“But I can,” Sly said. “I can get you out of here. There are three other exits, and I can take you to them.”
“The same way you were taking Hunt before?” Emma growled, realizing she was jealous. She let out a chuckle involuntarily and shook her head, trying to focus. She had no idea what had happened in the time that Hunt had been alone with Sly. She was a very good-looking woman, and anything could have happened between them.
“Well, I have no reason to do that again, because the Wyverns are after me because I stole the bag.” Sly sighed. “Look, kill me or whatever, but it’s obvious I’m not on their side. You’re right not to believe me. I’m selfish and don’t care about anyone who isn’t myself. But our interests are aligned, and I think we can work something out. Protect me from the Wyverns, and I’ll get you out of here.”
Hunt reached over and grabbed the bag, pulling it off her waist. He looked inside to see money, a few satchels of blood, a small dagger, and a piece of parchment rolled up carefully and sealed in a zip-lock bag. Hunt studied it, drawing Emma’s attention as well.
“What is this?” he asked.
“Well…” Sly smiled. “You know how Garret the Dragon is looking for this key that’s going to help him do something? Well, it’s not here, but someone who has the map was.”
“Conan,” Emma whispered. She turned to Hunt in shock. He held a map containing the very thing that Garret wanted. She had something that would bring Garret to them.
“Yeah, well, that’s a map of the realm, along with the ritual he’s going to need to do to get the key and do what he wants with it,” Sly said, smiling. “But it belongs to me now.”
“Holy shit.”
Chapter 10 - Hunt
“There’s no way we are getting out of here,” Hunt said firmly. They were lucky to have gone to the one exit which was jammed. All of the others would have been left open, welcoming to them. But the moment they would climb through the exits, Conan and his Wyverns would be waiting to take them down.
“What, why?” Sly said, raising an eyebrow.
“Cause it’ll be an ambush,” Hunt declared. “Conan knows that you have it, and he knows you’re down here. Sooner or later, you’re going to need to head up, and he’s just going to have his men waiting for you at some point.”
“You’re right,” Emma chimed in. “And considering that he wants us as well, he would have his men cover all of the exits. So regardless which one we pop out from, he’ll be ready to take us on.”
“Not just Conan,” Hunt continued, feeling a chilling thought come to life in his mind. Emma turned to look at him, and he saw that she understood instantly.
“Garret could be waiting as well,” Emma said, bringing his thoughts to life.
“Yeah, and if he knows you have this, he will most certainly be waiting. That’s why we haven’t seen much of him or the creatures down here,” Hunt continued.
“Well, I faced off against one,” Emma chimed in.
Hunt put his hand to his chin as he thought. He had fought the creatures and saw how they operated. They were not organized enough to have improvised thoughts. They worked on instincts and instructions. They had a pack mentality, so it was odd for Emma to have fought a single one of them.
“Unless…” Hunt said under his breath.
“Unless what?” Emma asked, looking back at him.
Hunt’s eyes quickly went to Emma’s grip, making sure she still had Sly pinned in place. “What you fought was a scout. If it’s a single one separated from the pack, Garret is still lurking around. He’s probably waiting for us to head out one of the closer exits. He’ll be at the one closest to where you fought it.”
“That’s not too far from here,” Emma replied.
“Yeah, I can take you there,” Sly replied.
“We don’t want to go through there,” Hunt shut her down. “I know you care only for yourself, but so does Garret. We go through there, he will kill every single one of us. Including you. We have a better chance going up against Conan and his men.”
Sly looked at them, confused. “That’s about a day’s walk.”
Hunt nodded at Emma, giving her a sign to let go of Sly. Emma gingerly released her grip and took a step back, ready to pounce if the woman made a move. Hunt put his blade back in its sheath. With a day of rest, he would have time to heal and would be ready to take them on.
“I guess we better start walking then,” Hunt finished.
Sly was put ahead of them, leading the way. Hunt and Emma stood side by side, walking a little way behind her. Hunt didn’t trust the girl, and he had been a fool to do so the first time. His mind had been clouded by the fact that Emma had left him. Now he was certain he was making the right choice. He could sense the fear in Sly, and knew the woman didn’t want to die.
They walked for a few hours, stopping intermittently to rest. When they stopped, Hunt kept his eyes on Sly, trying to see what she would do. Considering that she was free to move, andher injuries had healed, it was fair to say that she understood the gravity of events. If she left them, she had a lower chance of surviving. She needed them to make it out of the tunnels.