Page 28 of Rune Assassin

“So which package was she after?” I asked him as my eyes briefly flickered downward.

“Hard to say,” he replied with that devilish light in his eyes. “She did try to make away with my satchel of coins but managed to snatch only a few rocks.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “How’d you manage that?”

“By not trusting her,” he explained as he nodded in the direction to our right. “But I think this is our turn.”

I was glad he was leading the way. The area was still unfamiliar to me and the weak light didn’t help matters. I stumbled along and grasped Tegan’s arm. He obliged by lighting up his other hand with a fireball and illuminating the area around us.

A brilliant idea slipped into my mind and I stopped. Tegan took a few more steps before he half-turned to me. “Is something wrong?” he wondered.

I closed my eyes and focused. A faint warmth flowed out of me and I opened my eyes to find myself surrounded by my brilliant light. Tegan’s flame paled in comparison.

“That’s better,” I mused as I strolled past him.

“Be mindful not to strain yourself,” Tegan warned me as he extinguished his magic.

“I need the practice,” I countered as I looked down at myself.

My admiration turned to fright when I tripped over the uneven ground and went tumbling down. Tegan caught me before I hit the fine assortment of sharp rocks and pebbles that littered the dunes. I sheepishly looked up at him. “I guess I could use some practice walking, too.”

He chuckled. “I’m afraid you won’t have much of a chance for that. We’re almost there.” He righted me and I saw what he meant. We had nearly reached the edge of the beach. “You should extinguish your magic.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Vampires aren’t known for their fondness for bright lights.”

“Oh. Right.” I regretfully put out my magic and we continued on but at a slower pace.

“We might not want to show off all our skills to everyone just yet, as well,” he mused.

I sighed. “I suppose, but I’ll never get practice in.”

“We’ll both practice on the return walk,” he promised.

We slid across the sands toward the low dark hut near the tide line. There wasn’t a single light except for the soft glow beneath the many cauldrons. A man stood by the one nearest our position and turned at our coming. I could just make out the familiar features of Conrad. He was all alone except for two other people who fed the fires.

The vampire studied us with a curious look. “You’re late.”

“The guests wouldn’t leave,” Tegan quipped as we joined the vampire at the cauldron.

He studied both of us. “I heard there was something more than that.”

Tegan lifted an eyebrow. “News travels fast. Who told you that?”

Conrad turned back to the cauldron with its glowing bottom. “Would you like to see the diving?”

We got the hint about his steely lips but there was another problem at hand. I squinted in the distance toward the shadow waves. “I would but I can’t see anything.”

Conrad reached into his jacket and drew out a small vial of some dark thick liquid which he handed to Tegan. “Drink this. It will grant you the ability to dive into the depths and see what my men are doing.”

Tegan popped the cork and frowned as a pungent odor struck our nostrils. “Blood?”

“Among other things,” Conrad told him.

My eyes bulged out of my head. “Whose blood?”

He flashed me a toothy grin. “Mine.”

---