Vigilance by H. G. Chambers

Author:H. G. Chambers [Chambers, H. G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B078PYGSHV
Published: 2017-12-29T07:00:00+00:00

13

A Rational Choice

“Tick, tock. Tick, tock.”

Magdalene Medeia watched as Marconas walked slowly around her, hands behind his back.

Of all the things in this god forsaken jungle, she had thought the humidity was the worst, but this man was gunning for the title.

“Your quarry has escaped, little robin,” he taunted, “and your unruly pet has blocked off the path to follow them.”

He’s definitely worse, she decided. The guardian king had rampaged for several minutes before trundling off into the jungle.

He stepped around behind her, “Perhaps if you’d done the dirty work yourself, instead of waking up a pack of wild apes, they’d be dead by now.”

“Challenging Thomes of Sunnmore and two young gatherers? Tell me Variant, where would you have been, during such an encounter?” He’d be more likely to stab me in the back than help, she thought.

Marconas didn’t answer. He only smiled that smug smile of his. Funny how his charms wore off over time, revealing the petty, vindictive man beneath.

“You know as well as I do,” Medeia continued, “that the sleeping guardians were the most rational choice.” The only choice in which you couldn’t kill me and claim credit. She walked away from him, crossing the mossy stone roof of a the ancient Yagua meeting hall. Her boots clopped as she walked to the edge. She gathered a small, imperceptible trickle of kai, and waited. She could feel Marconas’ eyes on her neck. Make your move, she urged silently. Were she to kill him outright, she would surely be punished, but killing him in defense would reap its own rewards.

“You had better make good use of what time you have left, Medeia.” Judging by his voice, he hadn’t moved. “Certain events have been set in motion. If you are unable to complete your task, then I will be forced to complete it for you.”

She turned to face him, and was unsettled to find him within striking range. “You had best stay out of my way, Marconas. The boy is my responsibility, not yours,” she said, maintaining her composure.

“Then stop playing games and get the job done.”

Medeia scowled as he abruptly turned and walked toward the staircase leading down the far side of the building. He turned back, and she quickly changed her scowl to a neutral expression.

“Oh, and one more thing, little robin, should I have wished it, you would have been dead well before any of your tricks could have stopped me. Goad me like that again, and I can’t guarantee that my restraint will prevail.”

Medeia felt her jaw tighten as he spun and walked down the stairs. Boiling snake of a man. She believed she had the measure of him, but perhaps it would be prudent to be more cautious. It was all too easy to dismiss a man who was unable to gather. The fact that he’d risen so high on his natural abilities alone was telling. That, and there was no way of knowing what kinds of tools he may be working with. Magdalene recalled the battle in Praeconis Amphitheater.

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