Page 48 of Honour Bound
I twirled a curl of my hair round my little finger. Aifric was right about one thing: I had to concentrate on the Games for now. Once they were over, however, I reckoned I’d be making another visit beyond the Veil. I didn’t need his help.
Chapter Eleven
The five of us stood in the main hall, eyeing the gigantic board displaying the Games’ league table. Every Clan was listed there, along with each competitor’s name. Not only was I down at the bottom but there was no denying how insignificant Clan Adair was compared to the others.
‘Look on the bright side, Tegs,’ Lexie told me. ‘At least you don’t have to compete against people you actually like.’
Someone jostled me sharply from behind. I spun round to see a MacBain competitor giving me a shrug in a vague – and obviously faked ? apology. I narrowed my eyes. Whether they had proof or not, they clearly still believed I had stolen their Chieftain’s necklace.
‘You know,’ I said loudly, ‘I had a great joke about fighting.’ The MacBain guy stiffened. I glanced at Lexie. ‘Except all I can remember is that it had a good punchline.’
‘Keep that up, Tegs,’ she growled, with a toss of her blue hair, ‘and I’ll be the one punching you.’
I grinned. Brochan and Taylor rolled their eyes. Speck didn’t seem in the slightest bit interested. ‘This board is running off a simple interface,’ he said, oblivious to everything else. ‘I could easily hack it and…’
‘Let’s not do that, Speck,’ I interrupted, before someone overheard him and mistook his techy musings for a plan to cheat. ‘We’re doing this by the book, remember? It’s the only way I won’t get thrown out.’
‘I’m just saying,’ he mumbled.
‘It won’t matter,’ I said decisively. ‘Once I play Dagda’s harp, my name will be at the top of the board. And it’ll stay there.’
Brochan rumbled, ‘We still don’t know if the harp will work. You’ve not tried it yet.’
‘Bob didn’t think it was a good idea to test it.’
‘I don’t trust that genie.’
‘It’s not as if we have any alternatives. If the harp doesn’t work, what am I going to do? Sing?’ Brochan’s answering look was enough.
‘If every competitor gets five minutes to perform and there are one hundred and twenty, not including you, it’s going to be an age before this first challenge is over,’ Lexie complained. ‘Do we have to sit through every single act?’
‘I certainly hope not. I was planning to do a little … digging while everyone else is otherwise occupied. I’ll watch the first couple then sidle out.’
Speck pouted. ‘But you told us we couldn’t nick anything!’
‘I’m not going to sneak out to steal. I’m going to spy.’
‘Like James Bond?’
‘Without the car chases. Or guns. Or explosions.’
Speck brightened. ‘Great! I’ll be Q. Taylor can be M.’
‘Who am I then?’ Lexie asked, her hands on her hips. ‘And if you say Moneypenny, I swear I’ll…’
‘Enough.’
Taylor arched an eyebrow. ‘Why are you bothering to watch the first few performances, Tegs?’
‘Because that’s when people will see me. They’ll pay attention to me sitting down and won’t notice later when I slip out.’
He nodded. ‘Right. I understand.’ His brow furrowed and he glanced at the others. ‘Which Clan is performing first?’
Lexie cocked her head. ‘I have no idea.’ She shaded her eyes and looked up at the league board. ‘Whose name is that at the top? My eyesight isn’t what it used to be.’
‘I think it starts with an M,’ Speck said slowly.
‘MacBain?’
