Page 16 of Skullduggery
When I opened them, Hugo had also moved. ‘Go and get some rest, Daisy,’ he said from the other side of the room. ‘I’ll clean this up.’
I considered arguing then thought better of it. With Otis pressing his hands to his cheeks and Hester pretending to fan herself, I took advantage of the moment and fled the room.
Chapter
Six
If you’d opened a dictionary to look up the word ‘astonished’, you might well have found a photograph of Hugo’s team of Primes when he told them he would help Gordon Mackenzie. Even Becky, who’d been in the room when I’d pulled out Athair’s letter, was shocked. ‘You’re going to help that sorcerer search for Lady Rose?’ she asked, blinking rapidly.
‘No.’ Hugo linked his hands behind his head and leaned back, putting on a very good display of a man who was utterly relaxed and at peace with his decision. ‘I will help him search for a small magical item that may or may not help his investigation into Lady Rose’s disappearance. There’s a distinct difference.’
‘You could have fooled me,’ Rizwan muttered. His eyes flicked to me and away again. It was obvious they all realised who was at the bottom of Hugo’s decision, though I couldn’t tell yet whether anyone was dismayed by it.
Miriam smacked her lips together in approval. ‘This is good, Hugs. Very good. It’s about time all those old ghosts were laid to rest.’
Hester, who’d been examining the tray of biscuits laid out to fuel the morning’s activities, jerked up. ‘Ghosts?’
‘Metaphorical ones,’ Otis said.
Hester narrowed her eyes. ‘They’d better be.’ She stared around the room as if checking for any spectres who had suddenly decided to appear.
‘Nobody is under any pressure to get involved,’ Hugo said. ‘If you want to sit this hunt out, I won’t think any the worse of you.’
‘Are you kidding?’ Slim said. ‘I’ve been itching to do some proper work for ages.’ His gaze flashed to me and I spotted a trace of guilt in his expression. ‘Uh, I mean— No offence, Daisy. I’m enjoying helping with your training, but treasure hunting is what we’re all here for.’
I grinned. ‘It’s okay, Slim. I’m excited too.’ I meant it. It wasn’t simply that we’d be part of the investigation into Lady Rose, or that Athair was somehow involved, it was that treasure hunting was the most thrilling thing I could think of to do with my time.
Mark, a tall elf who was part of the research team, cleared his throat. ‘Then let’s get to it.’ He could barely contain his smile. ‘What do we know about this golden skull?’
I pushed a folder towards him. ‘Gordon sent through all the information he has about its whereabouts. It’s a magical object, although he’s unwilling to reveal exactly what magic it contains.’
Becky stiffened. ‘What if it’s dangerous? We all know there’s plenty of hidden treasure out there thatshouldn’tbe found.’
‘I don’t think it’ll be too long before we work out what the skull can do,’ Hugo said. ‘And let’s not forget that Gordon is a cautious man. Despite his fervour, he wouldn’t take any unnecessary risks.’
I raised an eyebrow; for someone who professed to hateGordon Mackenzie’s actions, Hugo certainly had the measure of the man.
‘That doesn’t mean that we won’t proceed with caution,’ he continued. ‘It won’t be the first time we’ve searched for something with unknown properties.’
Rizwan nodded. ‘Remember the Fabergé egg we found a few years ago?’
I spotted several amused expressions around the table.
‘How could we forget?’ Mark asked.
Miriam turned to me. ‘Legend had it that Rasputin had bound magical healing powers into the egg. We were hired by a company based in Moscow to find it.’
‘And?’ I asked, fascinated.
‘It had magical powers, alright.’ Slim snorted. ‘But not healing powers. Rasputin had more of a sense of humour than history gives him credit for.’
Miriam grinned. ‘The egg attracted chickens. Lots and lots and lots of chickens.’
‘We were inundated,’ Becky said. ‘There were thousands of them, flocking in from every direction.’
‘Sometimes I still have nightmares about the smell,’ Rizwan told me.
‘Bird poo is pungent.’ Hugo smiled slightly. ‘But I think we can rest assured that this skull will not be a magical chicken magnet.’
