Ori’s eyes went to the tattoo on the inside of the man’s wrist. Uncertain what else was required, Ori risked a glance up as far as the man’s knees.Ī hand appeared alongside the neatly tailored trousers. The shoes remained exactly where they were. Placing the last shard of the plate that had smashed against the wall on the tray next to the surviving dishes, Ori set it to one side of the corridor and knelt neatly behind it, waiting for the other shifter to finally step past him. It was too late to wish he’d walked quicker now. Ori pressed his lips together and kept his curses to himself.

He’d have been out of range then-at least until he had to venture back into the dining room to clear another table. He outranked Ori by default, and every second that passed probably added another lash to the whipping Ori’s clumsiness must have already earned him.ĭamn it, just a few more steps and he’d have reached the safety of the full height section of wall that still kept the stranger out of sight of the dining room.

Ori didn’t waste precious time peering up at the stranger who loomed over him. Ori sprung back into action, working even more frantically, as he realised the man had no intention of taking another step until every scrap vanished from his sight. As soon as he was sure the man could walk by without soiling his shoes, Ori paused and politely waited for the man to pass. I’ll clean it up immediately,” Ori rushed out, scrambling to pick up the mess of scattered crockery and utensils, and move them out of the man’s way.Ĭlearing one side of the hallway first, Ori quickly made a path through the wreckage for the higher-ranking man. “What the hell…?” Highly polished black shoes stopped at the edge of the debris. Each item stared back at him, miraculously unscathed. Success! His fingers wrapped tightly around the delicate stem as the rest of the plates and silverware plummeted toward the dark oak floorboards.Īs the clatter peaked, then faded away, Ori’s attention flickered from one piece of expensive china to another, from one lead crystal glass to the next. Ori made one last attempt to catch a wine glass. The dishes and glasses spilled leftover food and wine across the floor as they tumbled out of his grasp. Scrabbling at the china, he desperately tried to catch more than a dozen fragile pieces of crockery at the same time.

Ori’s grip on his tray of dirty plates faltered as he hunched over them in an effort to stay low and out of range. A plate smashed against the wall to his right-just where his head would have been, if his reactions hadn’t been so quick. Ori dropped to his knees, taking cover behind the waist-high partition that separated the dining area from the adjacent corridor.

Duck by kim dare