Page 57 of Tattered Huntress
She nodded and I tried not to scowl. There was only one more to find; the damned Primes were doing too well. ‘Six teams left,’ I said aloud. ‘And only one part of the key to go.’
‘Five teams,’ Boonder said. ‘I’m done. I was only staying until you were found. I’m out.’
I gaped at him. ‘What? Why?’
‘You almost died, Daisy,’ he said. ‘I thought youdiddie. It was my fault.’
‘No! It wasn’t your fault at all!’
‘I shouldn’t have let you fall.’
I shook my head. ‘Boonder, you didn’t let me fall. It was an accident that you couldn’t have prevented. You can’t?—’
‘The decision is made. This competition isn’t for me.’
‘What really happened to your face?’ I asked quietly.
‘Nothing.’
I looked at the others. Every single one of them was avoiding my gaze.
‘I made the decision to quit on my own, Daisy,’ Boonder said. ‘I love treasure hunting and I won’t stop doing it, but I don’t like competing against others. I work best alone. I have no qualms risking my own well-being but I can’t risk others’. I don’t want to do this particular hunt any longer.’
‘We should withdraw as well, Daisy,’ Otis piped up. ‘You’re in no fit state to continue.’
‘Daisy isn’t giving up!’ Hester snapped.
‘She’s not well.’
Before the two brownies descended into yet another argument, I held up my hands. ‘I’m fine. I don’t want to give up.’
Hugo reappeared and my stomach flip-flopped again. As he gave me a long look, a muscle ticked in hisjaw. ‘Mick in the Primes is medically trained,’ he said. ‘I’ll get him to look you over. You might need more treatment.’
Mick could look me over all he wanted; I was perfectly healthy and I wasn’t going to quit. ‘Alright,’ I said stiffly, still unwilling to meet his eyes. ‘Thank you for the offer.’
He folded his arms across his chest. The knuckles on his right hand were red and bruised. I looked at Boonder’s face again and a spark of fury zipped through me. I sucked in a breath, preparing to snap, but Boonder shook his head. ‘No,’ he said firmly. ‘Everything is good here.’
I ground my teeth. I didn’t think everything was good at all.
Chapter
Twenty-One
‘Our numbers are depleted,’ Sir Nigel said, his face beaming out from the screen in the bar area of the inn close to Smoo Cave. ‘But with only one key part still to locate, the competition remains as fierce as ever.’
I stood at the back of the room, my arms crossed. Mick had pronounced me fit to continue, not that it was his call whether I carried on or not. The others, even the twins, had been solicitous when they’d discovered I was indeed alive. Perhaps Humphrey had been right and I was now becoming one ofthem. Stranger things had happened.
There had been plenty more questions about what I’d experienced but, given the state I was in when I exited the caves and the scepticism I’d already been subjected to, I declined to say any more about what had occurred. Only Hester and Otis were aware of the whole truth – and they had only believed it when I showed them Gladys. I didn’t know if Hugo had noticed her wrapped up in my towel when he’d upended my bag because I hadn’t spoken to him since Boonder had left last night.
Sir Nigel continued, ‘I know that there are some safety concerns, given what has occurred in the previous two stages,but I can assure you that the next part of the hunt should not be dangerous.’ His moustache quivered. ‘It may, however, be slightly illegal.’
I unfolded my arms and stood up straight. Illegal? Suddenly I was even more interested. I’d been under the impression that these treasure hunters, competitive as they might be, took care not to fall foul of the law. The idea that Sir Nigel Hannigan was encouraging criminal activity was intriguing. Frankly, as long as I didn’t have to crawl into any caves, I was happy.
Otis buzzed in my ear. ‘Illegal? I don’t like the sound of that at all. I don’t think you should participate.’
‘Ha!’ Hester scoffed. ‘I laugh in the face of the law. I chortle at the concept of justice. The more rule breaking, the better.’
I hushed them both, aware that several of the other treasure hunters – Hugo included – were glancing at us.
