“Right. He mentioned something about that. He doesn’t like being called a Bigfoot, though, since those aren’t real. Honestly, I’ve never even heard of the basa…” She huffed. “I think it’ll be fine. The reason I left Edgar home is so I could trade every edible thing on Ivy House property if need be. I think he’ll go for it.”
Austin Steele stopped and looked back at Jessie.
A trickle of adrenaline seeped into Niamh’s blood. They were here. They were about to see if the basajaun would meet Jessie calmly, or if he’d take one look at the army of gargoyles and the shifter he’d already turned down and raise hell.
“Get ready to run,” Earl whispered.
29
“Stay back,” I said, really hoping I hadn’t made a grave mistake, since everyone else seemed really put off by this creature. “Everyone stay back.”
“This is a fool’s errand,” Damarion said through clenched teeth, pushing up between Niamh and Mr. Tom, who were drifting backward. “That creature has incredible strength. More so than me or the bear. It will tear you limb from limb. Reconsider.”
“No. You weren’t stuck in that cage, helpless,” I said, fire rising through me. “I hated that feeling. I never want that feeling again. I will find those mages. That basa…ha…oon?”
“Very close. Good work.” Mr. Tom gave me a thumbs-up.
“He knows the location of the cave mouth.” I continued forward, my hand clenched around the stems of the flowers. “With that information, we have a much better chance of tracking those mages. We need to be on the offensive, Damarion. We need to be in a constant state of readiness. If we’re ready, we’re in control. I want to be in control of my fate.”
“I applaud your desire to be in control,” Mr. Tom said. “And when the time comes, I hope you will take control, and run to save yourself from this short-tempered creature. Let Austin Steele stay and fight. He’s more able for it.”
“Do you ever just think to yerself, if I wasn’t such an eejit, I’d have more friends?” Niamh murmured to Earl.
“You should talk. The only people who willingly speak to you are paid to. They serve you cider so as to improve your personality.”
“If only there was an easy solution for making ye more agreeable.”
“Here we go,” I whispered, tuning them out. A clearing lay up ahead, blotchy snow lying in clumps on the ground. Gray rocks rose away on the right, and I could see that was the way Austin’s snout pointed. That was where the creature likely sat or hid.
Now or never.
I stepped out beyond the tree line, and Austin moved to block the others from following me. He pushed forward until he was even with the last line of trees, directly behind me, his head peeking out, showing his presence but not engaging. Hopefully that was what it meant, anyway. And if it meant something else, hopefully it wasn’t something that would piss off the basa-whatever.
“She should’ve at least brought Susan,” I heard Earl murmuring. “It’s a fast little cut-and-thrust sword, great for sneak attacks. Get in, slash ’em up, get out.”
“What’s a small sword like that going to do against a basajaun?” Niamh asked. “It’d be like giving ’im a paper cut.”
“Paper cuts sting. That’d make the brute at least pause before backhanding her across the clearing. You can get a good sprint in during a pause.”
“Shh,” I said. They didn’t need to give the creature any ideas.
I edged out further into the clearing, and I wasn’t going to lie: having Susan along wouldn’t have been a bad thing, if only because it would have bolstered my courage.
Sitting on top of the highest rock sat a creature whose hair draped his body in dusky brown waves. He rose when he saw me, and slowly worked his way down to ground level, standing on the same plane as me. I had to tilt my head up to see his face and enormous nose, even from the distance across the clearing. He had to be nine feet tall, with ridiculously huge arms hanging at the sides of his massive upper body.
“This is, quite possibly, her worst idea yet,” Mr. Tom muttered from the trees.
I had to agree with him. The big guy looked a lot bigger when not viewed from above.
“Hi,” I said, and gave a stupid little wave. All of my cool confidence had gone out the window in the face of this massive creature. Now, standing face to stomach with him,