Heritage: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Elmwick Academy Book 3) by Emilia Zeeland

Author:Emilia Zeeland [Zeeland, Emilia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Emilia Zeeland
Published: 2021-04-05T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17. Mason

Hiram runs his finger under the snake’s head, petting The Black Adder he shares a name with. “His venom won’t kill you...provided you get urgent medical help, of course.”

We freeze on the spot, breaths quieting.

“Now that I have your attention, please be good and stay put until the hunter reinforcements arrive.” His words may be polite, but his tone is anything but accommodating.

“Mr. Narduccii, please, listen to me.” Zach employs his most diplomatic tone. “I don’t know what Oggy and the hunters want with us. They suspect us of being traitors to The Guild, but they’ve got it all wrong.”

“Save your breath, boy,” Hiram squeezes through his teeth. “Or do go on, actually. It’s only a matter of how you want to pass the time until they get here. No plea of yours will make a difference with me or Oggy’s men.”

“You don’t have to help them!” The words fly out of my mouth before I’ve thought them through. But if playing dumb won’t work, honesty might be our only way out of this.

“Obviously, you don’t grasp the nature of the arrangement that exists between Oggy’s men and my family.” His eyes darken, turning into bottomless pits of black.

“They took your daughter, and still you’re helping them? Don’t roll over and let this go. Fight. Fight with us.”

My attempted pep talk does little to rally him to our cause, though. It sounds too desperate, and no one wants to ally themselves with the weak.

My gaze flies up to the camera at the corner as I try to mentally map out its blind spot. If we could lure Hiram there and convince him to pretend we knocked him out, the hunters wouldn’t blame him for our escape.

“It seems you’ve been made aware of the cameras in this residence,” Hiram drawls. “I’ll have to have a talk with Sofia about trusting unreliable companions.”

“You could pretend we attacked you in the camera’s blind spot.” As soon as I relay my feeble plan to him, his flat, boxer’s nose scrunches.

“You really think that would fool them? I have influence in politics, in the world of human affairs, but when it comes to legacy or hunter business, my family is at their mercy. Don’t you get that?”

“You think they’ll let her go?” Zach breathes in a hoarse voice. “Issa.”

“They might never let her go, but if I don’t prove my dedication to their cause by delivering you, they’ll hurt her.”

The Black Adder on his shoulders hisses menacingly and snaps its deadly jaws at us.

Zach takes a step closer to our host and his fanged pet, both hands raised in a gesture of goodwill. “I’ll bring Issa back.”

I see his movement for what it is—a way to get closer to the blue Honda’s driver seat. If the keys are inside like Sofia said, he only needs to sneak into the car while I go around and take the passenger seat. Slowly, using Zach’s approach toward Hiram, I back away a step, ready to bolt at the first sign of attack.

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