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‘I’m pretty sure I caught the scent of some of the Pendragons,’ Killian said firmly. ‘I believe Spite and Siofra were there. If I had to guess that’s what I’d say.’
‘Who are Spite and Siofra?’ Blaise asked.
‘Spite’s Havok Pendragon’s cousin, and Siofra’s Havok’s daughter. Your cousin,’ Killian added, nodding at me, Romy, and Trinity.
‘And you think they set the fires?’ Romy asked.
‘I do. And the fireworks, too, no doubt.’
‘For what reason, though?’ Ewella asked. ‘Why cause such a big fuss at this time of the morning, waking everyone up? And why target non-residential areas? If they didn’t want to hurt anyone, why do it in the first place?’
Sirius frowned. ‘Isn’t it obvious? To draw the Pendragon children out. To lure Wulfram out of hiding.’
‘You—you can’t be sure of that,’ Ewella said faintly.
‘I think it’s more likely they were goading them,’ Emrick said. ‘They know we’re keeping them safe here, and they’ll also know their stupid games won’t persuade us to change our strategy. But, yes, I do think this was all about getting Wulfram’s attention. You see, one of the buildings targeted was right next to the offices of Carpenter, Carpenter and Fitch, your old solicitor’s offices, Wulfram. It wasn’t damaged by fire, but it had been graffitied. And it wasn’t the only one. In fact, something had been drawn on the building next door to each burning building. It was as if the fires were simply ways to make sure we saw the drawings.’
‘What drawings?’ I asked, my eyes narrowing as I thought of the damage that had been done to the town that night. I could imagine Mr Carpenter Junior’s reaction when he saw the graffiti on his office walls.
‘On one there was a chalice,’ Keely told me, her eyes red-rimmed, whether from crying or smoke I wasn’t sure.
‘On another a pentacle,’ Harley added. ‘And then on the third there was a dragon.’
‘And on the fourth a sword,’ Emrick said flatly. He glanced at Sirius and for a moment they looked at each other.
‘What?’ I said suspiciously.
‘On each drawing, a word had been written across the centre,’ Emrick admitted reluctantly.
‘What word?’ I asked.
‘Liar,on the chalice,’ Keely said bitterly. ‘Fakeon the pentacle.’
‘Prove iton the sword,’ Emrick said.
‘And on the dragon?’ I asked.
He hesitated. ‘Coming soon.’
‘What on earth does all that mean?’ Blaise asked, clearly baffled.
‘It’s a message to me,’ I said. ‘The chalice and the pentacle represent the two keys that I have to find.’
‘The keys to this box where the dragons are kept?’ he asked, and I nodded.
‘Yes, the Golden Chalice Key, and the Silver Pentacle Key. They’re clearly calling me a liar and saying I’m not the real Great Guardian because I haven’t found the keys. Not only that, but they’re basically trying to scare me into believing they have them, or that they’re close to finding them, and that they’ll be releasing the dragons soon.’
‘Hell,’ Blaise said, ‘that doesn’t sound good.’
‘It’s a lie,’ Emrick said firmly. ‘We have no reason to believe the Pendragons have either of the keys, let alone both. They’re bluffing. These are intimidation tactics, designed to scare you, and to cast doubt among the witches and fae. The last thing the Pendragons want is for those communities to believe in a Great Guardian who will bring peace. They need doubt and fear to grow.’
‘And the sword?’ Romy asked. ‘I’m guessing that’s their way of reminding us that, until Wulfram finds The Sword of Feidhlim, there’s no way of proving who he is.’
‘There was something else,’ Sirius said hesitantly. He gave Blaise an apologetic look. ‘I’m sorry, but I think it was about you.’
‘Me?’ Blaise asked, shocked.
Sirius nodded. ‘There was a clock, and drawn across that were the words,Witch traitor. I’m guessing that’s a reminder that a witch betrayed the peace agreement by travelling through time.’
