Page 42 of Tattered Huntress
Gordon was introverted but he wasn’t a pushover. ‘You will draw lots to decide the order of entry,’ he repeated in a firmer tone of voice, although he continued to look at his feet. He turned around and, without glancing at any of us, trudged into Smoo Cave.
The entrance was massive. There were slate-grey cliffs on either side of us and a sandy beach behind us. Although it was nothing like the dark hole at Snake Pass, I couldn’t prevent a tiny shudder rippling through me. But I told myself that there were no giant reptilian monsters here – at least not in this first section.
I trudged after the others, taking care to avoid the rocky debris on the ground and the narrow stream flowing to my right. Given I was about to submerge myself underwater, I didn’t know why I was worrying about getting my feet wet but I wanted to stay as dry as possible for as long as possible.
We headed in single file along a wooden walkway. Soon the roar of water from the small waterfall inside Smoo Cave made it impossible to hear what the others were saying. Otis flew ahead of me, his tiny wings flapping furiously as he investigated. When he returned to tell me what he’d seen, I could barely hear him. I squinted in an attempt to lipread but the most I gleaned was ‘dark’ and ‘pretty’. He was certainly correct about the dark part.
We turned a corner and the natural light from the opening behind us receded. With each step the darkness became more oppressive and it felt as if the cave walls were pressing in on me.
I saw the glow of light ahead as Gordon flicked on a torch and a few of the others did the same. I resisted callingon a spark of fire magic to light my way; I would wait until I was away from the others before I used my powers again. They didn’t need to benefit from my magic, and their torchlight was enough for all of us. Besides, in spaces like these it was crucial to keep magic to a minimum.
I concentrated on staying calm and putting one foot in front of the other. Several minutes later, we came to a stumbling halt next to a dripping cave wall and a murky pool of water.
Gordon angled his torch up to his face. ‘I have a bag here with numbers inside it,’ he said, his quiet voice suddenly booming out as it bounced off the damp cave walls. ‘Each team will take a number to decide the order of entry.’ He pointed at the pool of water. ‘That’s where you will go.’
I gazed at the black water; it certainly didn’t look particularly inviting. ‘This is kind of scary,’ Otis whispered. I agreed.
From somewhere behind us, another voice called, ‘Wait! We’re coming!’
I grinned; Humphrey and Eleanor had made it after all.
‘They should be disqualified for tardiness,’ one of the twins muttered.
‘She should be disqualified for rudeness,’ Hester said in my ear.
Humphrey and Eleanor bustled forward. ‘Apologies,’ Eleanor said with a vaguely embarrassed smile. ‘We slept in.’
‘And we had second helpings at breakfast,’ Humphrey added. They’d obviously stayed in a hotel instead of camping out like the rest of us. Lucky them.
‘Take a number and pass the bag around,’ Gordon said.
Humphrey blinked owlishly. ‘Gordon Mackenzie?’
‘Good morning, Mr Bridger.’ Gordon passed the small velvet bag to Hugo who pulled out a number. I watched his expression as he glanced at it. Damn: a tiny smile was playing around his lips so he’d probably drawn a favourable one.
He must have felt my gaze on him because he looked up and his eyes met mine. There was no denying the challenge written in their blue depths. I looked away.
‘You know him?’ Eleanor asked Humphrey in a low voice. ‘The sorcerer fellow?’
‘His name is Gordon – we were schoolboys at Eton together. He’s human, but he often works with the elvish community. I didn’t expect to see him here – he’s been employed exclusively by the Assigney family for several years to find Lady Rose. He’s a…’
‘…good fellow,’ I whispered.
‘…good fellow,’ Humphrey finished.
I smiled.
‘Who’s Lady Rose?’ Eleanor asked.
‘She’s a high elf who—’ Humphrey stopped abruptly and looked at Hugo. ‘Never mind.’
I raised an eyebrow. Interesting. I didn’t know who Lady Rose was either, but this wasn’t the first time I’d heard a treasure hunter mention her name. Was she the reason why Hugo and Gordon were avoiding eye contact?
‘Here.’ Boonder thrust the bag into my hands and interrupted my thoughts. ‘Your turn.’
I reached inside the bag and pulled out the first thing I touched, then passed the bag to the shapeshifters next to me. I glanced at the number inscribed on my counter then held it up for Otis and Hester. Hester frowned, but Otis shrugged. Number five: we’d be the fifth team to pass through the blocked passage. It was neither the worst nor the best scenario.
The shapeshifters passed the bag to Humphrey, who held it towards Eleanor. ‘There’s only one number left,’ he said.
