Page 18 of Wilds of Wonder
This man was getting on my nerves. “Yes, I am.”
“I’ve got a better idea.”
Of course he did. Like every other man he thought he knew best. Typical.
“A game,” he said. “A competition. Every year, we meet at a different historical site to hunt for an artifact. Whoever gets it wins.”
“Wins what?” I asked.
“Well, the object,” he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “And gloating rights for the entire next year.”
This was absurd. I couldn’t believe he’d thought of this. “So it’s a game you want to play?” I asked. “Why?”
“Oh, come on.” He took a step forward, his black cloak fluttering behind him, revealing black trousers that hugged thick thighs. “I’ve seen you. Your drive. Your passion. Your excitement. I bet you’re competitive too. I bet this would inject some thrill into this hobby of yours.”
He was right again and that was really beginning to irk me.
He raised his hands in the air. “We’ll have rules of course. Nopersonal information is ever exchanged. We won’t seek out each other’s identities. We won’t seek each other out outside of the competition.”
I raised a brow, even though he couldn’t see it. “Does that mean no more sneaking up on me like this?”
He tipped his head, the shadow of his hood extending further over his chin. “I think you like it a little more than you’re admitting.”
“I don’t,” I said, voice dry. “What are the other rules?”
“We keep it clean when we compete. No fighting dirty.”
“So I can’t knee you in the balls?” I asked.
“That would be correct.”
I studied my nails, caked with dirt. “Mm, pity. But I guess it makes sense. Who picks the location? And if we don’t ever meet outside of the competition, then how will we communicate?”
“We’ll use a neutral place to drop notes that give all the details needed. As for the location... I propose we make a list of famous artifacts that haven’t been excavated for various reasons: location, risk, danger, you know, all the fun stuff.”
Now that was intriguing.
“We drop the artifact names into a jar, hide the jar, and then every year we meet and pick an artifact. We both find out at the same time what we’re after. Maybe we give ourselves a month to prepare, then we meet at the site of the artifact on a chosen day. First person to get away with it wins.”
Very, very intriguing.
His head tilted down, and I realized he must be studying the box I’d found.
I drew it to me protectively.
“Do you know what that is?” he asked.
“Well, I was on my way to figuring it out before you interrupted me.”
He laughed. “You have to use your magic to open it. It’s a special lock that only responds to elemental magic.”
That was clever and gave me an idea for a way to secure my bunker where I kept all my hidden artifacts—except my most special ones. Those got to go in a box hidden in my house.
He held out his hand and fire streamed from his fingertips. I tensed,worried his magic would set the box on fire, but he directed it right at the little black lock. The box clicked open to reveal a beautiful blue scarf, shimmering with a dust I’d never seen before. It sparkled and glittered, coated the inside of the box.
“Wow,” I breathed.
“Congratulations,” he said. “I think you just found a scarf made by Spirit Sky for one of his lovers. It’s been documented in several ancient texts, but no one has ever been able to find it.”
