The dwarf frowned and spit out another stream of tobacco juice. His blue eyes turned inward as he reviewed the list of folks he'd shared his underground discovery with. I was willing to bet it was a real short list - with only one woman's name on it.
"Mab," he muttered. "Mab Monroe. That's who you're working for?"
I shot my thumb and forefinger at him. "Give the man a prize. "
Dawson frowned. "But why would she hire an assassin to kill me?"
Despite my broken jaw, I managed a laugh. A loud, mocking laugh that echoed off the walls. "Because, you idiot, she wants all this for herself. All these lovely, lovely diamonds, and the money that's going to come along with them. "
"No way. " Dawson shook his head. "There's no fucking way you're working for Mab. She wouldn't turn on me like that. "
I snorted. "Take your head out of your ass. Of course Mab would turn on you like that. It's what she does. She's made a career out of it, as a friend of mine would say. You're just the latest casualty in her ever-expanding empire. "
Dawson paced back and forth in front of me as he thought about it. I took another small step back. Ten feet now separated me from the dwarf. Not as much as I would have liked, but it was going to have to do. After a few seconds, the dwarf stopped pacing. The doubt in his eyes faded away, replaced by sparking anger. I'd sold him on the lie. Even if I didn't make it out of this cavern alive, Dawson might do something stupid and go after Mab Monroe himself. She'd probably kill him, but at least he'd feel her wrath before he died. And he might inconvenience her slightly. Either way, it was the best I could do, given my current situation.
"Although I am curious about one thing," I said.
"What?" Dawson asked.
"The old man at the store. Why did you brace him like that? Why do you need his land so badly? We're in this cavern right now with all these gorgeous stones. I know you don't own the mineral rights to the diamonds, but why not just quietly take them out of the walls yourself and be done with it?"
Dawson shook his head. "All that Stone magic you have, and you don't really know anything about your own element, do you?"
I shrugged. "Geology isn't my strong suit. "
The dwarf pointed to the ceiling, where water dripped off one of the stalactites. "This whole cavern is directly underneath a creek that runs through Fox's property. The ceiling's strong enough as it is, but if I start digging diamonds out of here, there's a good chance the whole thing will collapse in, leaving a giant sinkhole right in the middle of his backyard - even bigger than the one that's there right now. "
He wasn't telling me anything I hadn't already guessed, but it was nice to have some confirmation.
"And you couldn't risk that," I said in a soft voice. "You couldn't risk him finding out about the diamonds that are on his own land. "
"Smart and pretty. A shame you're going to die so young," Dawson mocked.
"I thought we had a deal," I said, although there was no real protest in my voice. I'd expected the double cross.
The dwarf laughed. "Ah, the foolishness of youth. But I'm a sporting man. I'll give you a chance to get out of here. "
"Really? And how would I do that?"
Dawson stared at me. "All you have to do is beat me - in an elemental duel. "
Chapter Thirty
"A duel?" I asked.
He nodded. "A duel. That's how I take care of my problems. Haven't lost one yet in more than two hundred years. " He looked over his shoulder. "You boys might want to step out of the way for this. "
The giants moved off to either side of the cavern, leaving Dawson standing by himself in the middle.
The two men looked bored, as though they'd seen their boss do this a dozen times before. They probably had.
The dwarf stood relaxed with his knees slightly bent.
He tipped his cowboy hat back on his head to give himself a clearer look at me, and his hands hung down by his sides, fingers flexing and unflexing. He reminded me of some Old West gunfighter who'd just called the town sheriff out into the dusty street for a noon showdown.
Yeah, I could see how elemental dueling would fit right in with Dawson's cowboy fetish. Too bad it was going to be the death of him.
"A duel, huh?" I asked again.