“What are you doing?” Ryu finally asked.
“Something is not right.”
Tate frowned and drew close, studying the wall that had drawn Tyne’s attention.
Dewdrop frowned at Tyne, his expression saying he thought the other man was simply trying to stall or trick them. “It looks like an ordinary wall to me.”
Tyne sniffed at the air. “It’s the smell. I know this smell.” His lips curved. “Blood.”
Tate sent the wall a startled glance before inhaling deeply. Her eyes popped open. “I smell it too.”
Now that Tyne had pointed it out, she couldn’t believe she’d missed it before. The scent had a coppery base, almost metallic as it grew stronger the closer she got to the wall, until it became cloying and unmistakable.
The stench of death mixed with it. This wasn’t the result of a simple cut to the hand. No, it was too strong. Someone had died here.
“Interesting, isn’t it? I can feel someone was slaughtered close by. Fairly recently too. Yet my eyes tell me the scene is undisturbed. Why is that?” Tyne’s head tilted as he ran his gaze over the stone wall and floor. After a moment, satisfaction settled on his face. “Ah, very clever.”
“What is?” Dewdrop asked.
Tyne stabbed his bone blade at Tate, his actions too quick to avoid. Tate’s stomach quivered as his blade brushed past her face to embed in the wall inches from her head.
“Well, well, isn’t this a surprise,” Tyne remarked.
He was careful to remain still as Ryu gently squeezed the claws he had wrapped around Tyne’s throat. Ryu’s face was a murderous mask as the claws penetrated the barest bit into Tyne’s skin. Not enough to kill, only warn. Blood ran in small rivulets, staining the neck of Tyne’s shirt. The man showed little reaction beyond a faint taunting smile.
Moving only his eyes, he looked down and smirked at the blade Dewdrop held pressed to his waist.
“Do not do that again,” Ryu warned in a low rumble that reminded Tate of the beginning of a storm.
“So touchy. One would think you’re in love.” Tyne held perfectly still under the claws poised to rip out his throat. “Is Ardent’s Judgment finally capable of the same emotions as the rest of us poor slobs?”
Tyne made a tsking sound with his tongue when Ryu simply stared at him. “Come now, old friend, I expected better of you. Your mercilessness was always the biggest part of your charm.”
“I say we kill him now and blame it on Christopher.” Dewdrop’s blade pressed further into Tyne’s back, forcing the other man to finally react with a faint wince. There was a vicious ruthlessness Tate wasn’t accustomed to seeing on her young friend’s face. “No one ever has to know.”
As much as Tate would like that, she could see a better use for the reckless prisoner.
Tate set her hand on Dewdrop’s wrist, pushing the blade away from Tyne. She would have liked to do the same with Ryu, but something told her the dragon wasn’t ready to give up his prey.
“Instead of killing him ourselves, it’s better to use him to test for traps.” Tate’s smile was nasty as she met Tyne’s eyes.
“How diabolical. No wonder Ardent’s Judgment is so obsessed with you.” Tyne finally moved, yanking his bone sword out of the wall.
“And you seem to love the sound of your own voice.”
“He’s a bad guy, Tate. He can’t help it. They all love to hear themselves speak,” Dewdrop said in a snarky tone.
Sparks leapt from the place Tyne had stabbed and the wall in front of them flickered before disappearing to reveal a jagged hole with a tunnel sloping down beyond it.
“See, I thought something was off,” Tyne said in satisfaction. To Ryu, “Can you remove your claws now? If I was aiming for your lady love, she’d already be dead.”
Tate met Ryu’s stare and nodded. She was okay. Somehow.
Though it was clear Tyne was far more dangerous than she’d previously suspected. He’d moved with a speed almost undetectable even with Tate’s better than average reflexes. She wasn’t sure she would have been able to avoid his strike if he’d come for her seriously.
Also, she was pretty sure that blade wasn’t normal. Bone shouldn’t be able to pierce stone like that. She could only conclude he hadn’t used human bone for its construction, though where he’d found a sleepers’ bones was beyond her.
She had a feeling that the armor provided by her relic would have had trouble standing up to his sword.
