Read Online The Ritual by H. Anthe Davis, Erica Dakin - Free Book Online Page B

provocatively, and her movements were sure and practiced as she placed the bowl and mug in front of Zashter, then ran her fingers along his should er and down his back in a caress. “Hello, big boy,” she breathed, and I blinked at the blatant invitation in her voice.
    “Niniel, hey,” Zashter replied, smiling up at her and sliding his arm around her waist.
    The stab of jealousy I felt was not unexpected, but the strength of it rocked me. I tried to push it away, but my back was rigid with sudden rage and I could barely even see my food as I shovelled it into my mouth, the flavour gone.
    “Come see me tonight?” Niniel murmured, and although I wanted to, I could not look away as she tousled Zashter’s hair with nimble fingers and all but pushed her cleavage in his face.
    He smiled his arrogant smile and got himself a good eyeful, but his voice was firm when he said, “No, I’m busy tonight.”
    “You’re always busy,” Niniel pouted.
    “Aren’t I just? Maybe you should take the hint.” He was still smiling, but the girl stiffened, then jerked upright, staring at him in indignant astonishment. “Go on, off you go,” he added, shooing her away with a condescending pat on the bum and sniggering when she stalked off.
    When he turned back he met my baffled gaze, and chuckled again. “I have standards.” With that he tucked into his food and never crossed eyes with me again until his plate was clean.
    I lingered over the remnants of mine, allowing my emotions to settle. Yet again he had surprised me, and I could no longer deny that I didn’t just find him attractive – I was beginning to like him. Even his frequent arrogance and the sarcasm he directed at me could not change that, because I gave as good as I got. Moreover, if I thought back to his lectures of the past days, I had to admit that they had all been justified. A little harsh, maybe, but he had warned me that he would be.
    His arrogance was a mask, his sarcasm a defence, just as my sullen expression and wary approach were for me. Whether he used them for the same reason I didn’t know, but he had shown me glimpses of the man underneath already – whenever he let his mask slip he was friendly, had a playful sense of humour, and was as generous in his praise as Mior. Given time I might break through mask and defence both, but I still wasn’t sure whether I wanted to. That he was likeable made the attraction less annoying, but I still didn’t trust him, and wouldn’t until I found out his motive for taking me on as a pupil.
    I scraped a crust of bread through my bowl and looked up to find that Shani had disappeared – presumably to the bathroom – and Zashter and Mior were talking quietly, their voices too low for me to follow.
    Now that I had finished my food I let my gaze drift around the room, and lingered for a moment on a man in the far corner. He had been there ever since we had arrived, and although I had only noticed him on a subconscious level until then, my thief senses were honed enough that his continued presence felt suspicious, especially since he had his hood up so it shadowed his face and only had a mug of ale in front of him – I doubted that anyone frequented the Maiden’s Virtue for its ale.
    I was about to point him out to Zashter when the man got up and moved to our table. My fingers crept to my boot knife, but he spread out both his empty hands as he approached, then quite openly sat down in the space that Shani had vacated. Both Zashter and Mior looked up, and for a heartbeat they looked eerily similar as identical expressions of annoyance crossed their faces, only to be hidden behind bland masks.
    “Evening, gentlemen,” the visitor said in a musical, polished voice, and with a shock I realised that he was an elf. Both brothers nodded guardedly, and then the elf’s eyes turned to me in curiosity. “I was not expecting you to enlist help.”
    I stared back, questions whirling around in my head. What was an elf doing in