BuriedSecrets (4 page)

“Now, how do we destroy it?” I asked, wanting to get it over
and done with before leaving this place.

“It’s as simple as smashing it,” he replied and opened the
box.

The Amulet of Kain was stunning. It was a dark-red ruby set
in gold and it sparkled and winked in the soft light. I gasped. I hadn’t
expected it to be beautiful. Crispin raised it above his head and prepared to
smash it on the hard rocks.

Suddenly an arrow blossomed out from his chest and he fell
backward. I cried out in horror, but the arrow had missed his heart. He didn’t
immediately dissolve into dust. I spun around and saw one of the bodyguards
leaning from behind a nearby rock with another loaded arrow already pointed in
our direction. I quickly pulled a throwing star out of a concealed pocket in my
bustier and whipped it at him. My aim was good and it punched into his chest.
He stumbled back. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a movement and
I ducked. Another arrow flew, coming within a hairsbreadth of my shoulder. I
tucked into a roll and landed sprawled behind one of the rock pillars. I
glanced back toward where Crispin had fallen, but he was gone.

I cursed and scanned the area behind me. I didn’t see him. I
hoped he’d dragged himself off until he could recover. I hoped he hadn’t been
captured. I also didn’t see the Amulet or the wooden box anywhere and I growled
in frustration. Concentrating, I could hear a low chanting. I cursed softly to
myself. I’d forgotten the witch.

I pulled another star out from my bustier and crept around
to my left. An arrow skidded off the rock in front of me and I jerked backward.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” called a mocking
voice.

I was surprised the tracker had managed to find us so quickly.
The Three must have gotten someone very good. From the pleasure in his voice, I
assumed he was also very, very bad. Much like my current situation. I had three
enemies out there, one armed with a bow, one with magic and a third more
dangerous than the first two put together—and I had a sum total of one throwing
star and one possibly dead ally. Not good. Not good at all.

I was contemplating making a break for it to the next pillar
when I heard a sort of strangled gurgle and the second bodyguard, minus his
head, flew past me. I jerked back in surprise and then smiled. It seemed
Crispin had recovered. Sure enough, an instant later he landed next to me.

“Hey, baby,” he told me, cheeks rosily flushed with what I’m
sure used to be the bodyguard’s blood. “Just the witch and the tracker left?”

“I think so. Be careful, he’s good.”

“Not to worry,” he told me.

I was about to give that a try when silver chains
materialized around his legs and wrists and he toppled to the ground. The
witch! Without pausing to think it through, I raced out from behind the rock
and toward the direction I’d last heard her voice coming from.

Luck was with me, because I came on her as I rounded another
rock. She’d been moving away from her last position and I caught her with a
solid right hook before she could do more than jump in surprise. She fell
backward and her head slammed off a spiked rock with an audible crack. I winced
and leaned forward to check her pulse. Nothing. I sighed and gently closed her
eyes. I wouldn’t have killed her if I didn’t have to. Oh well. One more down.
Only the tracker left.

A shout to my left made me spin around and I saw Crispin
leap into the air to pounce on a shadowy figure. A second later, he jumped
back, shaking his head and coughing. A cloud rose up around him and I hissed. I
had no idea what it was, but it had Crispin on his knees, hands clutching his
throat. If I didn’t do something soon, it would be too late. I lifted the
remaining star as the tracker moved toward Crispin, an evil smile twisting the
tracker’s features. I took a deep breath and prayed for the best throw of my
life, before releasing the missile. The star flew straight and almost on
target. Rather than burying itself in his heart, the star bit deep into his
shoulder and he staggered backward, momentarily off balance.

Crispin looked up and with a great effort lunged forward and
sank his teeth into the tracker’s neck. They fell to the ground and I ran
toward them. The tracker’s struggles grew weaker. His movements stopped and
Crispin pushed himself back off the tracker to sit limply on the ground. Crispin
coughed weakly and turned his head at the sound of my approach.

I sank to the ground next to him and put my arms around him.
He hugged me back and then started laughing. I leaned against him, too tired to
feel more than a stunned relief. He stroked my back gently and I shivered and
pressed against him.

“Come,” he told me, “we have work to do. But first…” He
pulled the Amulet of Kain from his pocket and in one swift motion brought it
down on the rock. It shattered easily with a flash of light and he grinned. “I
should have broken it long ago. Gather the bodies. I’ll be back.”

He took off and I grumbled after him and then began the
distasteful work of dragging the bodies into a stack. Just as I was finishing,
he returned, arms full of dry wood and brush. He stacked it on the pile and
grabbed a couple small twigs. Twirling them so quickly I couldn’t see them, he
had a fire started in a moment. The pyre flamed up and I backed away as the
heat hit me. Crispin came back toward me and stooped to pick up the biggest
ruby shard from the Amulet. He put it on the ground and slowly and deliberately
crushed it to dust. He gathered the dust and flung it out over the fire,
leaving the remaining shards lying on the ground before coming back to me and
putting an arm around my waist.

“We’ll leave the rest of it sitting there. I want the Three
to find the pieces and know it is pointless to trouble me further. I also want
them to think you’re dead. Give me your arm.”

Hesitantly, I held up my arm. He took it in his hand,
leaning down to kiss my wrist lightly. A shiver ran through me and I gasped as
he bit down. He took a quick sip, smiling up at me with a bloody mouth, and
then shook my wrist around over the ground until he’d left a fair amount of
blood around us. Satisfied, he licked my wrist and his healing saliva closed
the wound in an instant.

We stood there for a moment, watching the fire burn, and
then I turned to him uncertainly.

“So…what now? I can’t go back.”

“No, of course not.” He hugged me tightly. “Come. We’ll head
out of the mountains. I have a safe house in the jungle. From there, we can
make arrangements, charter a plane. When we’re far from here, then we can think
about what’s next.”

I hugged him back, just as tightly. Whatever we decided, it
looked as if I’d be with Crispin, and for the moment at least, I was happy.

Ashley was born and raised in Canada. She loves to travel
and enjoys photography. She lives happily with her cats and indulges a rather
dirty mind with her writing. Ashley is a new author and is very excited to be working
with Ellora's Cave.

Ashley welcomes comments from readers. You can find her
website and email addresses on her
author
bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
.

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Buried Secrets

ISBN 9781419993756

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Buried Secrets Copyright © 2015 Ashley Shayne

Edited by Jill Noelle

Cover design by Allyse Leodra

Cover photography by Conrado; via Shutterstock

Electronic book publication May 2015

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