Page 47 of Broken Veil
What was Lachlan good at?
Hunting.
“When Wade gets us a boat,” Carys said, “I need you on it. If we need to kill that thing, you’re the only one with a sword.”
“True.” Lachlan put a hand on the short bronze sword he’d brought from the Shadowlands. “But I should stay near you in case all this is a ruse by the Morrígan to attack you.”
Well, shit. She hadn’t even considered that this was all a distraction to make her vulnerable. Unfortunately, it was as likely as any other explanation.
“You go on the boat,” Duncan said. “I’ll stay near Carys and keep her safe.”
“With what?” Lachlan lifted his chin. “In case you’ve forgotten, you don’t have a blade.”
“Withme, you mean?” Duncan crossed his massive arms over his chest. “That may be, brother, but I guarantee I can find something around this boatyard I’ll be able to swing far better than you can. I’ve a mind to see what an anchor would do to your thick skull at the moment.”
“Both of you need to stop.” Carys started walking toward the river, following Naida. “Lachlan, I know open water isn’t your favorite, but you have good eyes. You’re the best I know at spotting animals that are trying to hide.”
“Carys—”
“You asked me what you could do to help, and I’m telling you.”
He gritted his teeth but muttered, “Fine.”
Even when they were hiking in the forests back in Baywood, Lachlan always seemed to have a preternatural sense of where animals were. He could avoid a bear and sneak up on a buck. He didn’t hunt in the Brightlands, but he was a hell of a spotter.
“Does anyone know how to pilot a boat?” Carys looked at Godrik and Duncan. “Either of you guys?”
Godrik shook his head.
Duncan looked stormy, and Carys knew she had her answer.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t have boating lessons at that fancy boarding school.” Carys stepped toward him and smiled. “Duncan?”
“I don’t want to leave you to fight that thing alone,” he said. “Right now all you have?—”
“I’m going on the boat with you,” she said.
Duncan curled his lip, but Lachlan brightened.
“Like Cadell said, I need to know what the territory is.” Carys looked at the square building where Laura had disappeared. “Cadell can’t fly me over the river, and I can’t see the territory if I’m on shore.”
“Fine then.” Duncan nodded. “I don’t know what boat the old man is going to procure, but I can probably figure it out.”
“Good.” She turned to Godrik. “You, Cadell, and Laura stay on shore.” She walked to the edge of the embankment and looked at the slowly moving water as it flowed toward the twin channels of the locks. “I may have an idea.”
CHAPTER TEN
The sun was setting on the horizon, and giant flocks of black starlings dipped and danced across the purple-edged sky as Carys and Lachlan stood on the bow of the small river cruiser that Duncan piloted down the Ouse.
“There.” Lachlan pointed. “I see it.”
“I don’t see anything.”
Lachlan leaned close to her and bent down. She could feel his breath on her neck, and the scent of cedar and sandalwood mixed with the breeze.
“Look at where the current is moving,” he said quietly, “then look for the interruption where the?—”
A massive snake with a head at least a meter wide breached the water, letting out a sharp scream and bashing its body against the wood-and-concrete embankment.
