Page 78 of By the Horns
Raptor flinches back as one side of the cube opens…displaying what looks like a tiny pair of metal scissors.
Thank the gods.
He glares at Arrod, then peers inside and makes a humph of amusement. “It’s got a sewing kit in there and a key. Not important stuff, so I imagine that’s why it’s being used for training.”
Hemmen touches the object and the scissors sink back in again, the compartment closing. He flips it and touches the blue symbol, and a tiny hair comb protrudes. “I thought Master Jay said what we were hunting for wasn’t working?”
“Maybe we’re not supposed to fuss with it?” I suggest. “Close it up and let’s just turn the damned thing in.”
We rope together again, and Hemmen takes the artifact, because he insists upon carrying it. Kipp looks slightly annoyed at being passed over, but he shrugs and takes the lead again. Arrod complains as we head back to the front of the tunnel that we didn’t get to fight anything, and Raptor explains to him about how you don’t want to fight things in the tunnels if you can help it. He also says all of this while keeping a hand on the small of my back and making me incredibly aware of his nearness. By this time, we’ve been in the tunnels long enough that any wet spot on my pants is long dried, and thank goodness for that.
I’m more than relieved to be free of the tunnels once we make our way back to the surface. We untie the rope at our waists, and Hemmen proudly presents our find to our teacher, who’s waiting nearby.
Instead of praising us, however, Master Jay stares at the artifact, and then back at us. “That…that’s not the one I buried. Where did you find that?”
Well, shit.
Thirty-Seven
Raptor
Hawk,
Things are a mess. We found an artifact that wasn’t even missing. If you have ideas, I’m open to suggestions. This is taking longer than anticipated.
—Raptor
PS—I’ve decided I want a bonus. Make sure Rooster knows.
Show me thelocation,” Jay insists to me. The other four fledglings are sent back to the nest, with Gwenna shooting worried looks over her shoulder as I remain behind at the drop site with our teacher.
“I told you where it was,” I remind him even as we head back to the training drop we just emerged from.
“I know, but it doesn’t make sense.” Jay shakes his head as we climb into the basket. He nods at the repeater at the ropes, and the boy lowers us down with jerking motions. Jay holds on to the lip of the basket and looks over at me. “You know as well as I do that those tunnels are the most well-traveled of any in the Everbelow. Dozens of students are in and out of them each month. They were cleaned of every bit of artifactual and magical value long before you and I were ever born. And you’retelling me that some artifact was just lying there? No one dug for it at all?”
“Seems like.” I’m not happy about this situation, either. Those tunnels are hollowed out and useless for anything other than training students. Anything above the old fault line really is. The fact that a fresh, working artifact was just sitting out in the open bothers me.
The fact that Gwenna pointed out the spot bothers me, too. It feels like a setup of some kind, but I’m trying to figure out the reasoning behind it and drawing a blank. If Gwenna’s the thief—and after today, it seems bloody likely—then why point right to an artifact that’s been stolen? Wouldn’t it be smarter to keep your mouth shut?
Or is there something else going on and she’s trying to divert away from the real thief? She did run away in the tunnels earlier…and then distracted me with pleasuring her. And fool that I was, I fell for it.
I don’t like this. I don’t like any of this.
We head into the tunnel and stand in the spot our group had rested at. “There,” I say, pointing at the barely visible shelf of rock above our heads. “There’s a column there. Gwenna saw it from this spot.”
Jay holds up his lantern, squinting. “How did she find that in these shadows? I can’t see anything at all.”
“She’s got good eyes.” She’s also a hell of a liar, because she’s had me fooled this entire time.
Jay grunts, then strides across the cavern, toward the wall in question. “Help me up. I want to get a good look at the site.”
Lifting Jay up doesn’t work until he stands completely on my shoulder, and I brace my arms against the rock wall. He manages to climb up awkwardly, and then lights a candle, holding it out and examining the area. “There’s lichen everywhere, but there’s also some rotted fabric.” He kneels and disappears and I can hear him scraping. “Ah…five hells.”
“What?” I call out.
“There’s a body.”
“What do you mean, there’s a body?” I think of Gwenna, and how she knew there was something up there. She’s involved in some way, and it’s obvious she’s tricked me all this time. Yet…why? Why show her hand like this? “How did we not notice that before?”
