Page 23 of Fiendish Delights
‘What does it do?’ Otis asked.
‘If a woman who’s been unfaithful to her husband puts the cloak on, it won’t fit her. If she’s been faithful, it will adapt perfectly to her size.’
‘Cool.’
Hester and I glared at him. ‘Not cool,’ she snapped.
‘Is there a version for an unfaithful husband?’ I enquired icily.
Hugo suddenly avoided my gaze. ‘Not as far as I know.’
I snorted. ‘Of course not.’ I shook my head in disgust.
‘We can walk away now, Daisy,’ Hester said. ‘It was only Hugo who promised Mud that he’d look for this other mythical treasure. You can tell him what you saw on the scroll and we can go home and leave him to it.’
‘This is hero stuff!’ Otis yelled. ‘Daisy’s not going to walk away.’
I looked at Hugo. ‘It’s your call,’ he said. ‘We don’t know what this particular treasure will be and the search for it will probably be arduous and treacherous. I’ll understand if it’s too much for you, Daisy. It’s considerably more serious than retrieving a doll. More fiends may appear if they learn what we’re up to. You should stick to safer ventures.’
‘Hugo,’ I said.
‘Yes?’
‘Fuck. Off.’ I folded my arms. ‘This ismytreasure hunt. I invitedyouin. I’m in charge. I don’t care what you promised Mud McAlpine, this job is mine.’
His mouth twitched and he suddenly looked very pleased with himself. ‘We’ll have to hunt together, then. I’ll round up my Primes. We need every scrap of help we can get. And we can’t delay.’
‘It’s my treasure hunt,’ I repeated. ‘I’m in charge. You can come along for the ride.’
‘We agreed fifty-fifty.’ He smirked. ‘You wouldn’t renege on our deal, would you, Daisy?’
Cumbubbling bollocks. I sniffed. ‘I’m not that kind of person.’
‘Good.’
Otis rubbed his hands together. ‘Great! I can’t wait to get started.’
Hugo’s gaze continued to hold mine. ‘Me neither,’ he murmured. ‘Me neither.’
Four hours later, after a quick stop off to grab a bag and stuff it with clean clothes and the equipment I thought I might need, I was sitting at one end of the large table in Hugo’s Bone Zone. He was at the other end with several members of his vaunted Primes between us. Hester was sprawled in the centre of the table, lolling around like she owned the place. Otis, who was apparently feeling somewhat more reticent, had found himself a quiet corner where he could avoid attention.
I leaned back in my chair and examined Hugo’s cronies one by one while he brought them up to speed. I knew most of them from the hunt for the Loch Arkaig treasure, but a few of the faces were unfamiliar. It wasn’t a surprise that they were all high elves, although they ranged in age; the other thing they had in common was a deep respect for Hugo. Even when they disagreed with him, they were deferential without being obsequious.
‘Surely,’ Rizwan said, ‘the best approach is to do nothing and leave this treasure exactly where it is. If we go looking for it, we risk showing the other fiends where it is.’
‘Those other fiends might find it anyway. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle. If they’ve heard of it, they’ll be looking for it. We can’t sit back and hope that nothing happens.’ Hugo linked his fingers together. ‘A passive approach is never a good idea.’
No, I thought. Hugo Pemberville was many things but passivity didn’t seem in his nature.
‘What about the treasure itself?’ Becky asked. ‘Eleven of the thirteen items have been lost for generations. Do we know what we’re looking for now? Is it one of the mythical treasures, or is itallof them?’
‘I don’t know much about the thirteen treasures. I’ve always assumed that the remaining items couldn’t be recovered.’ Hugo waved at four members of his team. ‘Your task is to stay here and find out more about them, as well as searching for other fiends who might be on their trail.’
A tall, balding elf with a silver cuff on his ear frowned. ‘Stay here? I’d rather join in the hunt.’
Hugo shook his head. ‘We need to keep the team members on the ground to a minimum, Mark. The more people we have, the more attention we’ll draw to ourselves. Sometimes it’s helpful to advertise our efforts, but sometimes it makes moresense to be discreet. Remember, we have to do everything we can to avoid other fiends latching onto us.’
I coughed delicately. Everyone turned to me and I felt a shiver of embarrassment. I wasn’t used to having so many people focus on what I was about to say. ‘You’re the celebrity, Hugo. Perhaps you should stay behind and focus on research while the rest of us head out and start the search.’
