Page 52 of Honour Bound
Pride flickered through me at my old mentor’s approval. I smiled at Brochan. ‘Don’t worry.’
‘How can I not be worried? We’re stuck here with a bunch of people who are trying to kill you. I can think of other things I’d rather be doing.’
My smile vanished. He’d been in a good mood earlier so what had changed? I looked at Speck and Lexie. Neither of them seemed particularly happy either. In fact, only Taylor appeared to be cheerily buoyant. Something stirred inside me. ‘What’s happened?’ I asked.
‘Nothing!’ Taylor replied sunnily. I knew that look.
I cursed. ‘You’ve been gambling, haven’t you?’ I should have known. This was a competition, after all; there were probably bets going on all across the auditorium. ‘Goddamnit, Taylor, it’s not like we have any money to spare. Where did you get your stake from?’
Lexie looked uncomfortable. ‘I gave it to him,’ she admitted. ‘He told me it was to get something to help you.’
I sighed. Taylor threw up his hands as if to ward me off. ‘It is to help you! We make money off this and it’ll help all of us.’
‘Taylor…’
‘Relax, Tegs.’
I ground my teeth in frustration. When that didn’t help, I glared at Lexie for lending him money and then at Speck and Brochan for not stopping Taylor from placing any bets. Finally, I crossed my arms and saved my best scowl for Taylor himself.
He looked back at me with puppy-dog eyes. ‘Integrity.’
‘Don’t. Just don’t.’ It wasn’t really his fault because he was a gambling addict but that didn’t make me feel any better. It was fortunate for him that the Carnegies chose that moment to start the challenge.
A drumroll sounded and the same lordling strutted onto the large stage. There was nothing on it save a microphone on a stand; if that was all we were getting to support our performances, it was just as well I had the harp. I concentrated on breathing in and out, calming myself, as he began to speak.
‘Esteemed ladies and gentlemen. Thank you so much for attending our humble little Games. We are proud to be the organisers of these challenges and, considering the line-up of competitors, there is no doubt that you are in for a thrilling time.’
‘Yeah,’ Brochan grunted under his breath. ‘Amateur musical performances are always thrilling.’
Several people turned round and threw him nasty looks. All five of us returned their looks in kind and they hastily moved their eyes to the front again.
‘This place is packed,’ Lexie whispered. ‘Just think of what we could…’
‘No. No stealing.’
She wrinkled her nose. ‘That’s not what I was going to say.’ When she saw my disbelieving look, she smirked mischievously.
The lordling continued. ‘Each of the competitors will be granted five minutes to perform. Any and all instruments are allowed, whether living or otherwise.’ I swallowed my faint nausea. Dagda’s harp might possess magic I couldn’t understand but it was definitely not a living being.What kind of instrument was? A nervous giggle escaped me as I imagined someone playing a cow like a set of bagpipes. A few people turned and threw me dirty looks; even the lordling glanced my way in annoyance.
‘Performers are also permitted to utilise their Gifts if they see fit,’ he boomed. ‘But they can only do this during the individual performances and they will be judged by our wholly impartial panel.’ He swept an arm out to the side where a spotlight focused on a table where three older Sidhe were seated.
‘They’re all Carnegie?’Brochan asked.
I squinted. ‘Yeah. They’re all wearing the Carnegie tartan.’
‘Is that good or bad?’
‘Difficult to say.’ I shrugged. We all knew there was no such thing as an impartial judge. There was also Angus’s warning to consider.
Taylor, apparently eager to make amends, leaned across. ‘The Carnegies are in a long-standing feud with Clan Jardine and Clan Darroch. They have strong allies with Ochterlony though. That might help us.’ He met my eyes. ‘Coira Adair, your mother, originally hailed from Clan Ochterlony.’
I grimaced. ‘I’m not sure that will help. Let’s face it, she wasn’t exactly a highly placed Sidhe noble.’ It was about the only thing I knew about her. ‘Plus, they weren’t in a rush to speak up when I was looking for my three votes of support to enter the Games.’
‘You need to use every advantage you can. I’ve heard the word honour bandied around far too much over the past few days. I think they’re trying to convince themselves that they’re filled with it.’
‘The Clans doth protest too much, you mean?’
Taylor nodded. ‘Indeed.’
