Page 38 of Tattered Huntress
She grinned. ‘Excellent! We’ll have fun.’ She looked over her shoulder and I realised with some discomfort that Hugo was still watching. ‘He sent you over here,’ I said. It was like being at a school disco.
‘Yeah,’ she admitted. ‘But only because he knew you’d refuse the invitation if it came from him. He’s a good guy, Daisy. Honestly. The two of you just got off on the wrong foot.’
That’s not how I would have described it. Becky was a little too zippity-doo-dah in her approach to life, but I managed a weak smile. ‘We’ll see.’
She beamed. ‘We can’t ask for more than that.’
Chapter
Fifteen
Iheaved myself and my bag over to the grassy field next to the car park and pulled out everything I needed to set up my tent. It was a tiny thing and wouldn’t take long to assemble. As I laid out the gear and examined the ground, the other treasure hunters went off towards the pub; Becky had clearly used her shiny personality to persuade them to join her. I wondered if she was related to Humphrey; they certainly possessed the same outlook on life.
‘Why don’t you put the tent up later?’ Hester said. ‘Let’s go to the pub and have some fun!’
‘Work now, play later, Hes,’ Otis chided.
Her lip curled. ‘Boring.’
‘Hugo Pemberville is still checking his team’s tents,’ Otis said pointedly.
I looked up. He was right: Hugo was wandering around and using a mallet to drive tent poles deep into the soft earth. I frowned and tapped the ground with my foot. It was somewhat water-logged and squidgy. Hmm.
‘All the more reason to go to the pub now,’ Hester replied. ‘We don’t want to be like him.’
‘Why don’t the two of you take my phone and watch some videos until I’m finished?’ I suggested. ‘I’ll be quicker if I can get some peace and quiet.’
They both looked thrilled. I pointed towards my bag and they immediately flew to it and tugged out my phone. I concentrated on the patch of earth in front of me and used a flash of magic to draw out the water to make the ground less soggy.
‘That’s a clever use of magic.’
Startled, I yelped. ‘Don’t sneak up on me like that!’ I said to Hugo and glared at him.
He ran a hand through his tawny hair. ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.’
‘I’m not scared.’ I sniffed. ‘I was just surprised.’
‘Sorry,’ he said again.
I frowned. He sounded like he meant it. ‘Well, alright then,’ I muttered. I reached for my tent.
‘I didn’t realise that low elves could use elemental magic in the same way that high elves can.’
Was he being deliberately patronising or simply making awkward conversation? I flicked him a look. It appeared to be the latter. ‘Low elves have magic.’ Duh.
‘Obviously,’ he replied. ‘But I’ve never seen a low elf wield it without a lot of preparation first.’
What was there to prepare? The ground was too wet, I drew the moisture away to make it dry. It wasn’t rocket science. A thought occurred to me. ‘Do you want me to do this for the area around your tents?’ Hugo Pemberville was perfectly capable of drying out a patch of earth without my help, but perhaps there was more to this conversation than I’d realised.
Hugo grinned suddenly and something about the combination of the dimple in his cheek, the sparkle in his eyes and the flash of white teeth made my stomach flip. ‘You seem to have the knack for it, so yes, I would appreciate it. You already knowwhat you’re doing so you’ll probably be more efficient than me. In return, I’ll set up your tent for you.’ He held out his hands, palms upwards. ‘I won’t sabotage it. You have my word.’
‘I’ll turn the ground around your tents into a swamp if you do.’
His grin didn’t waver. ‘I have no doubt.’
I was about to turn away but I didn’t. ‘Why are you being nice all of a sudden?’
He gazed at me, a glimmer of honesty in his eyes. ‘I may have judged you unfairly.’
