Finn looked skyward at the cloud bank above. He didn’t seem too concerned that a giant, flying monster might drop out of the sky at any moment.
‘I think you’re lying,’ said Finn, taking a step closer. We were only a few yards away. I was cornered against the brittle wooden fence. Beyond it was only rock, and water.
I shrugged. ‘Regardless, why do you think I was waiting here, out in the open? My friend is on his way now. Big bloke, with a bad temper too.’
‘You’re an awful liar,’ Finn smirked.
To my surprise, he pocketed the dagger.
‘What are you doing?’ I asked.
Finn took another step closer. ‘Let’s talk,’ he said.
‘Sorry, I’m not in a chatty mood at the moment.’
‘Hear me out,’ said Finn, burying his hands in his pockets. ‘I have a proposition for you.’
‘What’s that, then?’
‘It’s about your pet.’ He smiled, showing two rows of straight, white teeth. ‘I’ve been doing some calculations, and I reckon your furry friend is worth more than the bounty over your head.’
‘Is that so?’
‘So, I offer you freedom, in return for your flying fox.’
‘And if I refuse?’
‘Well, then I take you to the Realm and come back for him later.’
‘Hmm, an interesting proposal,’ I said. ‘Do you know what happened to the last man who tried to take Hawthorne from me? Or the last woman who did take him from me?’
Finn waved a hand dismissively. ‘Look, it’s an easy decision to make. Swap your pet for your life. It’s not that difficult to choose.’
‘Hawthorne is my family. He is part of me. Don’t you have a family?’ I asked, trying to stall him.
‘I did, once,’ Finn admitted.
‘Once?’
‘I had a wife, and a daughter. She’d be eight now.’
‘What happened?’
Finn’s eyes bored into mine, and I felt myself blush. ‘My wife left me, and took my daughter with her, three years ago. I haven’t seen them since. But enough about me-’
‘I’m someone’s daughter,’ I interrupted. ‘You’ll be taking me away from my family.’ Perhaps sympathy would work.
‘What would your daughter think of this?’ I tried. ‘What if she was wanted by the Realm and a hunter tried to take her in?’
‘Well, I’ll never know, will I?’ Finn said. I could see he was becoming agitated.
‘If you can track me, why can’t you track your ex-wife?’
Finn’s jaw clenched. ‘Because I can’t track someone who is untraceable.’
‘Her Power?’
‘She can open portals that will take her anywhere on the planet,’ said Finn. ‘It makes it very hard to find someone.’
‘And why doesn’t she want you to see your daughter?’
‘You ask an awful lot of questions,’ said Finn.
I sighed. ‘Please. You don’t understand my situation-’
‘I don’t have time for your sob story. I need that ten thousand gold, and I intend to get it. So, will you swap your pet, or not?’
‘He is my child, and I’d never swap him for anything. Not for all the gold in the world. Not even my own life.’
Finn sighed. ‘All right then.’ He pulled the dagger back out of his pocket before digging through his shoulder-bag and extracting a length of rope. ‘I do hate hunting women,’ he admitted.
I looked around for a means to escape. There was nothing but the rough ocean behind me, and the roar of the waves.
‘Oh, and don’t think about pulling that whistling trick again,’ Finn warned. ‘I’ll embed this dagger in your throat if you do.’
‘I can defend myself,’ I said, poised to attack.
‘Look, if you struggle, I’m going to have to snap your neck, and I really don’t want to do that, okay? Just come quietly, and I won’t need to hurt you.’
Where are you, Hawthorne? Dagon? Anyone.
I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination, but Hawthorne seemed to be becoming increasingly more unreliable as time passed. We were meant to be best friends that were in-tune with one another, but he was never there when I needed him. Not since we’d come back from Flamethroat, anyway.
The hunter advanced, rope in one hand, a dagger in the other. I stepped back, bumping into the frail wooden fence, which groaned against my weight.
I produced fireballs in my palms, ready to attack, but Finn moved as quickly as lightning, closing the distance between us, his hand clamping down on my throat. I gasped and pressed my palms to his chest, burning his shirt, the fire seeking his flesh.
He backed off immediately and ripped his shirt open to examine the damage, revealing a rock solid torso. He had not been burned bad enough to cause any lasting damage.
After rubbing my throat, I reignited my hands and positioned myself into a defensive stance. ‘Burns, doesn’t it?’ I asked.
He looked up and smiled. ‘It looks like I won’t be able to get close to you without being burned. Oh well. Never mind.’