Icefall (23 page)

‘Go, Hannah. Run.'

‘No,' I said.

I wasn't being foolhardy and I certainly wasn't being brave: I hadn't a choice. I knew fine they'd bring me down before I got halfway to the only door. And anyway, I knew Sionnach would need me. He'd need me, or he'd be dead, and if he was dead I no longer cared anyway.

Not right then.

Just as I thought it, Sionnach staggered and slipped on the blood of the man he'd half-decapitated. His feet faltered, he lost his balance, and the Wolf stepped forward almost casually and lanced his sword into his guts.

He whipped it out, and as Sionnach glared hatred at him, he plunged it in again. My best friend fell to his knees, clutching his belly.

I didn't scream and I didn't panic and I didn't run. Later, when I had more than enough time to think, I was pleased about that.

I walked to the nearest corpse and tugged the blood-slippery sword from its limp grip, ignoring the laughter of the Wolf's fighters. I raised the sword and shut my eyes just once, briefly, and pressed it hard against my own throat. I knew exactly where my jugular was. The things I'd learned.

The Wolf's smirk had faded to a perplexed frown.

‘Don't be silly,' he said.

‘I'm not. They're going to want proof of life, yeah?'

‘My. You're not as stupid as you look.'

I swallowed, but I was more angry than scared. If the shithead thought I wouldn't do it, I'd show him how wrong he was.

And he didn't think I'd do it. So I pressed my lips together and pushed the sword till I felt my skin break.

Someone took a step forward but I don't know who, because I didn't look. I kept my focus on the Wolf, who raised a hand to stop his fighter in her tracks.

‘I'm not quite with you,' he said.

‘They're going to want proof of life,' I said again, because that had worked, and anyway, I needed to remind myself what the hell I was doing. ‘And if Sionnach dies, they're not going to get it. Cause if he dies, so do I.'

There was silence, and in my head the broken static of Sionnach's dying voice.

~
f he dsn't kll you. I bloody wll.

Tears stung my eyes. A warm trickle of blood meandered down the hollow of my throat, pooling at my collarbone.

‘Oh for gods' sake,' snapped the Wolf. ‘Have it your way. He'll be company for you.'

I didn't move the sword. I was scared to: the hilt was slippery in my shaking fingers and it was close, so close to the vein. I flicked my gaze at the woman fighter, hoping she was superstitious.

‘On Kate NicNiven's life,' I said. ‘I get to heal him.' Though I didn't even know if I could.

The woman exchanged a glance with the Wolf, who looked furious, but she nodded.

‘Her life. My word.'

I didn't look at them again. I knew how superstitious these tossers were, Finn had told me often enough. I didn't even hesitate to turn my back.

I let the sword fall with a clatter, and fell to my knees at Sionnach's side.

 

Finn

I woke with a cry, thinking for an instant I was dying. I thought the car was exploding into burning shards like Carraig's; I thought I was already dead and done for. And then I was blinking at the windscreen, and back in myself, and Seth was driving. Which was just as well.

‘What?' he said, glancing at me, taking his foot off the accelerator and veering into the left-hand lane. ‘What?'

I rubbed my shoulder. I was going to have a bruise where I'd lurched violently forward into the seatbelt. ‘Trouble. Don't stop. There's trouble.'

‘Who?' He swerved just as abruptly into the outside lane, earning a furious hoot from a lorry driver, and put his foot down.

‘Is Hannah in range?' I asked.

‘Of course she is, she's my—'

‘Yes, yes. Can you See her?'

He had to ease off the gas again to focus, infuriating the lorry driver, who overtook on the inside and gave us another volley of horn.

‘Shit,' he said. ‘No.'

‘We have to get home,' I said.

‘Rory?' His voice caught.

‘I dunno. I don't think it's him.'

‘Sionnach?'

I found I couldn't speak for a second. I'd just remembered what woke me. Blood and pain and an ebbing life.

‘Sionnach's in trouble,' I managed.

Seth said nothing, but he put his foot down.

*   *   *

Sorcha and Grian met us on the drive. Seth didn't even bother to park the car, just slewed it to a rough halt against the laurels, bringing down a shower of rain from the leathery leaves. He got out and slammed the car door. I followed, my heart leaden with foreboding, and I caught Grian's eye.

~
Don't say it,
I snapped.

He shrugged.

‘Where's Rory?' said Seth curtly.

‘With the girl,' said Sorcha. ‘Jed and Iolaire are there. And Orach. They're not going anywhere.'

‘Why the hell did you waste a bodyguard on Lauren?' said Seth bitterly. ‘They don't want her.'

‘The guard is for Rory, Murlainn,' murmured Grian. ‘To stop him following.'

‘Right. Yeah. Okay.'

‘You can't go after Hannah either, Murlainn.'

‘Sorcha. Shut up. I can't not go after her. If she's dead I can't not kill them. You bloody know it.'

Sorcha shrugged. I gave her an apologetic look, but there wasn't really any need. She was used to it.

We were inside the house by now, and Seth slammed into the sitting room ahead of the rest of us, then stood stock still and stared at Lauren. Right behind him, I put my hand on his back. A tremor rippled down his spine, but he didn't fling me off.

Rory sat in a daze on the edge of an armchair. Jed had a hand on his shoulder and he left it there as he rose to his feet. His face was wild. Rory's though, was dull and haggard, and he stared at his father with empty desperation.

All Seth's attention was on Lauren. ‘What happened?'

She'd only opened her mouth when she began to cry. She'd been doing a lot of that; I could tell from her red swollen eyes.

‘She's dead,' she gasped. ‘Hannah's dead.'

‘Dead how?' Seth's voice was expressionless.

‘They drowned her.'

Nobody spoke.

‘I didn't know. I didn't know what they—'

‘Shut up. How did it happen?'

I took a breath, startled. ‘Seth, don't. This isn't her fault.'

‘If it isn't hers,' he yelled, ‘whose is it?'

‘Ours.' ~
Murlainn. It's ours.

‘I don't give a damn. The little bitch'll tell me every detail or I'll throw her off the cliff. And I might do that anyway.'

Lauren looked wildly at me but I couldn't help her. I could barely think under the buffeting of his rage. And I couldn't bear to look at Rory's face.

‘Sionnach got stabbed,' she said, breathing hard. ‘I mean, there was a fight. Hannah was trying to help him. I don't think she could but she was trying. The guys who were there, they took them both and shoved them down a pit, this flooded pit. They threw bodies on top of them.' She hesitated. ‘They didn't come up.'

‘Bodies?' said Seth.

Lauren swallowed. ‘Sionnach killed two of them.'

‘Well. Good for Sionnach.' Seth's jaw was tight.

‘There was a woman,' said Lauren, her voice hoarse. ‘Miss Snow. Hannah knew who she was, soon as I told her.'

‘Daughter of the Snows,' I said bleakly. ‘Nic Nevin.'

Lauren rubbed her nose fiercely. ‘I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Miss Snow said you killed my mother. You.' She had the guts to look Seth right in the eyes, and maybe it calmed him down a bit. ‘And it wasn't just that she told me, I
knew it.
I knew it like I know you're standing there right now wanting to kill me. I could see it, I remembered it, I
saw you do it.
'

‘We didn't.'

She gave Seth a glare that was almost contemptuous. ‘I know that now.
I know.
'

I took her hand. ‘Listen to me. I've said it already. This was not your fault. It was ours, all along.'

This time Seth didn't contradict me. He just stared at both of us. But I couldn't read his eyes.

Shock made me giddy. I had to tell it to myself again, as I stood there with Lauren's hand in mine and stared at my bound lover.
I couldn't read his eyes.

He turned to Lauren. ‘And how did you get away?'

‘He told me to run or he'd kill me.'

‘Who?'

‘I don't know, do I? A one-eyed guy. He had a bad hand, all scars and missing fingers and stuff.'

Seth was very still. ‘You noticed a lot.'

‘It was round my fecking throat,' she spat. ‘Of course I noticed. And he said I was to run
to you
. Or he'd find me. And kill me.' Lauren said it with an air of self-loathing. ‘So I did all that.'

Seth struggled to say it, but to do him justice, he managed. ‘It's okay. Nothing else you could do.'

‘He probably thought you'd kill her anyway, Murlainn.' Jed's eyes were cold. ‘After she'd given you the news.'

‘What was Hannah doing there?' Seth asked it so quietly Lauren went absolutely rigid.

‘I had to get her to come to the Caley,' she mumbled. ‘And as soon as they knew she was coming'—she rubbed her nose so fiercely it began to trickle blood—‘they changed. I thought they were going to kill me. And then they told me what was really happening.' She wiped at the tendril of dark blood under her nostril.

‘I see,' said Seth. ‘Rory?'

Rory looked up at his father. I'd never seen his face so ravaged with misery, and it hurt my heart. ‘I can't See her, Dad. I can't See Hannah.'

‘The girl's dead, then,' said Sorcha.

Seth said nothing. He glanced back at me.

I shook my head. ~
I don't think so.

‘But you don't know.'

I shook my head again.

His eyes were dark and he wouldn't look at anyone but Lauren, sodden with grief and rage and loathing.

‘Well,' he said more gently. ‘But I have to know. Don't I?'

*   *   *

‘It's deep,' said Jed. ‘But not that deep.'

He was up to his waist in the dank pool; Seth crouched on the edge, watching him. Iolaire and Orach guarded the broken-down entrance to the shattered conference room, but that was a formality. I think we all knew the danger was gone from the Caledonian, that it had never intended waiting for us.

‘You think it was him?' I asked.

‘I know it was him,' said Seth. ‘I took his eye out. I ate his fecking hand. Jed. Any gap at the bottom?'

Jed shook his head, prodding at the unseen bottom of the black pool with a length of broken pipe. ‘No. Wait … there.'

Submerging himself to his shoulders, he dropped the pipe, and it vanished with a dull clanging echo. We didn't hear it hit bottom.

‘Oh, it's deep.' Jed straightened. ‘Take my hand.' He reached upwards, and Seth gripped the edge and leaned forward.

‘Careful,' I said.

‘Two seconds max. All right, Jed?'

He reached down and clasped Jed's hand. It was only just over a second when Jed cried out, and Seth grunted, and tore their hands apart with a sharp cry of pain.

‘Close one,' said Jed, a little shakily. Reaching up, he jumped for a charred length of support beam, caught it and hauled himself dripping from the pool. Making a face of disgust he swiped at his body. ‘Jesus, that stinks. Evil. You were right, Seth. It's a watergate.'

‘So she's alive,' said Seth, half to himself.

‘Maybe Sionnach too,' said Iolaire, half-turning. ‘Sounds like she was healing him.'

‘Why would they let her?' Seth's tone was dead flat. I tried not to think how long he'd known Sionnach. ‘Where do you suppose this comes out?'

‘I suppose the same as you,' I told him. ‘Kate's caverns, or too close to make a difference. We can't use it.'

His look made me want to weep. ‘What else can I do, Caorann?'

I looked up at Orach, and then at Iolaire. They were so expectant. They fully trusted me to get Seth out of this. And all I wanted to do was keep him safe with me, and all I wanted to do was bring Hannah back, and Sionnach, if there was anything left of him to bring.

The two things I wanted most in the world, and they were mutually exclusive. Meanwhile, back in the house I'd found, the protected bolthole I'd struggled to provide, Seth's son sat guarded by the hardest hearts of all Seth's clann, to stop him going after the love of his life and bringing destruction and death on us all.

Time to make my last choice, then. Time to go to our likely death, before it could find us first.

‘Murlainn,' I said, linking my fingers with his. ‘I'll show you what else we can do.'

 

Finn

Seth stood on the edge and watched the grey sea foam and break on black rock. The higher air was a chaos of wind and gulls, and below us stiff-winged kittiwakes hugged the cliff. A high late-summer sun struck sparks off water and made wings dazzling-white against the low cloudbank.

Branndair, summoned from his happy hunting ground on Ben Vreckan, whined doubtfully as he stared down the rockface. Dancing on an updraft, Faramach mocked the nervous Beast, but Seth wound his fingers into the wolf's black fur and scratched his neck reassuringly.

‘You say there's a way down, Finn?'

‘There's always a way down.' Five of his favourite words.

‘But an actual path that Branndair and Gelert can manage?' He smiled at his wolf and Grian's hound, then, ruefully, at me. ‘Ah, Finn, the things you keep from me.'

I averted my eyes. ‘There's no point trying to get down there till low tide. You've time to prepare.'