Bloodstone (31 page)

Jed shrank back in disbelief.
Finn
, he thought.
Finn. You know fine you aren’t lovely. You bitched about it often enough. You laughed about it.

‘The Veil is a moth-eaten rag. We’ve crossed over everywhere, we cross-breed more and more, and now their kind have begun to come to us.’ Kate glanced at
Laszlo, back in the shadows. ‘The Veil’s going to die, but we’ll turn that to our advantage, won’t we, Finn? We won’t go down with it. We’ll join with the
full-mortals on our own terms.’

Kate tipped Finn’s chin so she could look directly into her eyes, and for a moment Jed knew how it was. Those slender fingers, cool and dry against the skin, the touch
of them travelling through the jaw and into the skull.

‘It’s dead skin,’ Kate murmured. ‘It’s already rotting. Even if Conal was right, the Veil’s death is inevitable. It’s only madness
that fights the inevitable.
Madness
.’

And Jed remembered what it looked like: Conal’s wild face as he seized Rory, Conal striking Seth almost hard enough to snap his neck, Conal cursing the night sky like a
lunatic. There was the bitter rage of Eili, too: the pointless waste of four hundred years could make you mad. For a crystalline moment, Jed believed that absolutely.

It lasted fractions of a second; that was all. But in the same instant, he saw how it was for Finn.

People lied to Finn. They’d done it all her life. How would she recognise a lie? She didn’t know what one looked like.

Oh, Finn
. His stomach turned over.

Kate nodded. ‘Finn sees it perfectly clearly. Our two worlds are like parallel rivers. Rivers always join, forge a channel together. One day the worlds will collide, and
this side will be swallowed up, but so what? There’s a watersmeet at Tornashee, but does the smaller river vanish? No! It’s absorbed in the larger one. There’s turbulence, and
dangerous water, and then?’ She stroked Finn’s cheek as she smiled. ‘Clear brown water, and the sound of the trees, and birdsong, and cool shade. It’s beautiful.’ She
took a small, sad breath. ‘Conal taught you to swim there, didn’t he?’

Finn nodded, unspeaking.

‘You love him. That’s understandable. He’s been your father since he lost you your own.’ Kate’s voice held infinite melancholy. ‘Ah, Finn,
Conal can be saved.’

The battle was lost, but Jed flailed one more time. ‘Finn...’

Kate spun and faced him, righteous anger lighting her eyes with gold.

‘You see, Jed? That’s why Finn will stay with me. She’ll stay. Because together we’ll save Cù Chaorach.’

‘Ed! Down!’ Rory hammered Jed’s shoulder with furious fists.

When Jed had first picked up his brother, he’d had no intention of ever putting him down. But over the long hours since they’d come here, he’d had to. Hours?
It could be days. He had only his own body clock to go by, since his cheap watch had never recovered from its soaking and there were no windows in this warren. He and Rory had slept and eaten when
they felt like it. No-one had tried to snatch Rory away, and gradually Jed’s confidence was returning. He could let Rory go more than a metre from him, for – oh, whole minutes at a
time. Now, reluctantly, he set the squalling child on the ground, and was rewarded with instant silence.

Jed stuck close behind him as the toddler trudged down a new corridor. There didn’t seem to be much chance of getting lost, anyway. Either they’d lose their
bearings in these tortuous caverns – in which case Kate would be bound to send Laszlo after them – or they’d find a route to the outside world, which was frankly too much to hope
for.

The passage opened into a bare rock-walled space where water fell in a spray into a clear greenish pool. At the pool’s edge lay a black wolf, its yellow eyes fixed on
them. Jed came to a shocked halt, but Rory marched heedlessly forward. Only when he was about to plunge feet-first into the pool did Jed run forward to grab him. Branndair lifted his head but made
no sound.

Seth stood barefoot but fully clothed beneath the fall of water, eyes closed, his jeans and white shirt soaked, singing quietly to himself: a lilting tune Jed’s mother
used to sing.
My Lagan Love
. Had Seth taught it to her, or had she taught him? Suddenly Jed couldn’t stand the sound of it. Hatred tightened his guts. Seth would leave him nothing of
her, in the end, not even some old song.
Nothing
.

Falling silent, Seth shut his eyes tighter, turned his face up to the hard lash of the water, and let it wash out his mouth in a fountaining spray. Jed began to back away,
then hesitated, heart thudding. He wanted to know how Seth could do it. Stab Conal in the back. Seduce Mila. Steal her baby, the baby he’d abandoned, and give him to that slapper of a witch
for the sake of
politics
.

Seth spat out a mouthful of water, shoved his hands through his hair and without opening his eyes said, ‘Have you a weapon with you?’

If only
. Remembering the pistol in his belt, Jed gritted his teeth. ‘Not one that works.’

‘Ah.’ Seth tipped his head forward, opening eyes that were starred with silver light. The right one opened properly. The left one was still swollen, bruised
horribly by Conal’s blow. Stepping out of the pool, Seth glanced down at the child squirming in Jed’s arms. ‘At the risk of my own throat, I suggest you find one. And don’t
turn your back on Laszlo. Not ever.’

Jed frowned, curiosity overcoming his hate. ‘Laszlo’s not going to bother with me.’

‘He will. Kate knows it, but she leaves me to do her dirty protection work.’ Seth spat again into the pool. ‘Laszlo’s afraid of you. And fear makes men
do terrible things.’

‘I’ve got nothing against Laszlo,’ said Jed. ‘You’re a different matter.’

‘Right. Well, allegedly,’ said Seth with a sarcastic grin, ‘Laszlo will never be killed by a Sithe. He’ll be killed by a full-mortal like
himself.’

‘I see.’ Jed paused, thinking about that for a moment. ‘There’s a lot of us about.’

‘Yes, though not many over here. And he’s done enough killing in his time to make plenty of enemies.’ Seth shrugged. ‘Of course it’s all
bollocks. Witchcraft, superstition, whatever. Don’t talk to me about prophecies.’ His lip curled in hatred. ‘I’ve had enough of those to last me three Sithe lifetimes. The
point is, Laszlo believes it.’

That made Jed shiver. ‘He had every chance to kill me on the way here, and he didn’t.’

‘Wouldn’t dare. Skinshanks wants you.’

Jed froze. ‘What?’

‘It’s bored with Laszlo. Taken him as far as it can. Wants a new protégé, and you’re it; it’s had its eye on you for a long time.
It’s already worked on you, from a distance.’ Seth shrugged. ‘Well, what Skinshanks wants, Kate’ll give. Good luck with that.’

Jed found himself holding Rory tighter. ‘But that means Laszlo won’t—’

‘Oh yeah, he will if he gets a chance. He’ll slide a kitchen knife between your shoulder blades and apologise for being clumsy.’

Jed swallowed, his throat dry. ‘Why would you care?’

Seth’s eyes strayed to Rory. ‘I thought I’d made that perfectly clear.’

Rory squealed, delighted to have some more adult attention, and kicked free of Jed’s too-close hold. Cursing, Jed made a grab for him, but he was a fast mover for a
toddler. He collided with Seth’s legs and was thrilled to be swept up in his strong hands.

Breathing hard, Jed decided that if the man so much as looked at Rory the wrong way he’d take his eyes out with his bare fingers. But Seth only held the baby at
arm’s length, gazing at him as if looking for a little bit of himself. Rory’s eyes were wide and fascinated as he returned the stare. Stretching out a stubby hand he touched
Seth’s bruised eye, and the man flinched in surprise.

‘Ouchy,’ said Rory, and grabbed Seth’s neck, hauling him in for a proper hug.

A look of utter shock was on Seth’s face, and he would have dropped Rory to the stone floor had the child not locked himself so securely round his neck. Seth pressed his
face to Rory’s, so close that his black eyelashes brushed the small cheekbone, and his arms closed in on the little body to hold him far more tightly than Jed thought was
necessary.

Seth crouched to set the child down, pushing him gently back in Jed’s direction. Jed lifted him. Rory’s clothes were soaked now, and Jed was on the point of saying
something vicious about Seth’s carelessness, but one look at the man’s unguarded face stopped him. Instead he said softly: ‘Why did you do it?’

Seth stood up, his gaze chilling. ‘Partly because of you, you’ll be sorry to hear. Kate’s been trying to entice me back.’ He grinned ironically.
‘That bitch-queen plays a long game. She was very subtle. But I wouldn’t have done it, you know.’

‘Wouldn’t?’ Jed’s mouth was dry.

‘No. But then you came out with that ghetto remark of yours. I thought a lot about that. Why should we live in a ghetto, after all? It’s your kind need to be
controlled and corralled, not ours.’

‘But I thought... you’ll all be destroyed.’

‘It’s one theory. Me, I think we’re strong enough, clever enough to survive the worst. But only if we do it on our own terms.’

Those words echoed. He remembered Kate saying them.

‘You know, I saw Belsen, Cuilean. I saw it liberated. It made quite an impression. I’ve been all over; I’m quite the world traveller. Rwanda, Kosovo, Sierra
Leone. Have you heard of those? Did they register with you?’

‘Kind of...’

‘Quite. Kind of. Anyway, when I got tired of being a soldier I joined the police, and I ended up pulling the corpse of a six-year-old child out of a ditch.’ He
smiled coldly. ‘You never stop, do you? If the Veil rots away, what in the name of the gods will we do? The thought of it turns my guts to ice. We’ll need someone strong, someone
who’ll protect us. Someone as ruthless as you people are. Because, gods, you are. Do you have any idea how much I’ve seen of you? You kill your own children. Your
children
kill
children.’

‘Not all of us.’ Jed decided Seth was a little more insane than Conal.

‘More than enough.’ Seth shrugged. ‘You’re beyond belief, or you would be if I hadn’t seen the evidence. Well, with Kate in charge we might just
be all right. Kate’s nothing if not ruthless. She’s wicked, but she’s one of us.’

‘I’m amazed you can even touch her. After my mum.’

‘Don’t push it, Cuilean.’ There was a snarl in Seth’s throat, fading to silence. ‘Though it sometimes amazes me too.’

‘Kate doesn’t care about you!’

‘It never once occurred to me that she did.’

‘I don’t mean just you. She doesn’t care about any of you. Nobody but herself!’

‘True, and of course I know now why she targeted me and not Conal.’ Seth eyed his baby son with a tight smile. ‘It was never going to be my superior charms,
was it? But Kate’s got the right idea, you see. Caring’s so overrated. I’ve been alive a long time, Cuilean.’ The pitch of his voice rose. ‘Have you
any
idea
how much love you can give and take in a life that long?’

Jed tensed, but the man only shrugged, his voice cooling again.

‘Caring. Loving. What do they get you but grief and horror and death? Conal cares, and what has it got him? Exile, and a rage he can’t control any more.’
Seth’s teeth bared, but it wasn’t what Jed would call a smile. ‘It used to be so easy, Cuilean. I used to draw in the Veil as if I was pulling a hat down over my eyes. Now I try
to seize it and it disintegrates where I touch it, or vanishes like a mist-phantom. I wore out the last of my kindness keeping you and your family protected. Now I’ve had enough. This way
it’s our own choice. I’d rather take my chances with Kate than wait around for the Veil to dissolve and for everything I’ve ever loved to vanish.’

‘Thought you didn’t love anything.’

Seth’s eyes were brilliant and intense. ‘Slip of the tongue. But if you insist, there’s one person I do still love. And in the end, he was my only
reason.’

‘You don’t love Rory,’ Jed snapped.

‘Rory? Certainly not. I’m talking about the noble fool who loves a girl who’d drop him like hot silver for the chance to be in her own gang. He loves Finn
more than his own life, and he’d have given that up for her like a shot.’

‘Aye. That’s what worried me.’

Seth shut his eyes, sighing. ‘Listen to me, Cuilean: Conal would never have given up your brother. I told you to trust him and you didn’t. You blew it. If
you’d stayed with him, put your trust in him... well.’ He shrugged. ‘You didn’t.’