Page 14 of Owned By the Fae
‘Just find the box!’
I frown at Grith but begin looking. I start at the nearest boulders and work my way out over the crest of the other side of the hill.
I keep an eye on where the others are in case they decide to try and get the drop on me. But all of them seem to actually be intent on the mission. What reason Varrik could have for sending three or four of his precious elites along with his second-in-command for a Gate box, I don't understand, but, lucky me, I’m the one who finds the fucking thing.
It’s buried at the base of an oddly shaped rock that looks a bit like an obelisk. On closer inspection, it's been carved that way, and I glance around, noting that the stench of rotting flesh is stronger now.
I ease the box out from its small, chiseled enclave quickly but carefully. Despite the almost reverent way it’s been hidden, the wood is still rotten and falls apart in my hands. It reveals a smaller box made of iron, and I drop it in distaste as a surge of immediate discomfort makes my skin almost burn. I curse the impulse as I glance around me, but no one else is close enough to have seen anything.
I use my cloak to pick it up and inspect it, finding it tightly fastened with no way of getting it open. Odder and odder. Why would a Gate box be made of iron and locked when the point of it is to be handled and opened?
Glancing around me again, I note that the scent of decay is wafting from somewhere close by. It's not just on the wind like it was before. Still lamenting the fact that I wasn’t given a weapon of any kind, I smell the air and carefully move aroundthe boulders to search for the source. I find it quickly. The hole is wide and deep, a smoking crevice between the rocks. The stench is definitely coming from underground and there’s an underlying scent of musky earthiness that unnerves me. Whatever’s down there isn’t dead. It’s a predator, and I’d bet it eats flesh.
A thought enters my mind as I notice that Grith is closer to me than the others, hunting around the long grass a few paces away. I could get away with it now if I'm careful … but if I'm caught …
I give the others another fleeting look, wondering if I could take them all even not knowing what their skills are. The beast snarls silently. It doesn’t care. It just wants Grith’s head.
I catch the bastard’s eye and beckon him, hoping the others don’t notice anything.
As Grith comes closer, I shove the box under the boulder on the other side so that my enemy’s back will be to the hole that’s more than large enough for his broad frame.
I stand in front of it, blocking his view of it as I wait for him to come close. The others are now all on the other side of the Gate clearing.
‘What is it?’ he asks, and I gesture down with my chin.
‘I think I found it,’ I say over the wind, ‘but the fucking thing is made of iron.’
Part of me would love to make him explain why we’re here and what this is really about, but the rest of me wins out. He’s dead.
He nods and, with a final scan of the vicinity to ensure no one’s watching, I put my hastily concocted plan into action. As he swoops down to snag the box, I grab him and fling him backward, hitting him hard in the throat as he teeters at the edge of the crevice so he can’t call for help. He lets out a soft grunt at the punch, looking incredulous.
I only have a moment, but I shift my right hand and use my massive claw to slice his belly open.
‘That’s for Lia,’ I growl.
‘Whatever she told you,’ he gasps, ‘she lies … human whore … begged me … bedded half the keep.’
It’s a wonder I can hear his begging over the weather, but my ears are as good as my nose, so I can just about make out the heinous words he spews about my female. Gods, I’m so glad I’m going to kill him.
She is mine, I realize. My mate. I need to see her. As soon as I can.
I don’t say a word as I push him to his knees and hold his head by his hair. He whimpers under my hand.
Pathetic.
I give him one last look, sneering as I throw him headfirst down into the darkness. A moment later, I hear something scrambling, claws on stone. Rikoth’s little invisibility trick won’t keep him hidden. Most of the cave-dwelling creatures don’t even have eyes. But I don't want to wait around to find out what's down there.
‘Grith!’ I shout and pretend to search fervently for the elites with my gaze as if I don’t know exactly where they are. ‘Help!’ I scream, hoping that none of them are mind readers like Kal.
As far as I know, Rikoth’s skills are only good for compelling, but not for seeing others’ thoughts. I only hope that they all underestimate the Dreg completely and don’t examine anything too closely.
Rikoth gets to me first. ‘What happened?’
‘I don’t know,’ I say. ‘I was over there.’ I gesture to the other rocks a few paces away.
Rikoth approaches the hole and looks down into the darkness. ‘He could be close. We might be able to pull him out.’
‘I heard him hit the bottom.’ I shake my head. ‘And there's something down there. That smell … There’s nothing we can do without putting everyone at risk.’ I turn towards the rock where I put the box, and I pretend to find it. ‘Look! Is that what we’re here for? He must have found it before he fell.’
