Page 79 of By the Horns
“There’s lichen all over everything, but an experienced artificer knows that it doesn’t grow so thick on rock. It likes rotting things to grow on. I dug through the layer of lichen and there was an old blanket. When I pulled the blanket back, there were remains.”
Remainsdoesn’t sound like a new body. “Is it someone we know?”
He makes a vague sound. “No, no. This one is long dead. His uniform—what’s left of it—is very old. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say he’s the student who went missing in the caverns back before my time as a fledgling. My teacher knew of him. He’d snuck away from his fledgling class in the night and was never seen again. Never left the cave, but no one could ever find him, either. It’s been a mystery ever since I was a young boy. I guess now we know the truth.”
If that’s the case, it makes less sense than ever. If Gwenna is in league with the thieves who have been attacking the repeaters, what does that have to do with a decades-old missing student? Yet she knew something was there.
What is it that I’m not seeing?
Jay needs help climbing back down from the ledge, and when he’s on the cave floor again, he sighs heavily and rubs his brow. “I’ve got to get the authorities involved. Rooster needs to know about this, and I imagine any family—if there is any left after all this time—must be contacted. Tell the others I won’t be back until late.”
“I’ll take them to the bar,” I tell him. “Get some more team building in.”
And get some answers out of a very suspicious woman.
Thirty-Eight
Gwenna
You don’t haveto bring your books, Hemmen,” Arrod complains as we all head to the King’s Onion. “We’re not that boring to talk to.”
Hemmen just clutches his books to his chest. “I’m exchanging them with a friend. He’s meeting me there.”
Arrod nudges him, causing Hemmen to stumble and frown. Normally I’d probably snipe at them—or even tease Hemmen, who’s been growing on me. But all I can think about right now is that I’m in trouble somehow. I pointed my team toward the wrong artifact, and now Master Jay is meeting with the guild and Raptor’s been silent since returning. It was his suggestion we go to the tavern to spend time together, but he doesn’t seem to be in a social mood.
Worse, he’s not talking to me at all.
We head inside, and Hemmen and Arrod move toward our regular table. I glance over at Raptor as he heads straight for the bar. He’s the one who normally gets the drinks and brings them back to our table, but it feels different today. Wrong. Kipp hesitates, giving me a questioning look.
“You feel it, too, huh?” I purse my lips and incline my head at Raptor. “I’ll talk to him. See what is bothering him.”
He narrows his eyes at me as if trying to figure me out, and thennods. He pats my leg as if to reassure me, then trots over to join the others.
I glance at Raptor. He leans against the bar, his tail utterly still. Normally it flicks back and forth in a casual sort of way, and wildly when he’s irritated. The fact that he’s holding it straight tells me that he’s deliberately trying not to show what he’s thinking. Which means he’s probably pissed at me for some reason. I mean,Iknow the reason. I’m just wondering how he knows that I’m the one who messed things up.
I walk slowly up to the counter and stand next to Raptor. He’s chatting with the barmaid Naiah, who turns her smile toward me when I approach. She taps the bar and steps back. “I’ll get that tray of drinks and snacks now.”
“I’ll be here,” Raptor drawls, and his tone is more friendly than it has been in hours. Then he glances over his shoulder at me, and his expression shutters again.
Well, that’s not a good sign.
I sit on the closest stool and pretend to be calmer than I actually am. “Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you, or am I going to have to guess?”
“Depends. Are you going to tell me how you knew that artifact was there?”
“I didn’t.”
He turns and gives me a sharp look. “You did, and it’s clear I’m going to have to get it out of you the hard way. I know how to make you spill your secrets, Gwenna.”
Instead of getting irritated at his tone, I get…aroused. The last time he tried to get me to spill my secrets, he fingered me within an inch of my life. If this is a threat, it’s not working. “Do you, now….”
Raptor’s eyes narrow. He studies my face, then his gaze falls to my chest. I glance down, too, and my nipples are obvious through the thin fabric of my guild tunic. So much for subtlety.
“You and I are going to talk in private,” he growls at me, leaning in close. “Wait here.”
“You’re not the boss of me.” It would sound more effective as a comeback if I wasn’t breathless.
This time he gets in my face, his big nose a handspan from mine. “Wait. Here.”
