Chapter 14 A Bundle of Bafflement
The Forgotten Few
Ansar’s nails dug into his palms.
His boots scraped against the gravel of Wixim’s cave as he paced. “It’s been a fortnight since Aradia disappeared. How has she not returned?”
The golden dragon’s eyes cracked open from his spot curled up on a large rock.
Wixim sighed. He missed Harris.
“Mr. Ansar!”
Spinning around toward the call, his gaze landing on one of the Daxarian witches who had joined them, Ansar straightened in expectation.
“Our informant from the palace sent a missive saying the Daxarian queen left a few days ago to come after us,” the witch relayed grimly.
Ansar’s jaw worked as he tried not to lose his temper. “Have we received any word from the Coven of Wittica about sending a ship?”
“No news yet,” the witch said.
Ansar looked toward Wixim, his frustration bright in his brown eyes.
The dragon stared back, bored.
“You couldn’t have just eaten the queen?” Ansar asked tightly.
A low growl rumbled in the back of Wixim’s throat. If the human thought it was so easy battling the burning witch, he was welcome to try it himself.
“Alright. We’ll start to pack up. Wixim, you will fly us to Haeson. We’ll commandeer a ship of our own and head toward Daxaria. You will come with us.”
Wixim slowly lifted his long neck until he could glare down sufficiently at Ansar.
He hadn’t really cared about the human who allied himself closely with Aradia.
He loved her—that much was obvious—and he took good care of her.
However, Wixim had little patience for delicate beings giving him attitude when they should be grateful for his help.
If Aradia did not return soon, he may have to think again about joining the devil’s side of their centuries-long feud.
Ansar stared back up at Wixim, unperturbed by the show of warning.
Wixim snarled, then before he could have time to react, the dragon swooped down and wrapped his mouth around Ansar.
He didn’t bite, but he did lift his head up and shake the human around in his mouth before spitting him back down on his cave floor.
The Daxarian witch who had remained in the cave and seen the whole thing squeaked as Ansar let out a loud groan from the drool pool he found himself sprawled in.
Ansar coughed several times, struggling to come to all fours. When he did, and he finally managed to open his eyes, he discovered Wixim’s green gaze boring into him, mere inches from his face.
Wixim huffed, sending Ansar’s wet hair fluttering back.
He watched the drenched human take a fortifying breath, his shoulders slumping forward.
“Sorry.”
Wixim waited.
“I’m sorry that I was rude to you. Will you please help us get to Haeson?”
Wixim tilted his head and tapped his claw.
It took the human a few moments to guess what the dragon was waiting for him to say.
Ansar looked over his shoulder at the witch, who was wringing her hands. “Leave us.”
She bowed quickly and practically bolted from the cave.
Shaking his hands in an effort to dry them, Ansar stepped away from Wixim before rounding back to face him, his former brusqueness gone.
“We need reinforcements. Especially when Aradia reappears. Waiting around for her to come back means risking being caught,” Ansar explained.
“I don’t like leaving her alone here anymore than you do.
But getting her back with just who we have now—yourself included—isn’t enough.
Not with the Daxarian queen in the Zinferan palace and the concubine no longer of use to us. ”
Wixim took a moment to consider this reasoning.
While he was by no means pleased about the idea of abandoning Aradia, her companion was right.
“I recommend you come with us to Daxaria.”
Wixim’s head came up.
“I’m going to send another missive to the Coven of Wittica to try and get them to intercept Tamlin Ashowan. He needs to be captured and held with the boy until Aradia can get her hands on them.”
Another rumble rolled out of Wixim.
Ansar paused at this. “I didn’t say we should hurt them. Not unless Tamlin fights against us,” he added with a bit of poison in his voice.
While Ansar was reasoning out their next steps perfectly well, Wixim knew that the human’s intense hatred toward the Ashowan family was unlikely to resolve itself, even once Aradia had returned.
Wixim readjusted his position on the rock, crossing his scaly legs over one another. Regardless of how Ansar felt, he had made a serious oversight. Wixim stared at him, hoping he would realize the fact.
Ansar frowned up at Wixim, evidently not connecting the dots. “So will you come with us?” he pressed.
Sighing, Wixim dropped his head in frustration but gave a slow nod.
Ansar frowned. “Is something wrong with my plan?”
Wixim nodded again.
“The part about going to get help?”
Wixim shook his head.
“The part about you coming with us?”
Again, Wixim indicated that this was not the issue.
“About arranging the coven to capture Tamlin Ashowan?”
Wixim raised a claw and tapped his nose in confirmation.
“What about it?”
The dragon gave Ansar a flat look in response.
The human appeared equally irked by their difficulty in communicating.
In the past, Aradia had relayed Wixim’s responses. Her absence was far more annoying than Wixim had imagined it could be.
“You don’t think I should try to capture Tamlin Ashowan… Is it because you think he is too powerful?”
Wixim tilted his head side-to-side.
“Is it because you worry the devil will get hurt in the process?”
Wixim made the same motion with his head to indicate that this was also part of the issue, but not the main one.
With a great sigh and no small amount of shelving his dignity, Wixim lifted himself onto his hind legs and mimed the shape of a dome.
“I don’t… know what that means.”
“Hrr,” Wixim grumbled.
Then he mimed holding a frying pan, shaking it, and tossing something in the air.
Ansar watched blankly.
Wixim tried stirring an imaginary pot.
Ansar blinked.
A quiet roar echoed out of Wixim before he cradled his arms together as though rocking a baby, then puffed his chest up.
Ansar’s eyebrows shot toward his hairline.
“Tamlin Ashowan… is going to have another baby… ?”
Wixim was tempted to eat Ansar for real.
Luckily, Ansar belatedly put the pieces together. “The house witch! Tamlin’s father!”
Wixim flopped back and nodded.
“You’re worried what the house witch will do if he learns his son is captured.
I see. Well, that would only be a real issue if the house witch was aware of his son being taken by the coven.
His wife and children are at large, and thanks to both of the covens’ interference with the missives to and from the monarchies, they have next to no information. ”
Wixim wanted to caution Ansar not to underestimate the house witch, but he doubted he’d be able to act out the intricacies of his point so that the human could understand.
The house witch had been favored by the Gods, and so any interference from him could lead to greater problems than they could manage. Even with two covens at their backs. Fate that was already woven was hard to pull free of.
“We’ll leave after sundown for you to bring the first group of witches to Haeson.
I will wait behind with a few others. I know it isn’t likely, but I am hoping Aradia reappears before you come back for the last of us, and while the Daxarian queen is out in the forest we can simply stop by the palace and pick her up. ” A sad smile touched Ansar’s face.
Wixim knew that despite the human’s optimism, Aradia was not likely to reappear. Not that he had specific reasons, aside from the fact that he knew Tamlin was powerful.
But there was no point in trying to convey this to Aradia’s companion, and so he watched the young man leave the cave.
Settling back down on his rock, Wixim slowly closed his eyes again.
While he still didn’t relish in the idea of fighting with Elisara, he was looking forward to the chance to get a sort of revenge on the house witch’s blasted cat, who had called himself an empurror.
Kraken the cat would, if Wixim had his way, learn in the near future that ancient beasts were to be respected without question.
At the very least, the little hairball would definitely think twice about swatting at his tongue.
★ ★ ★
Thomas Julian sat outside Wixim’s cave, his eyes fixed on the ground as the witches gathered anxiously around the bonfire, whispering amongst themselves.
He wondered if it had occurred to them that even if Aradia returned from wherever Tamlin Ashowan had sent her, they would not win the war.
The sound of heavy footsteps echoed up to the mouth of the cave, and Thomas didn’t need to look to know Ansar was coming out to share the new plan with everyone.
I’m finally going home… Thomas thought somberly, his brown eyes lifting to the sky.
Ever since he had betrayed Eric Reyes, the current king of Daxaria, Thomas had been in hiding in Troivack with Penelope’s parents and Ansar. It had been more than seven years since he had seen his own parents, siblings, or Uncle Likon.
But the time was drawing closer. He could feel it.
The moment when his years of living in fear, of being discovered as a hidden ally of Daxaria’s monarchy, would finally come to an end.
He had made the decision to hide with the first witch’s people when they approached him for information during his time working as Eric Reyes’s assistant.
When Ansar had originally approached him, he had wanted to report the occurrence to the then-prince, but then…
He had thought of his Uncle Likon — of how he had taught Thomas to gather information, to wait patiently for the right opportunity to bring down villains. Something in him had known. Known this was his fate.
I just hope I get the chance to be of use before the Ashowans save the world again.