Last Wish (Highland Magic #4)(12)

Bit by bit, I tugged, grasping first at a single thread of his Gift and pulling it inside me as if my body were a magnet. As his power left him and filled me, I gasped inadvertently. The Sidhe would have heard me if he hadn’t already started to feel woozy. He clutched at his stomach, then at his head and groaned faintly. I slammed on my magic brakes; I didn’t want to seriously hurt the poor bugger and neither did I want to steal his Gift in its entirety. He might be a Scrymgeour but he was a stranger to me and I couldn’t completely destroy him.

‘He’s gonna chuck,’ Bob said knowingly.

I gestured to him to keep quiet. He huffed in irritation but did as I asked. We watched from the shadows as the Sidhe staggered backwards then spun round and began retching violently. I winced. Shite. So much for all that pacifism.

The sound was enough to wake his dozing companions. The warlock muttered in alarm and scrambled to his feet. The two humans looked groggier but they got up and stumbled over to check on the Sidhe.

‘Now. Speck,’ I hissed.

He slipped forward, moving soundlessly past Brochan and me and up to the flagpole. Even through the darkness I saw him gulp. It was rare that Speck was our point man but, given how much his recent proximity to the Foinse had affected his magic, he needed to get used to it. All the same, I watched him with my heart in my mouth. If any of the Scrymgeour sentries turned round, he’d be done for.

The Sidhe continued to retch, falling forward onto his knees. I was starting to suspect he was making a bigger deal out of his nausea than was absolutely necessary. I’d stolen partial Gifts from others and they’d not reacted this badly. I gnawed at my bottom lip and prayed I was right. The humans were hunkered down, one on either side of him and both facing away from the border. The pesky warlock, however, was kneeling in front of him. All he had to do was lift his head and he’d catch sight of Speck pulling the scrap of Adair fabric from his pocket and pinning it to the base of the Scrymgeour pole.

‘Go, Bob,’ I said urgently.

For once the genie chose not to argue. He spun in the air, transformed himself into a large bluebottle and zipped forward. As Speck murmured out the words to let us pass the border, Bob landed on the Scrymgeour warlock’s ear and buzzed loudly enough to be an irritation. Scowling, the warlock stood up and batted him away but Bob wasn’t about to quit and shot towards his ear again. The warlock cursed and waved his hands around, shaking his head like a dog emerging from a dip in the sea.

The tightness in my stomach eased slightly as Speck signalled. I sprang forward, angling my body to the left to veer round the Scrymgeour group. With the others on my heels, I wasted no more time; I acknowledged Speck with a bob of my head as he joined us and we pushed past the border.

My skin tingled, traces of the magic that held the border in place still trying to hold me back. I’d been through far worse than this; let’s face it, if I could pass through the damned Veil several times, then I could skip through the Bull’s weakened border. As the Sidhe finally stopped being sick and wobbled back to his feet, pushing his companions away in irritation, our small group sped towards the nearest copse of trees on the Scrymgeour side. By the time we reached them, the sentries had turned back to their original posts. The Sidhe was still rubbing his stomach and looking confused while the other three settled down again to return to their doze. Excitement over.

I breathed out. Speck, visibly shaking, let a large grin spread across his face. ‘Did you see me?’ he whispered in delight, punching the air. ‘I was awesome!’

Lexie shifted her weight and stretched up on her tiptoes to plant a sloppy kiss on his lips. When she pulled away, they both looked flustered. Speck pulled off his glasses and began hastily to rub them.

‘Steaming up?’ I asked with an arched eyebrow.

Brochan choked. Bob, now back to normal, looked unimpressed. ‘Don’t I get a kiss?’ he complained. ‘I’m the one who had to get up close and personal with those guys.’ He licked his finger, an expression of utter pleasure crossing his face.

‘What are you eating?’ Taylor asked.

Bob blinked. ‘Mm? Oh, ear wax.’ He held his finger out. ‘Want some?’

Taylor looked almost as ill as the Sidhe had. ‘I’ll pass.’

The genie shrugged and licked it again. ‘Your loss.’

Rolling his eyes, Brochan turned to me. ‘What did you steal?’ he asked. ‘What was his Gift?’

I reached down inside myself, feeling for the magic. It was definitely there – and it was definitely unfamiliar. ‘I have no idea,’ I admitted. ‘And we’re still too close to those guards for me to experiment and find out.’ I glanced up at the night sky. ‘We’ve got a good four hours before dawn. Let’s make the most of it and see what we can learn from my old friend the Bull.’ I pointed upwards. ‘This way will take us round to the back of his castle. We can enter through the kitchens but we’ll have to hurry. When I lived here there was always someone up early baking bread. We need to get inside before they start work.’

‘Are you alright, Tegs?’ Taylor asked.

I smiled. Now that we’d overcome the first hurdle, I could concentrate on the matter in hand. The rattling memories inside my head were just ghosts from another life; I wasn’t that scared little kid any more. ‘I’m good,’ I told him. I meant it. ‘Now let’s move.’