Page 75 of By the Horns
My breath speeds up. Find the artifact? I could laugh. The ghosts just told me exactly where it is, and I could end this quickly and get us out of here…but I can’t. I can’t even tell the rest of my team because they’ll all wonder how I know, and I’ll seem even more suspicious than before.
Arrod raises his hand. “How do we know what we’re looking for?”
“No artifact hunter knows what they’re hunting for when they come into the tunnels. I aim to duplicate that joy of discovery for you. Instead, focus on clues in the environment that might lead you to excavate in a certain spot. Look for ruins, of course, but look for breaks in the rocks. Look for moss growing over unusual shapes. Raptor can tell you all about this, I’m sure.”
“I thought I was supposed to let them learn for themselves,” Raptor drawls.
Master Jay shoots him a look. “You can guide but not overrule.”
“Right. That sounds like me.” His tone is full of sarcasm.
“I’ll leave you all to it, then. Good luck and good hunting, myfledglings.” Master Jay nods at all of us, and then takes the lantern from Hemmen’s hand, leaving us in the darkness.
Immediately, the whispers fill the air. I can sense the dead even more now that it’s dark. I rub my arms, shivering. Waiting for the feelings to go away. Instead, they just get worse. They grow deeper, seeping into my pores. Into my bones.
“He took our light,” Hemmen complains, distracting me.
“I would imagine he expects you to make another one,” Raptor comments. His big hand kneads the back of my neck. “I can see just fine, so you’re not in danger, but you might want to establish a light source anyhow.”
“Right. Who’s got the matches?” Arrod says. “Kipp, I hope that’s you patting my leg.”
Pillar, the ghosts remind me, the thought flaring so intensely in my head that I jump. I dig my nails into my arms and squeeze my eyes shut. That voice was too close and too strong. Like it was hovering right over me…touching me….
I need to get out of here. The urge rolls over me like a wave, and then I’m tearing at the rope around my waist, pulling myself free from our group tether. I drop my pack to the ground.
“Where are you going?” Raptor asks as I stumble away from the group.
“Wait, she’s leaving?” Hemmen complains. “We can do that?”
“No one is leaving,” Raptor growls, even as I turn and head back the way that Master Jay came. I rush forward in the darkness, stumbling blindly ahead.
I don’t know where I’m going. Just…away from here. Away from the ghosts.
A large arm wraps around my waist, and then I’m hauled up against a massive, muscled body. I bite back the choked scream that rises in my throat, because I’m surrounded by warmth. The living have warmth, I remind myself. Not the dead.
“Sneaking off?” Raptor whispers in my ear. “Like a thief?”
I shake my head violently. “I just…need…a moment….”
Raptor sets me back down on the ground, but he keeps his heavy armaround my shoulders, pinning me against him. “What’s wrong? You’re not acting like yourself.”
Raising a shaking hand to my brow, I wonder if I can handle this. How am I possibly going to control myself going in and out of the tunnels every day? It feels impossible. “I…I…” I lean back against his strong chest, sagging in his arms though the voices continue to whisper in my ears. “Are the others nearby?”
“No. They’re back in the cavern. I can hear them complaining. Why?”
“I need you to finger me and not ask why.”
His breath huffs against my head, even as his grip tightens over my shoulder. His muzzle rubs against my hair. He holds me tight, my back to his front, but he doesn’t let go of me. “This is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard, Gwenna.”
“Just call me crazy, then. But I need it.”
Raptor groans, and then one big hand is cupping my breast. The other slides down my waist, and I grab my belt, unfastening it so he can have access. When his hand slips into my pants, I whimper, even though he hasn’t touched me yet. It’s because I know relief is coming. My senses are completely distracted, and I’m so ready for his touch.
When his fingers brush over my folds, breath explodes from me.
“Quiet,” he murmurs. “Do you want to call the entire cavern down here?”
I turn my head, biting at the bicep over my shoulder. He palms my breast, then strokes his thumb over my nipple. Then he’s touching my clit, and my knees nearly buckle with the shock of pleasure.
