At least half the vampires had already been decimated and the remainder were spreading through other streets.
‘Arbuthnot!’ Athair yelled. ‘Get to that fucking car! Kill whoever is inside!’
There was no answer: the bogle had disappeared. Arbuthnot had seen his chance and taken it – he must have run off at the first opportunity. Good for him. I’d be very, very surprised if we saw him again.
If Athair realised that Arbuthnot had vanished, he didn’t react. Instead, still balanced on top of the bronze horse, he spun towards another of the departing group of vampires. I heard a muttered hiss and I followed his gaze.
We’d lost one bogle but we’d gained another. At the far end of the street on the southern side, I spotted a large female. A battle to the death wasn’t where I’d expected to see a museum director but at least Agatha Smiggleswith wasn’t alone; she was flanked to her left by Duchess. A troll and a bogle fighting together was an incongruous sight, but they looked as if they were enjoying themselves. They wore matching grins of ear-splitting proportions.
They didn’t remain alone for long, either. Uniformed police officers poured in from the side streets to join the fray. Those vamps were toast.
‘For fuck’s sake,’ Athair yelled. ‘For fuck’s sake!’
He ought to wait for the finale. I glanced to my right, towards the Firth of Forth estuary. The water wasn’t visible because there were too many grand buildings and staggered rooftops to see it from where I was standing, but I could see the dark sky above it.
And I could see the large shape wheeling in the air and flapping towards us.
Aine the dragon reached us in seconds. She might be far from home and possess far more motherly concerns than anything that elves might conjure up, but she could certainly fly fast when she put her mind to it.
Athair tilted his head upwards. As soon as he caught sight of her, he flicked a lightning bolt towards her that I knew was designed to kill. She dodged it easily and turned her attention towards the remainder of the vampires.
‘You’re losing, Father!’ I shouted. ‘Why don’t you come down off your high horse and give in to the inevitable?’
The words had barely left my mouth when a bank of fire left Aine’s massive jaws. In seconds she scorched a hundred vampires, charring their bodies beyond all recognition. They certainly wouldn’t be rising again.
‘You think killing a few bloodsuckers means you’ve won?’ Athair called back. ‘This fight is only just beginning. You’ve not seen anything yet.’
Aine turned and attacked another group of sprinting vamps. She fixed her slitted dragon gaze on the final few; soon there would be none left. In less than an hour, we’d managed to destroy Edinburgh’s entire undead population. If nothing else went right this night, I could at least be proud of that.
Gladys buzzed, her impatience growing. I couldn’t blame her. ‘Soon,’ I whispered. I tightened my hand around her hilt, wishing my palms weren’t so sweaty. ‘Soon.’
Athair jumped down from the horse and landed a metre in front of me. ‘How about now?’
I raised my chin. ‘I’m game if you are.’
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
Iwasted no time. Drawing on all the training I’d received, I danced forward on delicate toes and then I slashed at Athair with brute force. Gladys’s blade caught his shoulder, slicing through his white shirt and his golden skin until bright-red blood oozed forth.
He hissed and responded with magic, tossing out a casual burst of air that would have flattened me if I hadn’t immediately countered it with my matching power. We pushed at each other, air against air. I knew that Athair’s magic was stronger and so did he, but I wasn’t the underdog I’d always been. It would take more than power to win this fight. Play smarter, Daisy, I reminded myself. Not harder.
As I gritted my teeth and threw out screeds of powerful air magic, a few sweat beads formed on my forehead despite the cool night air. I didn’t test my limits and empty myself of all I had, however; I gauged my energy levels and watched Athair’s expression. When I was certain he was least expecting it, I dropped to the ground and stopped my attack.
Athair’s magic faltered momentarily – perhaps he thought I’d collapsed because of his strength – but he didn’t pause for long. He gathered his air magic and swirled it around my body.
A tornado, I realised: the bastard was conjuring up his own damned tornado.
I ducked my head and, mindful of the tricks that Mud had employed, focused on earth magic. I told the ground to hold me: we were one, we belonged together. The wind screamed and spun around me but I remained in place, rooted to the spot. Just.
I waited, my eyes screwed shut to guard against the whipping wind but my other senses on high alert. As soon as the wind started to drop and Athair’s magic loosened, I tensed.
Glady was ready. I held myself for another beat and then, at the very moment when I knew I wouldn’t be blown away, I rose up and thrust Gladys towards Athair again. I swiped to my right and to my left, cutting into his skin for a second and a third time. More of his blood spilled forth. Even though his wounds were healing in front of my very eyes, my minor success spurred me on. I had this. Icoulddo this.
I swung Gladys towards him again, aiming for his exposed neck but this time he was waiting for me. He lashed out at my stomach with his foot. I pulled back instinctively and, as I did, Athair hit me with fire. Flames engulfed my right hand – the hand that I was using to grip Gladys’s hilt.
The pain was excruciating. I shrieked aloud and automatically dropped the sword before I conjured up ice-cold water to treat the burn. As I did so, Athair casually bent down and picked up Gladys.
