“We do.” Dyna strode forward, but Alasdair pulled her back.
“And who on this foul earth are you?” Gruin asked, glaring at her father.
“Alasdair Grant, father to both John and Ailith. Harmthem, and I will come for you, bringing one thousand Highland warriors against you.”
Gruin laughed. “Your warriors cannot harm our underworld.”
John lifted his sapphire sword, its edge beginning to glow a beautiful shade of deep blue. “Are you certain of that?”
Gruin ignored him. “Where are the banshee hairs? My overlord will be pleased to add them to his collection.”
Dyna replied, “I have them. You have to agree to free the bairns if you want them.”
Gruin’s gaze traveled from one person to the next, finally taking in the view of the others behind him, shaking his head. “I only want you.” He pointed to Ailith. “Come forward.”
Dyna grabbed her father’s tunic to hold him back, then nodded to her, so she stepped forward. “I’ve come for the bairns. You promised.”
Gruin stepped forward, so close that she could smell his essence, a foulness to him that she couldn’t put words to, but she would not back down.
“You wish to be a strong one?” His sneer was practiced, she was certain of it.
“I do not fear you, Gruin,” she said.
He laughed, paced in a tight circle, then stopped in front of her. In a flash, he leaned forward and yelled in her face. “Youshould fear me!” His gloved finger was a nail’s length from her face.
Dyna still held onto her father’s tunic, but Edan had no one holding him back. He stepped in front of her and reached for Gruin’s hand, but the Unseelie yelped, jumping back, wide-eyed as he rubbed his hand. “You are no longer the one I want, MacRuari. She comes in alone. Give me the banshee hairs.” He pointed to Ailith but then stared at Dyna. How he knew Dyna held the prize, she had no idea.
Dyna pulled the silky hairs from a fold in her clothing, then held them out to Gruin, but Lia stopped her. “Not until he agrees.”
“Agrees to what?” Gruin barked.
“You are completely aware of the bargain we made. You will not back down now. You must take two into the underworld to search for our two missing bairns. You promised to free them if we brought the banshee hairs. Free the bairns.”
The bogle tipped back his head and let out a deep laugh, one that silenced any chance of anyone talking around him. “Nay, you’re missing one item. I want Edan’s death. Then you can step inside. He dies, she comes inside, then perhaps you’ll find the bairns.”
Lia lifted her chin a notch. “Nay, but we will give you Edan’s blood. You didn’t say you had to take his life.”
“I want him dead inside the hill.”
“Nay. His blood or you don’t get the banshee hairs.”
Edan’s ire was growing, she could see it in the set of his chiseled jaw. He stepped forward, took his knife and cut his palm, then moved to drip it over Gruin’s arm.
But the bogle shouted and leaped toward the door, staring at Edan. “What are you?”
“You wanted my blood. I’m trying to give it to you. Where exactly do you want it?”
“Keep it and stay away from me. I hate your world, so I’m going back into my world.”
Lia yelled after him. “A lying Unseelie. That’s a surprise, is it not, Gruin? If you want anyone to ever grant your wishes, you should try to keep your word.”
The bogle stopped for a moment and called back. “You try my patience, Lia. I’ll agree, but only if they bring the banshee hairs. Ailith may come in with John as her protector.” He chuckled. “MacRuari is not allowed inside.” Then he leaped over a rock and snatched the hairs from Dyna’s outstretched hands. “Never mind. I have them.”
“I need to find my daughter!” Edan bellowed. “Stop wasting time!”
Gruin marched toward him again but stopped a horse length away. “I’ll warn you, if you step inside, you’ll hate to see what happens,” Gruin glared at him. “Try it and see, fool.”
Edan took two steps closer, and the ground began to shudder. Ailith grabbed his hand while Lia pushed against him.
