Page 4 of Skullduggery
‘Don’t thank me yet,’ I grunted. I glanced towards Hugo again, but this time he wasn’t there.
Chapter
Two
Inhale.
I adjusted my grip on Gladius Acutissimus Gloriae Et Sanguinis – Gladys for short – and spun, slicing the air in front of me.
Exhale.
I ducked, jabbing the tip of her blade forward forcefully.
Inhale.
I side-stepped at speed, raising her up in a blocking motion.
Exhale.
I pivoted to my right, stumbled – and planted my entire body face-first in the soft ground. The tinnitus that had been my frequent companion for weeks flared up, whining out of pitch, while my whole body shivered. Cumbubbling bollocks.
I cursed aloud. ‘Fuck.’
A shadow fell in front of me as I struggled to raise my head and forced the rest of my body upwards until I was standing once more.
‘You lost concentration again,’ Miriam chided. ‘But at least this time you remembered to breathe.’
I hissed with frustration. ‘I’m tired.’ It sounded like a petty excuse but it was the truth.
Her response was both quiet and kind. ‘I know. You’ve been training for twelve hours a day for six weeks, Daisy, and it’s bound to take its toll. Your late night can’t have helped, but it’s the training regime that you and Hugo set up which is causing the real problems. If I could grade you for effort you’d be top of the class, but you must learn when to give yourself a break. You’ve been pushing too hard. You didn’t even take a day off last week when it was your birthday.’
I’d had birthdays before and I’d have birthdays again – if I could beat this and succeed. I met her eyes. ‘This is the best opportunity I’ll have to bring my magic under control. If I can’t, I’ll never be in a position to wean myself off spider’s silk.’
I was already running out of time; as my trembling hands attested, the side-effects of my long-term drug use were getting worse. I had magic lessons with Hugo, sword lessons with Miriam and meditation lessons with several of the Primes who resided at Pemberville Castle – but I still didn’t have control.
‘You’re doing too much.’
‘I promised Hugo. This was the favour he asked of me.’
‘He’sasking too much.’
I sighed and wiped away the sweat and mud from my face. ‘We all know what the alternative is.’ My magic would grow wilder and I’d take more spider’s silk to try and control it. As a result, I’d end up dead. I knew that was still the most likely outcome, no matter how hard I tried.
‘Are you training for yourself, Daisy?’ Miriam asked. ‘Or for Hugo?’
I didn’t reply. To be honest, I didn’t know the answer.
Her mouth puckered in disapproval. ‘The pair of you are both too stubborn for your own good. Don’t think I don’t know about all those late nights you’re spending on fiendresearch. Athair could have been lying about his relationship to you, but even if he was telling the truth, none of us care about who your birth father was.’
They’d care if I turned into a fiend, though I didn’t say that. Instead, I slid Gladys into her sheath at my side and bent down to pick up my water bottle. After taking several long glugs, I faced Miriam again. ‘Where is Hugo, anyway? I’ve not seen him since last night.’
Despite my best efforts not to, I’d fallen asleep in the car on the way back to Pemberville Castle after the party. Hugo and I had not spoken at any length, and the matter of Gordon’s magical golden skull was itching at me – plus, I’d missed Hugo’s company at breakfast.
The more time I spent with him, the more comfortable his presence made me feel – and there was always the underlying lusty simmer between us that we’d agreed not to act on until I’d sorted myself out. Even I had to admit that was part of the reason I was pushing myself so hard.
‘He headed out at dawn muttering something about some business he had to attend to,’ Miriam said. ‘I don’t know what.’
I frowned. Since the time I’d sneaked into Pemberville Castle to steal his old dragon’s egg, while he’d been planning to slip away with it for the same reason as me, we’d made a point of not keeping secrets from each other. That was why I’d told him and the rest of the Primes what Athair had revealed about my heritage.
