Banished (26 page)

‘You’re family. They’re not. And they are strange, Kit.’ She twirls her finger next to her head. ‘They—’ She breaks off and smiles as the flap opens and
a large man walks in.

‘Aiden’s dad,’ she says. ‘I thought he was physically going to tear apart the guards manning the perimeter of the camp when they wouldn’t allow us to leave. All on
the strict orders of Aelfric.’

‘So you guys
have
basically been held captive?’

I turn to watch the tall man fold his son into a bear hug. I can’t hear what they’re saying but it looks how I’d imagine a reunion with Aiden’s dad would be.
There’s lots of physical contact and punching and slapping in a way that’s somehow both macho and parental.

‘You could say that, except in everything else we’ve been treated really well.’ She ticks off on her fingers. ‘Food, clothing, hospitality. But no contact with the
outside world.’

‘How did Marc get hurt, then?’

‘We joined a scouting party that went into the Otherwhere, thinking we could slip away and find a way home, but we got involved in a running battle with one of Eadric’s
scouts.’ She stares at me intently. ‘Between Aelfric and his brother, the gateways between our world and the Otherwhere are sewn up tight. We were lucky to get back here
even.’

I try and question Megan more but she shakes her head. ‘More later.’ She jerks her head in the direction of Thorn and his mum. They’ve been talking non-stop,
and from Thorn’s demeanour he looks to have been thoroughly questioned.

‘He is really pretty.’ Megan’s voice is soft and low. ‘What’s the story there?’

I look at her in surprise and follow her gaze. Thorn notices us staring at him and I grin at him, giving him big eyes. His smile back is happy and relieved.

I give her a brief recap of how we got to the camp. ‘And now I’m wondering if we should be here at all,’ I say to her. ‘Even if I want to help Thorn.’

‘Look, Aelfric told us that our dad knows we’re here,’ she says. ‘And if he knows, then it should be okay. I kinda understand why Aelfric’s keeping us here. He
wants to limit information leaving the camp. The only way you leave the camp is through those gateways his sorcerers control. And, of course, he controls them.’ She sighs. ‘There is no
way out. The guys patrolling the perimeter aren’t pleasant and any deserters they come across are fed to the wyverns.’

When she sees my curious look she shrugs. ‘Nasty smelling things that are partial to a bit of human meat.’ She shudders.

‘Why are we sitting here?’ I ask her. ‘Can’t we go see Marc and Kyle?’

‘Not until your boyfriend’s mum tells us it’s okay to go.’

‘What?’

‘Etiquette, Kit. We can’t come and go without Dina or Aelfric’s say-so.’

‘That’s stupid,’ I say, annoyed. ‘I’d really like to see my cousins and meet Aiden’s dad and his brothers.’

I stand up and she follows suit.

‘I’m off to go check on my cousins,’ I say to Thorn, doing my best to ignore his mum’s look of surprise at my intrusion on their talk. ‘My cousin Marc’s been
hurt and I want to make sure he’s okay.’

Thorn excuses himself to his mum and walks towards me.

‘I’m sorry to hear that. I can arrange an escort for you.’

‘Don’t be silly,’ I say with a laugh. ‘We’re capable of looking after ourselves.’

‘I’ll come with you, then, to make sure.’ His glance slides to Megan, who’s trying not to look worried at my rude behaviour and flouting of etiquette. ‘I’ll
be a moment only.’

He turns and walks back to Queen Dina, ignoring the councillors who have entered the tent and are now in discussion with his father. His mother’s looking at me as he speaks and I do my
best to keep my face impassive.

‘We are in trouble now. Mama is not at all happy with Thorn running off with you again,’ Megan breathes. ‘She’s glaring like she wants to eat you for dinner.’

‘Thanks, that makes me feel safe,’ I whisper back and jerk with fright when Thorn comes up next to me.

‘Come, I’ll escort you to your tent.’

The camp here is as busy as the Unseelie camp, but there’s less sense of menace. Even so, I keep my hand on my sword hilt and feel eyes assessing me as I walk next to Thorn. I know that
compared to some of the warriors we’ve seen I look less than impressive, but Jamie’s fond of saying that image only counts for so much.

Megan leads us to a tent about the size of my bedroom at the Manor, which houses three cots. Marc’s standing upright with Kyle’s help in the middle of the tent, struggling to put on
a clean shirt. They look up when we come in and are clearly delighted to see me.

I admit to squeaking and acting like a real girl. But there is no reason for Marc to let out quite the exaggerated ‘oophh’ as I connect with his chest. Then I’m in a Kit
sandwich, hugged between Megan, Marc and Kyle.

‘You got shish-kebabed,’ I say to Marc, pulling back and looking at him. ‘Jamie won’t be impressed.’

Marc’s handsome face pulls into a grimace. ‘Don’t remind me. Megan’s already working out a whole new exercise regime for when I’m better.’

I am relieved to see him okay, even if he’s bruised and full of holes. It also looks as if he’s lost some weight, like Megan. Kyle, on the other hand, is still a hundred per cent
himself, even if he looks not to have slept for a while.

‘Don’t get me wrong, Kyle, I’m happy to see you, but you’re not okay, are you?’

The smile he gives me is sweet but anaemic. ‘I’m on logistics detail,’ he says, keeping his voice low. ‘I’m keeping track of the network ferrying supplies and goods
across to the two sides of Aelfric’s army. I’m exhausted. I don’t think I’ve slept since we stumbled across everyone here.’

‘Are you going to introduce us at some stage?’ Marc asks, nodding to something behind me. I turn to find Thorn standing behind me, watching our reunion.

‘I’m so sorry. Thorn, meet my cousins. Kyle, only about a month younger than me, but far more clever. Then this is Marc, Megan’s twin. He likes to think he’s the boss of
us. Or we let him think that.’

There’s much friendly greeting and the tension hanging over us all lightens for a moment.

Thorn turns back to me and his smile is sweet. ‘I’ve got to go. My mother wants me where she can see me. For a little while at least. My brothers are on their way back from Alba and
she wants me there when they get back.’

I nod and walk with him towards the exit.

‘Your cousins are very fond of you,’ he says, pausing for a moment.

‘Family,’ I say, shrugging. He huffs out a laugh and nods.

‘I know. Can’t live with them and can’t live without them.’

As I turn to leave he catches my hand and runs his long fingers through mine briefly, before letting my hand drop. ‘Stay out of trouble, Blackhart,’ he says earnestly. ‘Promise
me.’

I grin and shove the hand he’s just touched, the one that’s tingling, deep into my jeans pocket. ‘No promises in times of love and war, Thorn, don’t you know
anything?’

He shakes his head, still smiling, before ducking back out. Four soldiers stand outside the tent flap and form up around him as he leaves.

I waste no time getting back to my cousins. Marc’s taken his seat on his bed and he’s wearing his shirt, but it sits awkwardly because of the bandages. Overall, though, he looks more
steady.

‘Really?’ I say, raising my eyebrows. ‘Forays into Alba?
More
than one?’

Both Megan and Marc have the grace to look uncomfortable.

‘They’ve been going in and coming back with information about Eadric’s movements. Carrying dispatches and stuff.’ This comes from Kyle, who glares between his siblings in
an uncharacteristic display of anger. ‘You try and tell them that it’s not safe, because they sure as hell don’t bother listening to me.’

‘Without that information . . .’ Marc waves his hand. ‘We’ll be going in blind when the time comes for attack.’

‘But it doesn’t mean you have to go, does it?’ Kyle says fiercely. ‘Aelfric has his foresters and his scouts out doing recon. You guys are just doing it because
you’re bored.’

‘Kyle, we’ve been through this. We’ve been trained by Jamie; we know to look for different things. Has anything we’ve brought back not been golden?’

Kyle looks as if he’s struggling not to speak his mind and shakes his head. ‘Dude, you aren’t listening, are you? Eadric’s army is everywhere now in Alba. He has
thousands of supporters. You have to stop and listen to what I’m saying here. Our home ground is here, we have the advantage here, not in Alba. Jamie’s trained us as well as he can but
we are still just kids.’

Marc’s scowl shuts Kyle up pretty quickly. It’s the first time I’ve seen Kyle stand up to his elder brother. I’m not entirely sure Marc’s appreciating it right
now.

‘Kyle, listen, I know you think we’re mad doing this . . .’

‘No, Marc, you listen for a change. I sit here and I compile all the data that’s coming in. I am seeing a far bigger army in Alba than Aelfric has any hope of beating with his
current forces on such short notice. I read the reports coming in from the scouts. I hear about the devastation Eadric’s army is causing in Alba. Aren’t you worried that neither Suola
nor the Sun King have sent their entire combined armed force to Aelfric to use as needed? The two most powerful rulers in Alba, not counting Aelfric, are sitting on the fence. They are going to
wait to see how the war goes before they decide who to support.’

‘Which is why it’s so crucial for us to go out there and to send back as much information as we can about all of this.’ Marc grabs his younger brother by the shoulder.
‘If Alba falls to Eadric and his cultists, what do you think will happen to us? Eadric has to be defeated or we will all be killed or become slaves to a raving lunatic and the gods he’s
bringing back.’ Marc rakes his fingers through his hair. I’ve never seen him this unsettled and it puts me on edge. ‘This isn’t a domestic tiff Aelfric’s having with
his baby brother. This is all-out war, Kyle. I know you want to keep us safe, but if we don’t fight now, to stop this, what are our chances of stopping this madman when he breaks through that
gateway with an army of sorcerers and beasts that’ve not walked this earth for thousands of years?’

Megan draws me away to where a table of refreshments stands. She pours me a goblet of something rich and herby and pours one for herself.

‘What exactly is Marc talking about?’ I ask Megan, trying not to let my voice rise in panic. ‘It sounds like you guys know far more than we do about this whole thing. Fill me
in.’

‘What we know is this,’ she says, keeping her voice low. ‘Aelfric’s younger brother, Eadric, is the head of a – what do you call it? Like a doomsday cult, okay?
They believe Aelfric’s brought the kingdom of Alba low, having the Fae hide from humans and not taking their rightful place in the order of things. The Fae are superior to humans in every
way, or so they say. The Fae have magic, they have longevity, they are immune to a lot of diseases that humanity has succumbed to over the years. They are the stronger race. This is what they
believe completely. They also believe that by bringing back the Elder Gods, who will remake the world into the place it once was, they will once more rule the world.’

‘And what happens to the humans? To us?’

‘Those few left that they allow to live will work to do their bidding. As slaves.’

I want to laugh. It is absurd, as insane a plan and unfeasible as any Bond villain’s mad idea I’ve seen on TV.

‘Are you serious?’

‘Like a bad case of death,’ she says, taking my goblet away from me and refilling it.

‘But it’s crazy.’

‘That’s Eadric for you,’ she says, watching her two brothers still arguing. ‘They’ve been at each other’s throats since we got here,’ she says.
‘We tracked the thing killing the livestock in the area. It was a bloody griffin, can you believe it? It got loose from its pen and its caretaker’s not been able to lure it back. We
came across Aelfric and his lot within hours of getting here and we’ve not been able to leave. It’s been a nightmare. The gateway is controlled by those sorcerers you saw when you were
coming in. No one comes or goes without strict checks and permissions. More and more wounded Fae are coming through too with soldiers returning from Alba and Aelfric’s letting them all in.
We’ve been getting reports on Eadric’s war bands going round Alba. They are trying to convert more of the Fae to their cause.’ She looks serious. ‘Things aren’t good,
at all.’

‘Has Aelfric considered asking for external help?’ I say, watching the two boys do their best to keep their voices low. ‘How about getting in touch with the guys from the Spook
Squad?’

Megan shakes her head, frustrated. ‘No, we’ve tried to convince him. Aelfric is insisting that he’ll be able to contain all of this. He’s been in touch with my dad and so
Mum and Dad both know that we’re here. They’re working with Aelfric to get some of the New World Fae ready to assist in Alba.’

‘So your dad’s okay with you being a prisoner here?’ I challenge her. ‘Because no matter how we try to spin it, that’s what this is. Even if Aelfric’s using
you to help him scout Alba.’

‘I don’t think Dad knows that we’re not allowed to leave. Marc was with Aelfric when they spoke. Dad had this mirror on him that connected him to Aelfric so Marc could see and
hear what they were saying and doing. Dad is monumentally pissed off that Aelfric kept all of this from him. He sent us here to check out cattle mutilations, thinking one of the local ogre tribes
was getting a bit overzealous, but instead we found a deposed king and his army.’

I try to contain my anger. ‘Do you know you have a traitor in the camp?’

‘What are you talking about?’ Marc says, turning to me, somehow managing to argue with Kyle and keep an ear on my conversation with Megan.

I sigh and rub my face. ‘When we went to the trolls for information this guy was there, Ioric Brightwing. He tried to kill me and convince Thorn to go away with him.’ I hold up my
hand for silence under their sudden barrage of questions. ‘But he didn’t do it on purpose, or rather, not out of free will. Someone with really strong magic got to him.’ I tell
them what happened in the troll cave and watch them pale. ‘Whoever this sorcerer is, he made Ioric kill himself in front of us. It was horrible.’