Page 17 of Rune Assassin

The man continued his work without looking up. “It is, but they’re a little shorthanded because so many are refusing to work for Mr. Lusio.” He paused and squinted up at us. “Aren’t you one of the ones staying at the house?”

Tegan nodded. “We are, but how do you know that?”

“Conrad told me,” the man revealed, and our questioning faces made him smile. “You met him on the road. He was the one handing out flyers to anyone who passed through to Mr. Lusio’s mansion. He told me a man and woman drove past yesterday. That was you, wasn’t it?”

Tegan nodded. “That was us.”

The man leaned back and looked us over. “Are you contestants?”

“Merely spectators,” Tegan replied as he, too, examined our new acquaintance. “But what’s your name?”

The vampire chuckled. “I suppose with all the questions I’ve asked you I deserved that one.” He wiped the sand from his fingers and held out his hand. “My name is Hugh.”

“Tegan,” Tegan replied as he shook the man’s hand. “And this is Kate.”

“A pleasure,” Hugh replied as he inclined his head to me.

“The same,” I answered in turn.

“Well, I should get back to work,” Hugh mused as he resumed his digging. “This sand fills in almost as fast as we can dig it out so this will take a while.”

“Would it be too much trouble if we came back tonight to watch the diving?” Tegan wondered.

Hugh paused and stared ahead as he furrowed his brow. “I suppose not. That is, if Conrad allows it.”

“So Conrad can still work for Lusio even when he’s handing out those flyers?” I wondered.

He grinned. “Mr. Lusio has little choice. Nobody knows these waters better than Conrad and none of the divers will listen to anyone but him. They have enough risks without taking advice from somebody who doesn’t know what they’re doing.”

“Then we’ll be back this evening,” Tegan promised as he took my hand.

Hugh nodded. “Until then. And enjoy yourselves at the trials. It is quite a show.”

CHAPTERTEN

We leftthe vampire to his work and continued our stroll down the beach. We reached the point where the earth sloped upward and curved toward the top of the cliff like a set of elegant stairs. The sand was replaced by tufts of grass and bits of rock, and a few trees crept from the inland and provided shade as we stopped at the point of transition.

I breathed in deeply the perfume of grass and wildflowers. “It’s nice to have a new smell after that long beach. Is this as far as Lusio’s property goes?”

Tegan shook his head. “Not quite. I think it goes for another few miles and encompasses the crypts the vampires use as their resting place.”

I stretched my neck to catch a glimpse of that sight. “How far is that?”

“Far enough that we’d miss the first trial if we tried to see it on foot right now,” he warned me.

My face fell. “So back we go?”

He grasped my hand and smiled. “We’ll take the path between the dunes and the main road. We have that much time.”

Tegan guided me away from the cliffs toward the open plains that stretched toward faraway lands. We had driven through much of that lush farmland on our way to the estate but the impending dread of our duty had kept me from enjoying the view. Now I took in the far-flung fields with its variety of plants with interest, even more so that there were no farmhouses as far as I could see.

“Do the vampires take care of the fields, too?” I wondered.

“They must,” Tegan guessed as he studied the countryside. “The only house that seems to be around here for miles is Lusio’s.”

“So all the work is done during the night except if they’re in the shade?” I mused.

He nodded. “And under the ground. We might be allowed to explore their catacombs if they’ll let us.”

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