The Fachan inclined his head. ‘You have come here because you want to know the truth,’ he said. ‘You want to know whether you are the child of a fiend.’
‘Uh, no.’ I grimaced. It was somewhat galling that the Fachan had already worked that part out, probably because I’d finished off Baltar when even he couldn’t have ended the fiend for good. ‘I already know that I am.’
If he was surprised, he didn’t show it. ‘I see. Then why are you here, Daisy Carter?’
I cleared my throat. ‘We have heard rumours that a very long time ago some people possessed the means to rid the world of fiends for ever.’
Hugo added, ‘Around eight hundred years ago. Before the Black Death, which was itself created by a fiend.’
The Fachan didn’t miss a beat. ‘Yes, I remember the Black Death. It was a difficult time for your kind.’
That was something of an understatement but I wasn’t there to discuss the horrors of a fourteenth-century plague. ‘You know a great deal,’ I told him. ‘You’ve witnessed so much. Do you have any idea what these rumours might allude to?’
He regarded me implacably but didn’t reply.
Hester couldn’t contain herself. ‘If you know anything,’ she burst out, ‘you have to tell us!’
Otis added his voice to hers. ‘Was there ever a way to destroy all the fiends?’
The Fachan’s expression didn’t change. ‘Yes,’ he said finally. ‘There was.’
Chapter
Seventeen
There was a moment’s silence before all four of us started peppering the Fachan with questions.
‘What was it?’
‘What did it do?’
‘How is that possible?’
And, of course, ‘Can we find it and use it now?’
The Fachan sighed heavily. ‘You are searching for a truth that can no longer be found.’
I felt a churn of nausea. ‘Please,’ I whispered. ‘Can you elaborate?’
The Fachan stroked the edge of his sword absent-mindedly. ‘Fiendish blood runs in your veins, Daisy Carter. Even if the sceptrum could be found, it might destroy you as well as those who are true fiends.’
That was a risk I was more than willing to take, but Hugo stiffened in alarm. ‘It’s fine,’ I murmured to him and turned back to the Fachan. ‘Tell us more. What is this … sceptrum?’
‘For generations, many of your kind have been concerned about the existence of fiends – and with good reason. One of your kings commissioned the greatest minds of his time to create an object that would banish them from this land forever,together with several other items of vast power. He was a particularly pathetic ruler,’ the Fachan said with a distinct edge of distaste. ‘Your people do not often choose their leaders well.’
My skin was prickling with anticipation despite his dark tone. Finally we were getting somewhere. ‘Which king?’
Something flickered in his single yellow eye. ‘That information will not help you.’
I clasped my hands. ‘Please.’
The Fachan sighed again. ‘I do not know his name, such details are unimportant to me. I am aware that he was violent and he did not treat those weaker than himself with respect. He possessed no honour.’
I glanced at Hugo but he only shrugged. ‘That could have been any number of monarchs in our history,’ he said. Unhelpful.
The Fachan rumbled with amusement. ‘Your boy speaks the truth.’
‘He couldn’t have been that bad if he was trying to destroy all the fiends,’ Otis interjected.
