Hanna and the Hitman - Honey Phillips Page 0,63
should wait.
“Hey, you.” A new voice, harsh and angry, cut through the night. “What are you doing with the prisoner? Get away from him.”
“I was simply ensuring that his bonds were still tight.” The Pardorian’s voice also sounded oddly familiar.
“Oh yeah?”
A rough hand jerked on the already tight ropes, causing them to cut into his flesh, but he forced his body to remain limp and motionless.
“I reckon they’re tight enough, but you stay away from him.”
“If that is what you want.”
“Yeah, that’s what I want. And if you don’t want your female to come to any harm, you better pay attention to what I want.”
The Pardorian did not respond, and both males moved away. Aidon couldn’t detect anyone else close to him, so he chanced a look from under his eyelashes.
The tree he was tied to was at the very edge of the jungle, and he recognized the long spit of rocky land beside the river. They were downstream and around a bend from his house. As long as they stayed away from it, Hanna would be safe until he could return. Night had fallen while he was unconscious, the river and surrounding jungle veiled in darkness. A large bonfire roared on the beach a short distance away, and he counted the figures he could see in the firelight, confirming his earlier estimates. Even from here, he could recognize Chotgor despite the terrible scars revealed by the flickering flames. There was no doubt the other male was here for revenge.
The males passed a bottle back and forth as they sat by the fire. The Pardorian kept his distance, his back to the fire so as not to hinder his ability to see his surroundings. Aidon tried to identify him, but the light was too uncertain and it had been too long since he had seen the other members of his village.
One of the males staggered away from the fire, moving over to the river to take a piss. Aidon saw the Pardorian watching him, but he didn’t warn the fool. The male groaned with relief just as an usan tendril snaked up out of the water, circled his waist, and dragged him under. He didn’t even have the chance to scream, but the splash aroused the attention of the other males.
“What the fuck was that? Where’s Jivet?” Two other males approached the riverbank, but unfortunately, they were smart enough not to get too close. They called for their missing colleague a few times, then returned to the fire. One of them stalked over to the Pardorian.
“What the hell just happened?”
“I warned you that the river was dangerous,” the Pardorian said calmly.
The male snarled. “We’re pretty dangerous too. You’d best remember that.”
“Of course. How could I forget?”
Frustrated, the male stomped back to the fire. “I’m tired of this, Chotgor. Can’t we just kill him and get it over with?”
“No, Chindek. I’m not just going to kill him; I’m going to make him pay. He destroyed my operation and left me to die in that fire. I will have my revenge!” Chotgor’s voice reached an unstable pitch as he yelled at Chindek.
Aidon saw the other males exchanging glances and wondered if they heard that note of insanity as well.
“Are you sure that this is the right male?” one of them asked tentatively. “He doesn’t look the same.”
“Damn Pardorians can disguise themselves. My contact traced him here. I know he’s the same one.”
His contact? Who would have the knowledge to identify Aidon to Chotgor, let alone know enough to send him to his home? Aidon picked up his jobs through a central guild, but they were committed to maintaining the privacy of their employees. If that were no longer true or if they had a traitor in their midst…
His attention snapped back to the fire as Chotgor stood.
“I’m tired of waiting. Wake him up.”
“How?”
“I don’t know,” he said impatiently. “Throw water in his face.”
Chindek looked to the river and shook his head. “I’m not going near that in the dark.”
“Fool,” Chotgor snapped. “Aren’t any of you brave enough to fetch water?”
His males looked at each other, but none of them stepped forward. One of them suddenly groaned and clutched his stomach.
“Pretending to be ill doesn’t excuse your cowardice.” Chotgor started to turn away just as the male bent over and vomited up the contents of his stomach. The other males stepped back in disgust, but the first male’s spasms didn’t cease. He dropped to his knees, still retching, and Aidon saw the bile