‘I don’t want to talk to you.’
‘You’ll talk to me because you and I are cut from the same cloth.’
Mallory instantly saw in Hunter’s eyes the unimpeachable truth of that statement. That single moment of contact between the two men ran so deep that it changed both of them for ever. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I’m a Brother of Dragons.’
‘No.’ Mallory knew his denial was a lie the instant the word left his lips; a veil had been lifted and he could suddenly see Hunter as he truly was. It was all there — Mallory could almost feel the Pendragon Spirit radiating out of Hunter, like a dull heat.
‘Sorry,’ Hunter said. ‘Looks like they let anybody in the club.’
After his exertions, Mallory suddenly felt profoundly weak and had to lower himself into a chair.
‘I know it sounds like a coincidence-’
‘There aren’t any coincidences.’ Mallory took a deep breath to steady himself. ‘The Pendragon Spirit, the Blue Fire — call it what you will — it runs through everything. It’s the structure behind the surface of the universe. It arranges things.’
‘So it made sure I was in the right place at the right time. Or wrong time, depending on which way you look at it.’
‘And it brought us together. It puts the pieces on the board, but it doesn’t play the game. That’s down to us.’ Mallory cursed under his breath. ‘I can’t believe it’s you.’
‘I know there’s a certain irony-’
‘It’s more than that! You killed one of us! Not directly, but you brought it about. And now I can’t even get my revenge by killing you.’ Mallory caught himself. ‘There’s no point talking about that now.’ His shivering helped him change the subject. ‘What’s up with that room with all the frost on the door?’
‘It’s one of the prisoners they’ve brought in recently. Some say it’s one of the gods — one of the Tuatha De Danann. I can’t see that myself. They couldn’t even hold you. How can they keep a god prisoner?’ Hunter noticed the bloody bandages around Mallory’s midriff. ‘You’re bleeding.’
‘I’ll heal. I just need some time to rest.’
‘Are you up to getting out of here?’
‘That was the general plan.’
‘I’ve got another one.’
Mallory looked at Hunter, intrigued despite himself.
‘Since you’ve been in here, we’ve been invaded. The Brothers and Sisters of Dragons are the last chance we have of stopping the complete destruction of life on this planet. But from what I hear, it’s going to take five of us, or the magic… the power doesn’t work.’
‘That’s the rumour.’
‘We’re one down already,’ Hunter continued, ‘and we don’t know who the other two are.’
‘Carry on. You’re not making me depressed at all.’
Hunter paced the room while he talked. Despite himself, Mallory was developing a grudging admiration for his new associate. Hunter continued, ‘But we’re not the first Five.’
‘The way I understand it,’ Mallory said, ‘throughout history, for God knows how many centuries, there’s always been Five. When one lot completes whatever mission they’ve been chosen for, the power moves on to the next Five.’
Hunter turned sharply; he’d reached the crux of his plan. ‘But does the power leave them completely when it moves on? Or do the old Five just go into retirement?’
‘I’ve no idea. What are you getting at?’
‘There were five Brothers and Sisters of Dragons who fought at the Fall. Everyone knows the story — they’ve become part of modern mythology. They’re the reason the Government expended so much energy looking for you.’
Mallory made a dismissive gesture. ‘So? Two of them died. Jack Churchill, the leader, and Ryan Veitch, the one who’s supposed to have betrayed them. At least, that’s how the stories go. These days you can’t tell what’s truth and what’s been made up.’
Hunter smiled like a cat. ‘Two of them are dead. Three are still alive. And we’re going to find them.’
Chapter Nine
‘ We hear war called murder. It is not: it is suicide.’
Sophie watched Caitlin stride out along the battlements in the pre-dawn dark, thunder and lightning given flesh. Though the gods lined the ramparts, golden-skinned and beautiful, tall and powerful, Caitlin was above them, god and mortal combined, greater than the sum of the parts. As she passed, a ripple ran through the gods in their shining armour: eyes turned her way, body language shifted, whispers passed from mouths to ears.
‘How long is this going to last?’ Thackeray’s eyes were deep pools of concern.
‘Until she gets back what she feels she’s lost,’ Sophie said.
‘Then let’s hope she gets it back quickly.’
Harvey hovered uncomfortably behind his friend. ‘She scares me. When you look in her face, it’s like she could do anything. But there’s something about her that’s a bit horny, too.’ Thackeray glared at Harvey, who shifted awkwardly. ‘Sorry. Just stating a fact.’
‘Do you think she’s done the right thing?’ Thackeray asked Sophie.
Sophie could see that he felt he was losing the woman he loved, at a time when she hadn’t even decided if she loved him back. What could she say? No — this is the worst decision she’s ever made? The Morrigan will eat her up and spit her out? Nothing human can hope to contain the Morrigan’s ravenous desires and epic emotions?
‘Caitlin’s strong. If anybody can do this, she can,’ she said, and it was true. Sophie wondered if she could match Caitlin’s drive to sacrifice anything for the common good. She thought of Mallory — could she sacrifice him? But whenever his face came up in her mind now, it was misty, and a weight of uncertainty hung around it. The price she had paid to Math was proving bigger with each passing day. She missed Mallory deeply, and loved him immensely, but increasingly it felt as if she was experiencing those emotions second-hand.
As Caitlin returned from her walk along the battlements, it felt as though an enormous battery was drawing near to them, so charged was the air in her presence. She was now dressed in the colours of her mistress: a scarlet silk shirt was a blaze of bloody colour against the black of her trousers and boots, the leather weapons belts that crossed over her chest and hung at her hips, the black leather gauntlets; her hair hung loose and that, too, appeared to have turned almost black. But it was her eyes that struck everyone the most: they now appeared to be almost all pupil, as if two black holes led into the depths of her head.
‘They’re going to attack later. No mistake.’ It was Caitlin’s voice, but it was laced with a frostiness that made them all shiver.
Sophie peered over the battlements into the sea of shadows that washed away across the plain from the walls. In it, numerous bonfires burned as far as the eye could see; it gave the illusion of stars blazing in the inky night sky.
‘How many of them are there?’ Harvey asked fearfully.
‘So many that we’re never going to get out of here again,’ Thackeray replied with a quiet desolation.
Sophie had seen the extent of the army the previous evening, just before the sun had set: thousands of little people, dark and hairy like rats, swarming over one another in anticipation of the feast ahead. It was impossible to
