Page 16 of Rune Assassin

Fidel’s smile became a lot shakier and he swallowed hard. “I-I was only trying to console you-”

“I dare say our host wouldn’t allow a substitution, anyway,” Beringer pointed out as he cut his thick slice of pork. “He is a stickler to the schedule and order of his domain.”

Cordelia wrinkled her nose and returned to stabbing her food. “And why wait until noon? The heat will ruin my hair. And the beach? With all that nasty sand?”

Tegan caught my eye and jerked his head toward the door. I gladly set down my napkin and fork as he stood. “If you’ll excuse us, we have a busy schedule before the trial.”

His words piqued the interest of our fellow guests and Beringer had a pointed reminder for us. “Ensure you remain on the estates, sir, or I guarantee you will have to contend with the senator and her entourage.”

Tegan smiled as I rose to my feet. “It’s lucky for us Lusio owns so much land around here.”

He offered me his arm and led me to the rear terrace. A gentle sea breeze brushed against my cheek like a shy kiss and the sun shone brightly above us. I paused in the middle and took in the sights of the white sand and the gentle waves.

“It’s hard to believe we’re in a place like this,” I mused as Tegan stopped beside me.

He smiled as he looked out on the beautiful view. “The view is pretty breathtaking, isn’t it?” His gentle eyes settled on me. “Now where would you like to go?”

I furrowed my brow as I thought about his question. “Why not toward the cliffs? We haven’t been that way.”

He smiled and inclined his head. “Then to the cliffs we shall go.”

Tegan led me down the central stairs of the terrace and into the white sand. The gentle morning sun shone down on us as we turned leftward toward the cliffs in the distance. Gulls flew overhead and the sound of the waves lapping against the beach made the scene a soothing picture of contentment.

We had gone about two miles when something surprising appeared in our vision. The object was a lean-to some hundred feet long and twenty feet deep. The building faced the ocean and a mess of crates and boxes were stacked beneath its thatched roof. A dozen huge cauldrons were half-buried in the sand with deep holes around them to light a fire underneath their bellies. A neat stack of wood stood nearby to feed the hungry fires.

They were cold right now, the only life being a single young man of about twenty who worked away at cleaning the insides of the pots.

“What’s that?” I asked my guide.

“Part of Lusio’s operation,” Tegan explained. “But we’ll see if the man will tell us more. Hello there!”

The worker looked up and revealed himself to be a young man of about twenty with brilliant red eyes. He scrambled to his feet and bowed his head. “H-hello. . .”

We stopped before him and Tegan smiled. “There’s no need to be so formal.”

The man lifted his head and studied us with a questioning look. “You’re not from Mr. Lusio’s house to inspect the

Tegan shook his head. “The first is true, but we’re not here to inspect. We were just curious what you were doing.”

He nodded at the cauldron which he had been working on. “I was just taking out the sand and filling it with fresh wood.”

“What do you cook here?” I wondered as I inspected the area. There didn’t appear to be any of the usual trappings for food such as bowls and utensils other than some huge wooden straining ladles.

A smile touched his pale lips. “We don’t really cook here. It’s just that the oysters need to be cracked open and boiling them is the easiest way.”

“This is one of Lusio’s boiling huts, isn’t it?” Tegan wondered.

The good humor the man had exhibited dropped and a darker emotion touched his eyes. His look reminded me of the looks the vampires on the road had given us. “Yes, it is.”

“We didn’t see you yesterday on the road with the others,” Tegan mused.

The young man knelt back down and proceeded to use a spade to continue his digging. “I just got this job and didn’t want to lose it.”

“Then you’re not from around here?” I guessed.

He shook his head. “Not for a few years. I came back to help with this year’s harvest.”

Tegan looked out to sea. “Isn’t it mid harvest?”

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