Read Online Wolfsbane: 3 (Rebel Angels) by Gillian Philip - Free Book Online
Authors: Gillian Philip
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– he raised his head and blinked and he saw me. The pain ebbed and he drew breath; he uncoiled
and clambered onto all fours; and his eyes met mine.
His ribs still heaving, he couldn’t speak. He must’ve thought it was my first time seeing it, and the horror in his eyes was worse than all the grim agony that went before.
‘Rory,’ he gasped. ‘Gods, boy, I’m only fooling.’ The rictus smile belied it all. ‘Rory. It’s a
game
.’
I was three years old. Three.
‘Ah, Rory. Oh, lad.’ The smile grew more real, and more regretful, as he regained his sanity and the world. ‘You’re going to need a room of your own.’
I could never sleep after that dream, or rather that recalled memory. I hadn’t for a second assumed the torment had stopped once he’d banished me from my small cot
in his room. I’d taken it for granted that it went on happening; just without me there to see it. And often I thought that it wasn’t a dream at all, but Seth himself, in real time, out
of control and bleeding into me.
I tried not to feel guilty, because they told me often enough it hadn’t been my fault. Seth was shot in the back because he’d betrayed his own brother, and if he’d had to
rescue me, it was because he’d handed me over to the enemy queen in the first place. He had no-one to blame but himself; and the clann had had every right to flog him for what he did; and
perhaps there was a reason he’d never been competently healed of his wounds.
That didn’t mean I couldn’t rage at them all, safe in the privacy of my own head. I loved my clann; that didn’t mean I thought they could do no wrong. All I could do, on the
nights when the dream visited me, was stumble out of bed and walk the stone passageways till I felt tiredness creep up the nape of my neck again. I didn’t – couldn’t –
resent Seth for the disturbed nights, and there was no point being permanently furious with the clann; and anyway, the dun was so still and so peaceful in the small hours. No running feet, no
raucous laughter or angry shouts or clipped commands. So late, there wasn’t even music. It was always a good time to think.
Tonight I wondered if I should knock on Hannah’s door. Maybe she was lying awake herself, wondering what she’d got herself into. I knew she believed the evidence of her senses
– she was smart enough for that – but she was willing to use only five of them.
I uncurled my fist just as it touched the smooth oak of her door, and placed my palm softly against it. No. Asleep or awake, it was no time to disturb her. My father, entirely free of scruples
where full-mortals were concerned, had taken Eili with him across the Veil and paid a visit to Hannah’s aunt and uncle. In minutes the couple who were in loco parentis understood that Hannah
should spend her summer not at The Paddocks, in the off-license and in the Sheriff Court, but with distant relatives in an unknown place doing God-knew-what with her time.
I believe he forgot to mention the war.
Hannah had agreed to it all, of course, and with some enthusiasm, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t thinking it over. About the fact they’d let her go so easily, that they really
couldn’t have cared less.
Tactlessly, Eili had laughed when she and Seth returned and told their story. There were none so malleable, she told me waspishly, as those who wished to believe. And Sheena, at least, had
wished very much to be rid of Hannah. Why, it took barely a tweak of the brainwaves. The reassuring presence of a scrubbed-up and responsible-looking female had been wholly unnecessary, she
muttered as she strode back to her forge, ostentatiously messing up her hair with her fingers. She’d clearly resented Seth robbing her precious time just to provide me with a companion.
It was the kind of thing that gave our race an evil name, Sionnach reminded us all: seducing full-mortals across the Veil and keeping them there for our pleasure and distraction. It
and clambered onto all fours; and his eyes met mine.
His ribs still heaving, he couldn’t speak. He must’ve thought it was my first time seeing it, and the horror in his eyes was worse than all the grim agony that went before.
‘Rory,’ he gasped. ‘Gods, boy, I’m only fooling.’ The rictus smile belied it all. ‘Rory. It’s a
game
.’
I was three years old. Three.
‘Ah, Rory. Oh, lad.’ The smile grew more real, and more regretful, as he regained his sanity and the world. ‘You’re going to need a room of your own.’
I could never sleep after that dream, or rather that recalled memory. I hadn’t for a second assumed the torment had stopped once he’d banished me from my small cot
in his room. I’d taken it for granted that it went on happening; just without me there to see it. And often I thought that it wasn’t a dream at all, but Seth himself, in real time, out
of control and bleeding into me.
I tried not to feel guilty, because they told me often enough it hadn’t been my fault. Seth was shot in the back because he’d betrayed his own brother, and if he’d had to
rescue me, it was because he’d handed me over to the enemy queen in the first place. He had no-one to blame but himself; and the clann had had every right to flog him for what he did; and
perhaps there was a reason he’d never been competently healed of his wounds.
That didn’t mean I couldn’t rage at them all, safe in the privacy of my own head. I loved my clann; that didn’t mean I thought they could do no wrong. All I could do, on the
nights when the dream visited me, was stumble out of bed and walk the stone passageways till I felt tiredness creep up the nape of my neck again. I didn’t – couldn’t –
resent Seth for the disturbed nights, and there was no point being permanently furious with the clann; and anyway, the dun was so still and so peaceful in the small hours. No running feet, no
raucous laughter or angry shouts or clipped commands. So late, there wasn’t even music. It was always a good time to think.
Tonight I wondered if I should knock on Hannah’s door. Maybe she was lying awake herself, wondering what she’d got herself into. I knew she believed the evidence of her senses
– she was smart enough for that – but she was willing to use only five of them.
I uncurled my fist just as it touched the smooth oak of her door, and placed my palm softly against it. No. Asleep or awake, it was no time to disturb her. My father, entirely free of scruples
where full-mortals were concerned, had taken Eili with him across the Veil and paid a visit to Hannah’s aunt and uncle. In minutes the couple who were in loco parentis understood that Hannah
should spend her summer not at The Paddocks, in the off-license and in the Sheriff Court, but with distant relatives in an unknown place doing God-knew-what with her time.
I believe he forgot to mention the war.
Hannah had agreed to it all, of course, and with some enthusiasm, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t thinking it over. About the fact they’d let her go so easily, that they really
couldn’t have cared less.
Tactlessly, Eili had laughed when she and Seth returned and told their story. There were none so malleable, she told me waspishly, as those who wished to believe. And Sheena, at least, had
wished very much to be rid of Hannah. Why, it took barely a tweak of the brainwaves. The reassuring presence of a scrubbed-up and responsible-looking female had been wholly unnecessary, she
muttered as she strode back to her forge, ostentatiously messing up her hair with her fingers. She’d clearly resented Seth robbing her precious time just to provide me with a companion.
It was the kind of thing that gave our race an evil name, Sionnach reminded us all: seducing full-mortals across the Veil and keeping them there for our pleasure and distraction. It
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