Temple Hill - Drew Karpyshyn [52]
Someone was watching them, waiting for them. He took a quick peek left and right, but couldn't see anyone. The area around the stone room was dim and shrouded in shadows. The wall of crates blocked off much of the light from the lamps and torches of the main warehouse. Corin squinted into the darkness-a small army could be hiding in amongst the crates, and he might not even see them.
So instead he listened. It was almost impossible for a group of men to crouch in a hidey hole and stay completely motionless for any length of time. He listened for the sound of a faint cough, a sniffle, a shuffling of boots or the metallic chink of armor caused by a hand scratching a nose. He waited for nearly a minute, hearing nothing, and still he felt he was being watched, but there was nothing there. At last he motioned for his companion to come down.
"All clear, Lhasha."
Lhasha scampered down the ladder with an eager agility that made Corin cringe. He knew she was excited. She was dying to know what the mysterious package was. Corin just wanted to get it and get the hell out.
Lhasha flashed him a sly grin, trying to ease his tension. Corin ignored it, and kept scanning the shadows. C'mon, Lhasha, he thought. Let's get moving.
"How's it coming?" he asked, his voice betraying his impatience.
"These things take time, Corin," she answered. "You don't want me setting off an alarm, do you?"
"An alarm?" Was that why she was taking so long?
"I don't see one yet," Lhasha admitted. "But if this package is worth the fee we've been paid, there has to be something besides nasty rumors and a wall of crates to keep those workers out."
Corin couldn't agree more.
"I was sure there'd be more guards," he said. Then an idea struck him. "Maybe they're inside, just waiting for us to open the door."
"Hold on, I'll check." Corin momentarily diverted his attention away from the surrounding gloom to see Lhasha lean forward and place her ear against the door.
"I don't hear anything. I think we're safe."
"Let me get my pick out," she added, standing up and turning to face Corin. "Ill start on the lock."
Then she froze.
Corin knew something was wrong, he could see it in her eyes. His muscles tensed, the adrenaline began to flow, but he didn't move, not yet. Not until he knew what was going on. Sometimes sudden movement was the worst thing you could do.
"Corin,'' she whispered at last. "There's something in the shadows behind you. A snake, I think. A big one."
"Don't move," Corin replied. "I'll draw it out." His decision to stay still seemed like the right one, now. Corin knew how to deal with snakes, and a sudden reaction could trigger the serpent to strike. With deliberate slowness, he turned on his heel to face the darkness. He could make out only blackness, but he trusted Lhasha's elf ability to see in the dark. He began to tap his foot in a soft, irregular rhythm. Snakes sensed vibrations, it was how they hunted. With his tapping foot, Corin tried to mimic the actions of an injured animal twitching on the ground. It should lure the creature into the light.
"Wait, Corin. It's gone now. It just sort of… disappeared."
Puzzled, the warrior stopped his tapping. He didn't think Lhasha was the type to jump at shadows, but could she have imagined it? Or maybe the flickering flame of the distant torchlight was playing havoc with her eyes' ability to detect heat, making her see things that weren't really there.
He heard a faint, hissing whisper. It sounded almost like a word. "Sssleep."
A sudden weariness washed over him and his head drooped. But he snapped it back up and fought off the sensation. Probably a reaction to some residual Mask poison still in his system.
"Did you feel that?" Lhasha asked. "For a second I was so tired I nearly passed out on my feet."
It wasn't the Mask