‘And,’ Hester added, ‘we’re all going to die.’
I sucked on my bottom lip and my eyes met Hugo’s.
‘At least we’ll die fighting,’ he said. He smiled and his dimple appeared. ‘In case it’s not clear, Daisy, I have lots of regrets about what happened when we first encountered each other but the one thing I will never ever regret is that we met. My life is inordinately richer because you’re in it. No matter what happens today or later tonight, don’t forget that. I will always be yours. You told the Fachan that I belong to you and it’s completely true.’ He paused. ‘And I couldn’t be happier.’
‘That will be from the adrenaline caused by facing imminent death,’ Hester said.
I ignored her and kept my gaze on Hugo. ‘I feel the same. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.’
He smirked. ‘Naturally.’
I matched his expression. ‘Now you can admit the whole truth, darling.’
‘The whole truth?’
‘That you desperately love me.’
He nodded. ‘I do.’
‘Your desire for me is ardent.’
‘Yup. It is.’
I reached up and brushed a lock of his tawny hair away from his forehead. ‘And,’ I breathed, ‘I’m the best treasure hunter this country has ever seen.’
‘Let’s not betooenthusiastic, Daisy,’ he said, while the brownies rolled their eyes in exasperation.
I kissed him briefly, grinned and stepped back.
‘Is all the soppy shit out of the way now?’ Hester enquired.
Hugo’s hand reached for mine. ‘Never.’
She sighed. ‘Come on. Let’s get a move on and meet our gruesome death.’
We picked our way through the woods, doing what we could to stay well behind the tree line. There was every reason not to rush: we didn’t want Athair to know we were there – not yet, anyway. We wove in and out of the bushes and foliage until there was a break in the trees and we could see Culcreuch Castle .
Last time I’d thought the building and its surrounding landscape were awesome, but now the lush splendour I’d seen during that visit had vanished. ‘Wow,’ I whispered. ‘There’s no denying that a fiend is in residence.’
There was still a lake in front of the castle. Last time it had been a sparkling expanse of aquatic serenity complete with lazy ducks and shimmering blue water, but now it was a murky hole. The water was black rather than blue, there were oily ripples on its surface and certainly no quacking ducks.
The lake wasn’t the only difference: the once perfectly manicured lawns were a quagmire. I couldn’t see a glimmer of natural life; the landscape looked as dead as if we’d walked onto the set of a dystopian film. Unfortunately, this wasn’t Hollywood. Far from it.
Close to the grand front door of the castle was a battered wooden crate. It was empty now but I knew without asking that it was the same crate Hugo had mentioned that had contained chickens to feed Athair’s small army of vampires. There were bloodstains around it and, if I squinted, I could see trails of feathers and bones. The poor chickens hadn’t had an easy death.
Given the time of day, at least the vamps weren’t in evidence. There was a makeshift barn structure on the eastern side of the castle that definitely hadn’t been there before; the bloodsuckers were doubtless inside, sleeping away the day until it was safe to emerge. I shuddered slightly and told myself to be grateful that they were tucked away.
The castle building, which had stood for enough centuries to prove that it was made of strong stuff, was in better condition. There were some dark red stains on the stonework that I tried not to think too closely about, and a couple of broken windows on the upper floors, but it was mostly intact.
‘He’s not very houseproud, is he?’ I murmured.
Otis’s mouth was turned down in disapproval. Hester’s hands were on her hips.
‘It looks far worse in daylight than I realised,’ Hugo agreed. ‘He’s taken more care inside – it’s cleaner in there.’
‘Apart from the random corpses shoved into handy dungeons,’ I muttered.
‘Yeah.’ Hugo’s mouth flattened. ‘Apart from those.’
