Page 68 of The Falconer

‘Gavin,’ I say. ‘Please just—’

‘On the contrary,’ Kiaran says, ignoring me. ‘This is an opportunity I never anticipated.’

In an instant, he rises to his feet and grabs Gavin by the throat, lifting him off the ground so his legs are dangling.

‘MacKay!’

I move to help Gavin, but Kiaran’s power freezes me in place. My limbs are heavy and unresponsive. The stark taste of earth saturates my mouth, sliding thick down my throat. Gavin chokes and gasps for breath.

A memory flashes. My mother, coughing up blood just a moment before death. All while I stood there and watched, too petrified to move. I did nothing then, the same as now.

I fight against the power that holds me. My fingers dig hard into my gloved palms, until my hands are stiff and aching. I try to curse at Kiaran but can’t. My body can make only the barest of movements against his abilities.

‘How very timely this is,’ Kiaran murmurs. ‘I thought every Seer was either dead or in hiding, and yet here you are. Now, what visions do you have for me?’

He touches a finger to Gavin’s temple. Gavin gasps. Then his eyes glaze over and his head lolls back.

I will my tongue and lips to move. ‘Let. Him. Go.’

Kiaran doesn’t even spare me a glance. This is the terrifying Kiaran, the monster under his beautiful skin. ‘Means to an end, Kam. I told you – necessity before honour. Have you learned so little?’

Kiaran’s power is growing stronger, becoming a heavy presence in the room. The temperature has dropped noticeably, and soon I’m breathing white air and my fingers are numb. His power forces its way inside me, a heavy combination of dirt and mud and the overpowering tang of iron. Dots pulse in front of my eyes as I struggle to draw breath.

‘I know there’s at least one vision that keeps a Seer awake at night,’ he says. ‘It will tell me everything I need to know. Show it to me.’

The furniture has begun to lift into the air. The vases on the chimneypiece float away from their places and the settee I’m on is suddenly weightless. My feet leave the ground as it hovers above the Persian carpet.

Gavin has gone limp in Kiaran’s arms.Please be all right.Please be all right.

‘Stop resisting,’ Kiaran murmurs, pressing his fingers more firmly against Gavin’s temple. ‘You’re trying to distract me.’ Then, he smiles. ‘How sad for you. You couldn’t have saved the girl, you know. That is a certainty. Now give me the real one.’

I watch him, curious now. What is Kiaran looking for? What vision could Gavin possibly have that would interest him?

‘Ah. There it is.’

Everything in the room is silent. Kiaran’s eyes are wide and sightless, watching Gavin’s vision play out. The furniture in the room sways gently in the air. Books float off their shelves and the entire tea service drifts past me. The taste in my mouth is so thick that I can barely swallow.

Finally, Kiaran says, ‘I see.’

He releases Gavin. The settee drops to the floor and almost throws me to the ground. My chest and throat ache from the deluge of power. Vases shatter at the back of the room. Teacups fall around me, a few saved by the thick carpet. Books lie scattered all over the place.

Gavin gasps for breath on his hands and knees. ‘You bastard,’ he manages.

Finding my body back under my control, I go to Gavin and grip his shoulders to steady him. When I look at Kiaran, I’m surprised by his expression. It isn’t smug or arrogant or proud. His brow is furrowed with a hint of concern, quickly gone, replaced by his usual indifference.

Gavin shakes me off and rises to his feet. He snarls a word at Kiaran that makes my eyes widen. ‘If you touch me again,’ he says, ‘I’ll kill you.’

Kiaran slowly looks Gavin over, head to toe. ‘You’re just a Seer.’ He smiles that unpleasant, terrifying smile. ‘I could snap your neck before you raised a hand against me.’

‘MacKay,stop it.’

I’d hit him. If I weren’t so blasted sick, I would never have let this happen.

‘Do you love him, Kam?’ Kiaran asks. ‘Does he fit your ridiculous notions of honour? Is he someone worthy enough to die next to?’

Gavin lurches forward. ‘I can’t imagine why she hasn’t killed you already. Trust a faery and die. Every Scot knows that.’

‘Find a Seer and cut out his eyes,’ Kiaran says. ‘Everyfaeryknows that.’

---