Page 107 of The Simurgh
Silas had been almost right, thinking the Nephilim somewhat airborne, but the creature was not flying. He spurred his mount along the ridge of a great dune. One that would lead as well as any road, directly to where Pitch and Silas stood.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
LUCIFER STAREDat the Dullahan, pinning his gaze to where a usual man’s eyes ought to be. The creature with no face had managed to find a chink in his considerable disguise, and sense what all else were oblivious to.
Lucifer was quite dumbstruck, and paused far too long without speaking.
Do close your mouth, you’ll catch flies. Now do nothing foolish. We speak alone. I am not your enemy.The headless horseman stood back and flourished his gloved hand, leaving the way clear to the conservatory.Do you come for your traitor angel?
Lucifer nodded, very slowly. All the while trying to fathom what the Dullahan’s agenda might be. He’d had ample time now to reveal the ruse and had not done so. And what Lucifer had learned in York was that the fae’s Duty-Bind with the ankou was solid as an anchor chain.
Good. Very good. Then there shall be one less enemy of my lord to plague him.The creature had an airy tone, stalks of wheat moving in a breeze.My Lord fears you are here to harm the daemon, is that so?
The Dullahan was obsessed with the ankou’s well-being,and it was very clear to all who’d been around Silas Mercer for more than a minute that the prince was at the very heart of what made the ankou well. And happy. It was all most distasteful, but there it was. Lucifer was not sure why he’d obtained a strange ally in the headless horseman, but he was not about to piss Byleist off by declaring his intent to destroy Vassago.
The lorebiders and guards had not so much as blinked, their attentions fixed on a spot in the air right before their faces.
Lucifer shook his head. ‘Not true.’ He barely allowed the words form. His gaze darting into the topiary-laden conservatory.
What of this place then? Do you intend harm to this cockaigne, and all in her, or is it just the bird you seek? I’d like time to remove my Lord Death if chaos is coming.
Lucifer balled his fists. Silas Mercer was here? Gods, would no one just stay where they were damned well put?
‘Chaos is coming.’
Lucifer decided that was the end of their conversation. Ally or not, it hardly mattered once the Wrath was delivered, and Silas was no longer his concern if, somehow, the ankou had discovered where the prince had been taken.
He took a step into the conservatory, as much to test the Dullahan as to make a move.
The headless horseman’s soft laughter caressed the inside of Lucifer’s skull.Well, I’m irritated on the notice given, but what a delight this will be. You shall save me much trouble. Revenge can be tedious sometimes, don’t you think?
Lucifer’s only thought was that this creature enjoyed the sound of his own voice too much. He took a few more steps, moving deeper into the conservatory. But he frowned at the hedge that barred his path, no such barrier had been there a few moments ago.
Wait. Take this, you will need it.
Lucifer turned to find the headless horseman had removed his glove, revealing a skeletal hand. Without further ado Byleist took hold of a bony finger and snapped off its tip. He handed the fragment, the size of a piece of chalk ready for the board, to Lucifer.
We are fond of a maze in the Faelands.Use this to find your way to the Erlking.
The incredulity, the disbelief must have show on Lucifer’s face, for the Dullahan sighed.
I am not sending you into a trap. I am quite happy for you to smite this place, so long as you ensure Lokke one of those smitten. He believes me still loyal, because he is a self-centred fool who did not imagine that a curse, hundreds of years old and placed well before his time, could be broken. I dare say he’ s forgotten that I am cursed to begin with. When one has been a slave for so long, one earns a certain amount of invisibility. They think me a mindless weapon, so that is all they see. I am as much a lap-dog as the Herlequin, so far as they are concerned. Do what you must, but I ask that you give me a chance to find my Lord Death and extricate him from this place before you bring it down.
Lucifer took another unhindered step into the conservatory, rolling the piece of bone between his fingers. ‘I have no time for chance.’ He glanced at the lorebiders who still stood stiffly at attention.
Never mind them. They are easily plied. See, I do so much for you, and yet you won’t let me find one well-built dead man. It’s not a large place, and he is very much so, I don’t think it will take long.The sigh inside his head made Lucifer’s skin prickle. He did not like closeness at the best of times. He certainly did not appreciate the Dullahan’s invasion of his private space.
Lucifer glowered. ‘Did you know all along of this cockaigne?Thecockaigne where the Morrigan were raised?’ He’d been so certain the Dullahan’s mind was devoid of any useful information with regards to where the prince was held. He’d probed deep, scoured his thoughts, which admittedly had been mostly a void, save for all that damned Duty-Bound nonsense with regard to the ankou.
You know I did not. I only ever saw the sorcerers in the UnSeelie Court. But once I knew the cockaigne’s location I hedged my bets that the Erlking would be nearby. I sent word of my return, having survived the ghastly conflict in Sherwood Forest that, so sadly, saw the demise of all in the Wild Hunt after the Herlequin abandoned us. I walked in the front door, dear fellow. Perhaps you should not have locked me in your drafty house in York.
Truly, Lucifer wanted to punch the creature. ‘Are you certain the ankou is here?’
His daemon is, so yes. And he was ahead of me. Used another entrance, so far as I can tell. I’ve done what I can to keep attentions diverted, but difficult as it may be to believe, I’m not omnipotent. Someone will realise something amiss in the marshlands before long, just as they will likely find the Captain’s body, despite how much better I made his hiding place for you. You are wondrous at concealing yourself, terrible at covering up corpses.
A fluttering at the far end of the corridor caught his eye. He tensed, berating himself for wasting too long here with the Dullahan. How many more times must common sense stab at him before he listened? He thrust the finger bone into his pocket, while his free hand went to his neck, ready to search for the Trumpeter’s chain.
The fluttering was that of a small bird, nothing of the calibre of the simurgh, a dove perhaps, or the fae version of such a creature, for its wing tips were of an emerald so bright Lucifer found himself thinking of the eyes Vassago had chosen for his human form.