were smudged forms shifting through the smog. It was enough to give me an idea of where theywere.
And there, the looming shape of several ancientarchways.
But while I’d been focusing on my sight, at least one of them had been sharpening their sense of sound. The second I moved, they would know exactly where I was. I had to act fast, but there was one last thing I had to do before Iran.
I took a very quiet sniff. Scents flooded my nose, battling each other for dominance. There was the stench of char that overpowered almost everything else, left behind from the fires that had plagued this castle during the witch trials. Beneath that, there was the unmistakable scent of lavender, along with oak moss, bloody iron, and crackling deadleaves.
“I think she’s over there,” a gruff voicesaid.
I darted toward the archways. My boots pounded hard on the cobblestones as I did little to mute my sound. There was no use, not when their enhanced senses were turned on. Even if I crept, they’d know where I was. Might as wellcharge.
A hand wrapped around my shirt as I skidded into the courtyard. It pulled me back toward the building, but I lurched away, throwing a kick at his head. He grunted and dropped my shirt, but several more attackers appeared behind me, blocking myway.
I glanced around, counting. Eleven this time. Their number had grown, but not by many. Wetting my lips, I cast a quick glance toward the western defences. The twins weren’t backyet.
“There’s no one here to help you.” The female fae stepped out in front of the rest, her face still obscured by the black cloth. “Give up,Moira.”
My hands clenched. “Where’s Saoirse? What have you done withher?”
“Saoirse is alive, which is more than I can say foryou.”
“Nice try with that Sapphire,” I shot back, steering the conversation away from my impending death. “Where’d you getit?”
Maybe if I could get her talking, it would give me enough time for the twins to return to the courtyard. We’d still be outnumbered, but they had weapons. Together, we had a better chance of fighting these fae than I did alone. Mostly because these wankers had stolen my damnsword.
She chuckled. “Unlike you, I’m smart enough to know that nothing said in this castle can be kept a secret. You might not live to tell about it, but there’s no telling who is lurking in the shadows listeningin.”
I mean, um, she had a point, but she was kind of missing an important part of the equation. If someone on my side was lurking in the bushes, they definitely wouldn’t just squat there and watch medie!
At least, I hoped not. That would be a pretty jackass thing todo.
Wetting my lips, I took a step back, desperately trying to come up with another way to stall her. But I couldn’t go far. The circle of traitors had now surrounded me, trapping me right in the center of the courtyard, next to the blackenedstatue.
