‘Fiends can re-grow their limbs,’ I said, still staring at what was inside the vial. It was genuinely disgusting. ‘Are you certain it was Athair’s?’
‘As certain as I can be. He lost his finger in a fight with a group of witches about sixty years ago. They tried to banish him, but obviously they failed. All but one of them died in the process, but they did manage to slice off this while they were defending themselves. The surviving witch stated categorically that this digit belonged to Athair. It’s been kept in safe storage ever since. I had to pull in a lot of favours to get hold of it but,’ Hugo gave me a long look, ‘I reckon it’ll be worth it.’
I knew exactly why. I reached up and plucked a single strand of my hair, making sure to pull it out at the root. ‘Will that be enough for a DNA comparison?’
‘It should be. It’ll take a few weeks to get the results, but then we’ll know the truth.’ He hesitated. ‘If you want to know, that is.’
‘We’re already too far down the rabbit hole to pull out now,’ I said. ‘I can’t forget about all this. Athair is still out there – and he won’t forget about me, either.’
It was my turn to reach into my pocket. ‘I’ve got something to show you, too.’ I slid out the envelope and took a deep breath, hoping that my hands weren’t shaking too obviously. ‘You’re not going to like this.’
Chapter
Five
Three hours after Sir Nigel had departed, Hugo was still stalking around the castle with a face like thunder. I’d left him to it; I had drilling and practising to do, and he would come to me in his own time.
I continued to force my exhausted limbs beyond what I’d ever thought they were capable of. Hugo finally appeared when Slim was taking me through the finer points of using water magic from a distance.
‘It’s all very well conjuring up bursts of water right in front of you, Daisy,’ he told me, ‘but can you do it from the other side of a field? How far can you direct a stream of water?’
I concentrated hard on the opposite side of the disused ballroom where a small tin bucket was forlornly waiting for some magic. There were several puddles of water dotted around it but, alas, there was very little water in the bucket itself. Slim could conjure up precisely directed water magic from a distance of up to three miles; I couldn’t manage it from three hundred feet.
Hugo leaned against the door frame as he watched my final attempt. I narrowed my gaze and focused on a spot directlyabove the bucket. Sensibly, Hester and Otis had removed themselves some distance away after I’d doused them several times by accident.
‘Listen to your heartbeat,’ Slim advised.
‘I’m listening.’
‘Slow your breathing.’
Yep. I was doing that.
‘Visualise the molecules.’
A bead of sweat ran down my forehead. ‘Gotcha.’
‘And release.’
I flung the magic out of me, giving it all the energy I had, and a cupful of water splashed into the bucket. Another three litres missed it altogether and created a miniature river that ran across the ballroom floor to Hugo’s feet. His mouth tightened.
I sighed and wished the palpitations in my chest would subside.
‘You’re making progress,’ Slim said encouragingly.
Not much progress, but I thanked him anyway. He was a patient teacher and I was lucky to have him. I was lucky to have all of them. I smiled, curtsied – and finally faced Hugo.
‘Can you give us five minutes, Slim?’ he asked.
The older elf was already heading for the door. Otis rose up in the air and prepared to follow him, but Hester yanked him back. Neither brownie was going anywhere; they wanted to hear what Hugo had to say.
He closed the ballroom door and gestured to a few chairs grouped against one wall. I nodded and sat down. When Hugo joined me, I could see the strain etched into his features and the dark tension in his eyes.
I gave him all the time he needed; he’d speak when he was ready. This was a raw, vulnerable Hugo, a side to him that I’d rarely witnessed. He deserved my patience.
After several moments, he inhaled deeply and folded hisarms. ‘Daisy, I need you to believe that I’m not a complete bastard,’ he said.
I blinked. ‘I don’t think that, Hugo.’
