Page 41 of Tattered Huntress
‘This is my tent pitch,’ I replied. ‘You step away.’
‘If you insist.’ But he still didn’t move.
I could feel his warm breath on my cheek. He swayed forward and his chest brushed against mine. I met his gaze. ‘You’re a manipulative, judgmental bastard,’ I told him softly.
‘And you’re a hot-headed junkie.’ His eyes glittered darkly. ‘So I guess that makes us even.’
And that was when he kissed me.
My senses swam. He tasted of spice and salt and I couldn’t stop myself from reaching up to draw him closer. Hugo groaned – and I abruptly realised where I was and what I was doing. I sprang back, breathing heavily. ‘No,’ I said. ‘No way.’ I wouldn’t allow this to happen. Not with him. This was a terrible mistake.
Hugo wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. ‘I couldn’t agree more.’
I saw the regret flickering in his blue eyes and drew in a breath. My traitorous heart was still hammering against my chest. ‘It tastes nice though, doesn’t it?’ I said. He frowned. ‘The spider’s silk. It tastes nicer than you expected.’
His nostrils flared and he backed further away. There: at least now I’d guaranteed he wouldn’t kiss me again, whether I wanted him to or not.
‘It’s time,’ he said, his breath catching slightly, ‘that we returned to the original plan and stayed the hell away from each other.’
I tilted my chin defiantly. ‘I couldn’t agree more.’ I gestured to his feet. ‘You’re still standing on my pitch.’
Hugo’s eyes briefly met mine once again. Then he spun around and left.
Chapter
Sixteen
The following morning when we all gathered in front of the entrance to Smoo Cave, I made every effort to stay as far away as I could from Hugo. I didn’t look at him, I didn’t strain my ears to hear what he was saying, and I definitely wasn’t painfully aware of his every move. Or the fact that the wetsuit he was wearing displayed every inch of his taut, muscular body. Nope. Not me. I was focused on getting into the cave and finding the next key part before he did.
The sorcerer engaged by Sir Nigel didn’t look particularly powerful. He was gangly, tall and nervous, as if he were not used to being out in public. I’d been tempted to sidle up to him and make conversation, to persuade him that I was a good guy and maybe even encourage him to allow me into the cave first. But when I saw the elven twins try that very thing and registered the way that the sorcerer bristled with discomfort, I decided against it. He didn’t want to make small talk with anyone; I could respect that.
At exactly half-past nine, the sorcerer cleared his throat. He appeared both gratified and embarrassed when everyonefell silent and looked at him expectantly. ‘Hi there.’ He shifted his feet. ‘I’m Gordon.’
Beside me, Boonder sucked in a breath. ‘Gordon Mackenzie?’
Gordon’s cheeks coloured. ‘Yes.’
The trio of shapeshifters stared. ‘Sir Nigel’s pulling out the big guns,’ one of them whispered.
I looked at the sorcerer with greater interest. I hadn’t heard of him but he was obviously someone important. Hester buzzed in my ear. ‘Is he famous?’
I shrugged. ‘I guess so.’
Whoever he was and whatever he’d done, he didn’t seem to want to talk about it. He scratched his neck awkwardly and looked at the ground. I risked a fleeting glance at Hugo; interestingly, his eyes were avoiding the sorcerer. In fact, none of the assembled Primes were looking directly at Gordon.
‘Two people are missing,’ he mumbled. ‘There should be eight teams and twenty-six people. I only count twenty-four.’
Humphrey and Eleanor were absent. I wasn’t surprised but I did feel slightly disappointed. I liked having them around.
One of the twins called out, ‘There’s no need to wait. We can start without them.’
It was clear that whatever brief camaraderie had existed the evening before had vanished now. All of us wanted to be the next to find a key part and the atmosphere was rippling with the tension of the competition.
Gordon obviously agreed. ‘We will head into Smoo Cave. Towards the back of the third accessible cavern, there’s a large pool of water. Within that pool is the rune and the blocked-off entrance to the secondary network of caves where the object that you seek is believed to be hidden. You will draw lots to decide the order of entry, then I will unlock the rune and open the way. The rest is up to you.’
‘Lots?’ one of the human treasure hunters asked. ‘We should enter by alphabetical order.’
I stifled a smile. His name was Aaron Allen: of course he wanted alphabetical order.
