Chapter 5

Chapter

Five

I waited for Athair at Pemberville Castle, Hugo’s ancestral home in Perthshire. As the crow flies, it was only thirty or so miles from the old castle that Athair occupied, but my presence at Pemberville was as much a test of Athair’s knowledge of my whereabouts as a plan to help Hugo breach Culcreuch Castle. My fiendish father had said he’d send a car for me but he hadn’t said where he’d send that car. I wanted to know if he was keeping close tabs on me.

When a taxi pulled up in front of Hugo’s ancestral home at 5.59pm, I knew that he was.

I hadn’t dressed up for the occasion but neither had I dressed down. I didn’t want to give any thought to how I looked so I was wearing the same clothes I’d pulled on that morning – although Gladys was sheathed by my side as per usual. I certainly wouldn’t give Athair the satisfaction of thinking that I’d been anxiously preparing for this meeting.

In contrast, Hugo was fully equipped. He was wearing tight black clothes so that he could use the dark night to his advantage and not worry about snagging loose material on sharp corners – it was imperative that he left no trace of himself behind. Our only advantage against Athair at that moment was that he was unaware that we knew where he was living, and we desperately wanted to keep it that way. Fortunately, most of the Primes were prepared to provide back-up, although Hugo had forbidden any of them from entering Culcreuch Castle with him.

‘Don’t let him into your mind,’ Hugo cautioned me as we prepared to leave. ‘He’ll try and manipulate you at every turn. Keep your barriers up at all times.’

‘We’ll follow you all the way, Daisy,’ Miriam said. ‘Slim and I will be ready to extract you. If you make the signal, we’ll be there.’

Hell would freeze over before I did that; I wouldn’t put them in danger, no matter what happened. I’d already argued that they should stay with the others to help Hugo but unfortunately nobody had listened to me. I had work to do on becoming a hoity-toity high elf whose orders were followed without question; that was going to take more than a title and a castle of my own to achieve.

‘Don’t get caught,’ I said to Hugo. ‘And don’t die.’

‘Same to you.’ His voice was light but I recognised the trace of fear in his velvet-blue eyes because I shared it. I swallowed then gestured to Hester and Otis. They looked as nervous as I felt, but they flew up and took position on my shoulders. The brownies were under strict instructions to pay attention to everything but to keep their mouths tightly closed. I doubted they’d comply, but their presence would be incredibly useful because there would be less chance that I missed any nuances or misconstrued Athair’s words. And they knew not to linger if this all went tits up.

‘Let’s do this,’ I said. I stood tall and walked out.

The taxi driver stayed in his cab and didn’t even roll his window down, a smart move on his part because Duchess had emerged from underneath her bridge and was eyeing him with a predatory gleam.

‘Stand down,’ I told the troll. The last thing any of us needed was her intervention.

She pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips. ‘He doesn’t look so scary,’ she said. ‘I reckon I can take him on and solve all your problems, girlie.’

I sighed. ‘That’s not Athair. That’s the taxi driver who will take us to Athair.’

‘Oh.’ She stared at the poor man, who did his best not to look in her direction, then she shrugged her heavy shoulders. ‘Very well then.’

She clapped me on the back making me stagger forwards. ‘I’d say it’s been nice knowing you but I’d be lying. Enjoy your last few hours. I’ll tell Lord Snoot Face not to cry too much once you’re gone.’ She raised a hairless eyebrow. ‘Although between you and me, he’s been far too jolly recently. His constant good mood is grating on my nerves – and that’s all your fault.’

I’d happily take responsibility for putting a smile on Hugo’s face. I curtsied towards her, then spun on my heel and headed for the taxi.

‘You can change your mind, Daisy,’ Otis urged.

‘Yeah,’ Hester agreed. ‘Stab the driver while you’ve got the chance. If he can’t drive then you can’t travel to have dinner with Athair.’

I ignored them and paused at the passenger door to glance at Hugo. Our eyes met for one long moment. I crossed my fingers, got into the back of the cab and prayed that he’d still be in one piece in a few hours’ time.

I tried to engage the taxi driver in conversation several times during the journey but he was determined not to play ball. I strongly suspected that Athair had instructed him not to talk to me – and he certainly wasn’t allowed to tell me where we were going.

I was still nervous that we’d turn into the grounds of Culcreuch Castle and Athair would blow all our plans out of the water by welcoming me with a sly wink, but we drove past the narrow side road that led to it and continued towards Bridge of Allan, a village on the outskirts of Stirling.

I tried not to look relieved as Culcreuch receded in the distance and surreptitiously checked the rear-view mirror. I couldn’t see any sign of Slim and Miriam behind us; that was good because if I couldn’t see them, neither could anyone else.

Eventually we pulled into the car park of a well-lit restaurant. It was peak time and there were a lot of other vehicles nearby. I could hear chatter and inoffensive pop music drifting out from the restaurant’s open windows. My eyes narrowed.

Out of habit I reached for my wallet, but the driver grunted and indicated with his hand that the fare had already been taken care of. Then he cleared his throat and shocked me by delivering not one but two full sentences in a thick Glaswegian accent. ‘I am under orders to tell you that I will wait here until your meal is finished. Then I shall drive you back.’

Clearly this was Athair’s way of telling me that I would be able to leave the restaurant safely once the meal was over. It wasn’t my safety that I was worried about, but I smiled and thanked the driver anyway. None of this was his fault.

I climbed out of the taxi and walked slowly towards the restaurant’s front door. ‘Is it just me,’ Hester asked, ‘or is this rather disappointing?’

Otis frowned. ‘What do you mean, Hes?’

‘Athair is the most powerful fiend in the country, he’s been around for centuries and the only thing greater than his wealth is his magic.’ She pointed. ‘And this is where he brings his only daughter for their first meal together?’

‘First and last meal together,’ I corrected grimly.

Otis squinted at the restaurant. ‘What’s wrong with it?’

‘What’s wrong with you ?’ Hester demanded. ‘This place isn’t special, Otis. I don’t need to look at the menu to know there won’t be an extensive wine list or an exquisite tasting menu. This is the sort of place that does shepherd’s pie, fish and chips and chicken in a basket.’ She shuddered as if those were the things of nightmares.

Actually this restaurant was exactly where I would have chosen to eat, and that worried me more than almost anything else. ‘It’s a typical family place,’ I said aloud and nodded towards the other cars. ‘Normal families come here to eat normal food. Athair is trying to pretend that’s what we are – normal. And it’s a busy night with plenty of customers, so he’s also making sure I won’t ruin the evening by stabbing him over the prawn-cocktail starter. Everything Athair does is by design.’ My voice hardened. ‘ Everything .’

‘Cumbubbling bollocks,’ Otis whispered.

Indeed.

The atmosphere inside was exactly as I’d expected: warm, inviting and friendly. My spirits sank further while my skin itched from head to toe. I managed a smile at the waiter who greeted us and gave him my name. He pointed at a table where an older man was waiting. As we walked over, I reminded Hester and Otis to stay quiet and out of the way. They nodded solemnly.

The man stood up and spoke to me in Athair’s voice. ‘Good evening, Daisy.’ He dipped his head towards the brownies but didn’t remark on their presence then gestured to the free chair. I sat down stiffly and Athair returned to his seat opposite me.

I sighed. This was going to be a long night.

‘I apologise for my appearance.’ He pointed to his face which was as human as the waiter’s. ‘I’m sure you understand that I couldn’t appear in my natural form as it is now. This body seemed acceptable for tonight.’

I supposed I should have been grateful that he’d not taken on Hugo’s body as he had the first time we’d met. It wasn’t lost on me that the face Athair was wearing had generous features and kindly laughter lines; it was yet another part of his game.

I shrugged as if I didn’t care what he looked like. ‘Who does this face belong to?’

‘Does it matter?’

I guessed not. I folded my arms to make it very clear that I was here under duress and waited. There was only so much polite conversation I could make and that one question had already used up my quota for the evening.

Athair watched me for a long moment. ‘Your antagonism is palpable,’ he said eventually.

Hester snorted loudly. When his gaze flicked to her, she immediately squeaked and zipped behind me for cover. Athair didn’t bother to hide his amusement.

‘I know you’ve been told that all fiends are hateful creatures wholly imbued with evil,’ he said, ‘but you shouldn’t believe everything that you hear. And you should remember that people always hate and fear what they do not understand.’

He leaned forward. ‘Why do you think my existence is kept hidden from most of the population? Places like the Royal Elvish Institute are determined to hide the truth, namely that great power and wisdom can be gained from allowing yourself to become a fiend. They want to keep all the power for themselves.’ There was a nugget of truth in Athair’s words – but only a nugget.

Otis glared at him. ‘What have you ever done that’s not been evil?’

Athair didn’t take his gaze from me. ‘I didn’t continue searching for your mother to kill her for keeping you from me. I am capable of restraint, Daisy.’

I was supposed to applaud him for not killing Rose? Unbelievable. ‘How many people have you killed?’ I asked coolly.

Triumph flared in his eyes; he’d succeeded in engaging me in conversation. I clamped down the burst of annoyance I felt at my inability to remain quiet and waited for his answer. ‘Too many,’ he said. ‘And yet not enough.’

Icy fingers clutched at my heart.

‘Good evening, folks!’ I jumped and turned to the cheerful waiter who’d appeared at the side of our table. If he was aware of any tension he didn’t show it, he simply grinned and presented us with two menus. ‘Our specials today are on the board behind the bar. I can recommend the hake. It was freshly caught this morning and the chef has created a wonderful cream sauce to go with it. We have a small wine list, if you’d like to see it.’

I shook my head. Alcohol free all the way for me. ‘Water is fine,’ I said.

Athair tutted. ‘I’ll have a double Scotch on the rocks. Macallan, if you have it.’

The waiter made a note. ‘Do you have any dietary requirements or allergies?’

Hester, who remained in hiding behind my back, piped up. ‘No strawberries!’

The waiter took a step back and his eyes swung to me with alarm. When he spotted Otis, he took another step away from us. ‘Fucking hell!’ Then his cheeks coloured. ‘Uh, sorry.’ He backed away further. ‘Sorry. I’ve never seen fairies before.’

That was enough to draw Hester out. ‘We’re brownies!’ she protested.

The waiter swallowed hard. ‘Okay.’ His knuckles tightened on his notepad. ‘We don’t have a menu for brownies.’

‘It’s fine,’ I reassured him. ‘When you bring our drinks, I’m sure we’ll be ready to order food. These two will share my meal.’

He swallowed again. A heartbeat later, he was scurrying to the bar and doing his best not to look scared. Brownies were incredibly rare but his reaction was still extreme: they were hardly threatening creatures.

‘You see?’ Athair said softly. ‘People always treat the unknown with trepidation. That young man is terrified of your two pets, even though they couldn’t harm him in the slightest.’

‘You wanna bet?’ Hester snarled.

‘And we are not Daisy’s pets!’ Otis said. ‘We’re her equals. She has always treated us as equals.’

Athair smirked. I wouldn’t let myself be side-tracked. ‘What did you mean when you said you’ve killed too many people but not enough?’

His answer was measured, or perhaps that was just what he wanted me to think. ‘I have been alive for a long time. Times were very different when I was your age. They were … bloodier. Even before I made my transformation, I often had to defend myself. As you have also had to do,’ he said, reminding me that I had also killed. But it wasn’t the same; it couldn’t be.

‘However,’ Athair continued, ‘when I came into this world, the population was less than five hundred million. Now it is close to eight billion. That is not a sustainable number.’

‘That’s your justification for murder? Over-population?’ I sneered.

‘No. But it is a justification. I will not apologise for the deaths I have caused, Daisy, and I will not promise to refrain from causing more deaths in the future. But given I could click my fingers now and strike every person in this restaurant stone dead, I think I show far more restraint than you give me credit for.’

He was unbelievable. I was finding it harder and harder to keep my temper. ‘Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should do it. And you haven’t answered my question. How many people have you actually killed?’

He gazed at me impassively. ‘I don’t keep count because to do that would truly be evil.’

A different waiter appeared. ‘Here are your drinks,’ he said. He didn’t look directly at Hes and Otis but at least he appeared less frightened of them than the last guy had been. ‘Are you ready to order?’

I hadn’t even glanced at the menu. I flipped it open and picked the first thing I saw. ‘The mushroom tagliatelle, please.’

Athair looked down. No doubt he’d choose the rarest, bloodiest steak he could manage. ‘I’ll have the vegetarian burger,’ he said.

I stared at him.

‘I hate killing things unnecessarily,’ he told the waiter with a brief smile.

My hands curled into fists.

As soon as the waiter had made a note of the order and departed, Athair took a sip of his whisky and smiled at me. ‘You have it all wrong, Daisy. Being a fiend isn’t about death, it’s about life. Very long life. Think of all the good that you could do when you have the experience and the time to create whatever you want. Fiends have the opportunity to be the best at everything.’

He was trying to appeal to my competitive nature but he didn’t understand that competition was at its finest when everyone was on a level playing field.

‘You care about nothing but yourself and your power,’ I said.

‘ Au contraire , my dove.’ He raised his glass. ‘I care about you.’

‘If that were true, you’d leave me in peace.’

‘Why would I do that when I could give you so much?’ Athair asked. ‘When you could become so great if you only allow the scales to fall from your eyes? Together, Daisy, we could become a true force. Our family will be the stuff of legends.’

‘Don’t listen to him!’ Otis hissed in my ear.

He didn’t need to worry. I lifted my glass of water and eyed Athair. ‘Except I’m already a legend in my own right,’ I said simply. ‘I don’t need you. I’ll never need you.’

I caught the briefest glimpse of anger in his eyes. ‘You will if I kill the other one, the gimp who pretends to be your father but who could never, ever compete with me,’ he said. I knew from the quiet force behind every word that it wasn’t an idle threat: Athair was genuinely considering it.

Horror lit through me. I’d gone too far. I couldn’t provoke Athair, couldn’t make him any more angry because if I did there was no telling what he would do in return. I tried my best to act casually so he didn’t realise how much his words terrified me. To keep my real dad – and the rest of my family – safe, I had to be clever in my response.

‘It might have escaped your notice,’ I said, ‘but I’m now an adult. My adoptive parents are in England – we’re not even in the same country any more. I am my own person and I make my own decisions. You can’t sway me to your side with violence or bribes.’

‘We shall see, daughter. We shall see.’ He smiled, which I hoped meant the danger had passed. He looked away from me. ‘Ah, I believe our meals are on their way.’ He patted his stomach. ‘Excellent. I’m starving.’

I didn’t say a word. Unsurprisingly, I didn’t have an appetite.