The Bastard from Fairyland (1) by Phil Parker

Author:Phil Parker [Parker, Phil]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-03-05T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Adrenalin thrummed through my veins, I had never felt so alive. We crouched behind a large rhododendron bush and peeked out to examine the comings and goings of the manor house in front of us. It wasn’t palatial, despite Lord Taranis’ wealth, he used it mainly as a hunting lodge I’d been told. It was probably why security was so lax, a fact that made our rescue so tempting. I was a princess of the Light Court, breaking into the home of someone so powerful risked not just imprisonment but political embarrassment for my family, their punishment would be even worse.

A couple of boggarts had stomped past the front entrance a few minutes before and now lounged against a garden wall, rather than continue their designated path of duty.

‘Why aren’t they moving?’ Clodagh hissed impatiently. ‘The guards on the inside will be monitoring the front entrance if they hang around much longer.’

She fidgeted with the strap of her hat constantly, a nervous habit she’d adopted the moment she put on her disguise. She looked ludicrous, though she’d been quick to point out I didn’t look any better. We wore the overalls of laundry servants, which I’d acquired the day before, they were dirty and smelled of sweat but that made them all the more realistic. We’d decided to wear large brimmed hats to hide our faces, laundry girls were known for such affectations, anything to retain some degree of femininity with the overalls.

‘Give them a minute, they’ll move.’

I spoke like I had a detailed knowledge of boggart behaviour, it was more of an expression of hope.

Midir rolled his eyes and shook his head, a gesture I chose to let slip. My big brother’s willingness to join in our adventure had been difficult to obtain, I’d only achieved it by threatening to tell two young women in the Court that he was screwing both of them. I’d hoped to avoid needing to use any man but I had to concede that if things went wrong, we might need some muscle and Midir had plenty of that.

Seconds later the boggarts proved me right, they picked up their spears, stretched their short arms and ambled off on their stumpy little legs. They didn’t possess a serious threat to anyone who could handle a weapon, which discounted Clodagh and me, though I’d noticed Midir had a knife sheathed in his belt.

We sprinted across the drive, feet crunching on the gravel and pushed open the heavy main doors. Inside was a surprisingly small hall, thankfully unsupervised, a corridor led deeper into the house.

‘In here!’ I hissed at the others.

A thick curtain hid a small cloakroom and we concealed ourselves behind it briefly and listened for the thud of approaching boggart boots. The place was exactly as my source had told me, a young steward called Tighe who’d worked here and who, I knew, was attracted to me. I pitied the poor man if his taste in women meant he thought me pretty, I’d decided his charm was probably more a reflection of his ambition.

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