Page 27 of Fiendish Delights
I considered that. ‘Also me.’
‘Some enjoy the glory.’
Hmm. Alright. A part of that was me too.
Hugo leaned closer. ‘All of those things are good, but for me it’s the thrill of the hunt that I truly enjoy. Once I have the treasure in my hands, it’s something of an anti-climax.’ His blue eyes glittered. ‘Tell me you don’t feel that way, too.’
‘This is only my second real treasure hunt. But yes, I feel the thrum,’ I conceded.
‘I knew it.’ He smiled. ‘Time for the tree, Daisy Carter.’ He stepped back and walked towards it.
I watched for a second or two then I marched after him, moving quickly until I’d passed him. Nice try, Hugo, but I would reach the yew tree first.
As soon as I’d drawn in front, Hugo quickened his step in an attempt to overtake me. Nope. Not happening. I hastily side-stepped and blocked him. He chuckled. ‘You know I could simply throw you out of the way?’
‘I’d like to see you try,’ I scoffed.
I felt a ripple of power before the faintest wisp of air magic ruffled my hair and tickled my nape. In response, I conjured up a few droplets of water, drawing on the moisture clinging to the frosty ground to help. When I heard Hugo’s intake of breath as a fat, icy drop landed on his nose, I grinned.
He responded by sending a stronger breeze of chilled air in my direction, making me stumble slightly and veer off course. He snickered and started to march past me. I shook my head and pulled on a larger surge of water magic – but as soon as I reached for it and flung it at him, I knew I’d mis-stepped.
It might have been the strong aura of magic clinging to the abbey behind us; it might have been an inadvertent result of my stumble. Either way, instead of sending a tiny splash of water towards the top of Hugo’s head, several gallons coalesced in a bubble above him. I squeaked with alarm and threw my arms wide in a vain attempt to halt the inevitable. Half a second later, the water crashed down, soaking him from head to foot.
‘What the fuck!’ He jumped, spluttered and whirled to face me. His clothes were dripping wet, his hair was plastered to his head and rivulets of cold water were running down his face. ‘Bloody hell, Daisy!’
Oh no. ‘Shit, I’m sorry,’ I babbled. I leapt towards him and raised my hands, using my cuffs to ineffectively dry him off. Hugo gritted his teeth and moved away, indicating that I should leave him alone. ‘I didn’t mean to go that far. It’s like I said before, magic is a wild thing. We can’t truly control it.’
He glared at me. ‘You knew what you were doing.’
Except I didn’t. I honestly didn’t.
Hugo shook himself, sending a wave of drops flying in all directions. He shivered and peeled off his jacket thenhis wet shirt. I shrugged off my coat and held it out to him. ‘Here,’ I said. ‘You can put this on.’
‘It won’t fit.’
‘Hugo, I?—’
He growled. ‘It’s fine. Just leave it, Daisy.’ He glanced up at the tree. ‘I’m going back to get a change of clothes. It’s too cold to stay out here like this, and anyway it’s getting too dark to see much. We’ll investigate the damned tree tomorrow.’
Filled with contrition, I bit my lip and nodded. We walked out of the graveyard, through the abbey ruins and towards the distant lights where the others were setting up camp. This time Hugo strode in front of me and I didn’t attempt to catch up.
And when I returned to Otis and Hester, I ignored the shocked expressions of the others, searched for my bag and hastily swallowed two spider’s silk pills in quick succession.
Chapter
Nine
Dinner was an awkward affair. Slim and Becky had cooked up a storm on the camp stove, producing a hearty stew that I’d have been thrilled to eat anywhere, let alone perched on a small camping chair in the middle of chilly, rural Wales.
But Hugo, who had disappeared into his tent to get changed as soon as he’d returned, barely looked me in the eye. He conducted cheerful, lengthy conversations with the rest of the group; if I could sense there was an edge to his voice, then the others certainly could too.
I ate my meal in silence. Did he really believe I’d deliberately attacked him with gallons of water? To be fair, I had form…
Once everyone was done eating, Hugo collected the dirty bowls. Huh: he wasn’t too posh for dishwashing. I stood up to help but he waved me away, insisting that he’d sort them out.
‘I wouldn’t take it personally,’ Becky said, as he disappeared into the darkness with the bowls balanced on top of each other. ‘Hugs gets like that when he has something on his mind.’
That something on his mind was probably that I was an untrustworthy junkie. ‘Mmm.’
