Chapter 21 #2
“So Miss Charles was getting agitated when she couldn’t find her father.
No one knows what happened to him, so that’s been occupying all her time, and we’ve just been laying low.
In the meantime, we learned of the door in Mount Hood being active, and I was sent to check it out. That’s where I met Paul Bristow.”
He looked at Anon. “You and Quill had come up, remember?”
“Oh yes, I remember,” Anon said. “And you’ve been working with him for weeks now, haven’t you?”
“Not until recently. He was there along with Major Kincaid,” Emory said, “but I didn’t work directly with them. Miss Charles wanted me there to check things out and report back. But when hikers started turning up dead...”
Rhaz’s head came up. “Hikers? Dead? What’s he talking about?”
Anon gave Emory a look that said to explain.
Emory nodded back and gave his attention to Rhaz.
“Something came through the door on Mount Hood. Something big, and we don’t know what it is.
We’re not familiar with the tracks it leaves.
It’s the oddest thing. They’re a series of multiple indents in the ground.
We thought at first it might be some sort of machine, but now we’re beginning to think it’s... ”
He looked around the room. “A creature of some sort.”
The women gasped and looked at each other. Hana and Dandy both drew closer to their mates, and he noticed Louise drawing closer to Sam.
Pearl was drawing closer to Anon, who was leaning away from her.
“So how many hikers did this creature kill?” Rhaz asked.
“About a half dozen in different areas. They were...” Emory grimaced. “How should I put this? Some were chewed on. Others were drained of all their bodily fluids.”
“Oh my goodness,” Louise said. “That’s terrible. Why haven’t we heard about it?”
“Because it was under a media blackout,” Emory said. “We don’t want anyone hearing about it until we find this thing and kill it, if we can.”
“What about Bristow?” Anon asked. “If he knew other things came through the door, is he going to try to kill them too?”
Aaron’s eyes went wide. “What? Is he going to try to kill us?” His eyes narrowed and began turning a brilliant blue. “I will not let that happen.” He stood, and an odd glow began to emanate from him.
“Calm down, my boy,” Anon urged. “It’s all right. Nothing’s going to kill us.”
Aaron looked around the table. “Are you sure?” His voice had dropped in pitch.
Rhaz watched him in quiet awe. “It is all right, Nemthra. You are safe. I will protect them.”
Aaron’s breathing had picked up. He took one deep breath to calm himself, then sat. “Very well, dragon.”
Betty put her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. “It’s okay. You’re okay. We’re all okay.”
“Yes, she’s right. We’re all okay,” Anon said. “Go on, Emory.”
Emory swallowed hard. “I’m sorry if this upsets you, but I’m just giving you what I know.” He looked at Anon. “There’s something else.”
Anon stilled. “What?”
“Well, one evening, a few nights ago, I was in Mr. Bristow’s tent. I went to fetch him for a meeting, but he wasn’t there. As I turned to leave, I happened to see some documentation on his field desk.” He looked at the table, blushing.
“What was it?” Quill asked.
Emory took a deep breath. “It was some sort of letter, I think. All I remember is that it started with ‘Your Majesty,’ and the first sentence was something like, ‘I believe a rogue Sarian has come through a door.’”
Everyone exchanged the same look of shock.
“How would somebody like Paul Bristow know what the thing is called?” Jackson said, more to himself than the others. His eyes began to glow with the presence of his wolf. “What is this thing? What is a Sarian?”
“Never mind about that,” Hana said. “Who is Dr. Charles, Emory?”
Jackson, Quill, Anon, Caelen, and Dandy all sucked in a breath.
“Is it the same man we saw?” Quill asked.
“Who are you talking about?” Louise asked.
Everyone ignored her. All eyes were on Emory. “I don’t know. Like I said, I’ve never met him. I don’t know what he looks like.”
Caelen looked at Emory. “Do you know anyone named Archer or Julia?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know anyone by those names.”
“What about Dallan?” Quill asked.
“Does the name Time Master mean anything to you?” Anon asked next.
“And what about a Muiraran?” Caelen asked.
Emory shook his head again. “I’m sorry. None of this rings a bell.
All I know is that Paul Bristow was writing a letter to someone he was calling ‘Your Majesty’ and talking about something called a Sarian coming through the door.
That’s it. That’s all I know. I work for JD Charles.
Her father is Dr. Sephtis Charles, and he’s gone missing.
So here I am.” He spread his hands. “That’s all I’ve got. I’m sorry if you’re disappointed.”
“No, no, Emory,” Anon said. “We’re a little shocked, yes, but not disappointed. You’ve given us a lot of information. And if this Sarian or whatever it’s called, is heading this way, then perhaps we should figure out a way to cut it off before it gets to the door.”
“Anon’s right. What if it damages it?” Caelen asked.
“What if it starts killing people?” Rhaz said. That was his biggest worry.
“Oh dear.” Anon sat back. “I need a drink.”
“I think we could all use one.” Quill sighed, got up, walked around the table, and grabbed Anon’s goblet. “I’ll get you some more.”
Without a word, he left for the kitchen.
Anon pinched the bridge of his nose. “All right, so problem number one. Louise, I’ve apologized. We’re all good?”
“Yes, Anon. We’re good,” she said with a nod.
“Problem number two. We now know that Mr. Bristow is in town and could cause us a lot of trouble.”
Emory raised a finger. “Not necessarily. I’ve been working with him for the last week or so, and I believe he’s genuinely trying to help.
He was just as upset as anyone else when we found those hikers, and his goal has been to save lives.
It’s all he talks about, and he looks worried in private.
True, he hasn’t told me much more than I already know.
But Anon, I don’t think he’s the enemy here. ”
“Nonsense. He’s military,” Louise said. “They’re always trouble.”
Pearl gave a curt nod. “Yes. Who knows what they’ll do? Coming in here with their equipment and guns, locking the town down. And what if that thing comes? Good heavens. It’d be like something from a horror movie. There’ll be tanks everywhere. Missiles…”
“Pearl, calm yourself,” Anon said. “We need to think this through.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “Oh dear me…”
Quill returned, handed him a goblet, and Anon took a sip. “Thank you, Quill. Thank you very much.”
Basil hopped off his stool, jumped onto Rhaz’s lap, then onto the table. He marched down the middle of it toward Anon kicking empty pizza boxes aside as he went. “Now listen here, bloodsucker. My prince can take care of all of this in one fell swoop. He can shift and incinerate them all.”
Rhaz groaned. “Basil...”
The little gnome spun around. “You could wipe them all out, including this Sarian, or whatever it is. Then things can get back to normal. We can go home, and you can marry Princess Beyza.”
Rhaz groaned again as all eyes shifted to him.
Anon sighed. “Problem number four.” He gave Rhaz a sympathetic look. “But first, let’s deal with problems two and three, shall we?”
Rhaz nodded and said nothing more.