The Untamed Moon by Jenn Stark

Author:Jenn Stark [Stark, Jenn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781943768837
Publisher: Elewyn Publishing

18

The next morning, it rained. Not the soft, subtle rain of a spring day in Ireland, but a torrential downpour.

This didn’t stop Emilio from showing up at 6:00 a.m., of course, outfitted with a small knapsack that hung close to his body, and appearing grimly determined to get our show on the road as quickly and quietly as possible. Neither Nigel nor Nikki looked pleased with the idea of heading out, though Simon held his own. There were some added perks to being an immortal Council member, for sure. Either way, it was good that our guide didn’t spend much time on small talk. We headed out in more or less a single file, though only after we’d emerged from the hotel from different doors. Emilio clearly was in no mood to alert his competitors.

I watched his small, poncho-clad body hurrying forward, and reflected again on the life of an artifact hunter. Had it gotten worse since I left their ranks? And how lucky was I not to have to pay much attention anymore? My responsibilities had changed dramatically over the past few years, without question. I still had my share of problems, but they’d gotten infinitely more interesting.

The downpour kept chatter to a minimum until we were well out of the city, past the Jeep ride to the head of the trail, and officially on our way to Choquequirao. Even the first few hours of our trek on foot remained quiet, though the tree cover provided adequate protection from the worst of the rain.

We broke for lunch at the edge of a small clearing. Emilio was careful not to allow any of us to venture into the sunshine, despite the fact that the clouds had finally broken. “You have good wards,” he said, nodding first to Nigel and then to Simon. “I can’t make them, but I have just enough Connected ability in me that I can detect them. Well, no matter how good your wards are, there’s somebody out there with a better set of eyes. Even if you don’t believe it, it’s best to act that way.”

Nigel grunted, but I couldn’t dispute the logic.

“Will it really take another day for us to get to Choquequirao?” Nikki asked. “Seems to me we could have done something to shorten the time. You can bet our competitors will be cutting every corner they can.”

Simon held up a small device he’d been studying, one of the apparently fifty-seven small whozits and whatsos he’d stowed in his very own Simon-designed fanny pack. Slung around his waist the way it was, the pack didn’t look cool, but I suspected it would come in handy.

“Emilio, my man, you’re absolutely right on eyes beating wards,” he said. “It’s way easier to see something than to keep from being seen. To that end, you’ll all be happy to know I bugged the hunters who were at the bar last night, which wasn’t all of them, of course, though it was a damn good bar. We’ve got two teams in the area, but their angle is off ours by a significant measure.

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