Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Rhaz swept the kitchen floor. He had to keep his mind off things.
When the meeting was almost over, Aaron made a comment about the Sarian creature wandering about the woods. Even though it was hundreds of miles away, it was still a threat.
Unfortunately, so was a Salreth.
Apparently, one of the shadow-creature assassins had been sent after Aaron and had passed through the door shortly after he did. Much the same as what happened to Basil and himself. Only for some reason, Rhaz got spit out into the pine grove while Basil landed on the beach.
He still didn’t know what to make of that.
He didn’t know enough about these doors to make much of a decision on anything. Emory Chen seemed to be the expert. And Quill had made a few comments under his breath, so he was obviously thinking about a solution but hadn’t come up with anything yet.
So here he was, sweeping the kitchen floor when Basil came in and gasped. “Your Highness, what are you doing?”
Rhaz ignored him and continued sweeping.
The gnome frowned. “That is servant’s work. Put that broom away at once.”
“Basil, hush.”
He gasped again. “What do you mean, hush? Oh, this is terrible. You’re doing menial tasks. What is it, Your Highness? What’s wrong?”
Rhaz stopped sweeping, leaned slightly on the broom, and took a deep breath. “It’s this creature they keep talking about. This Sarian, or whatever it’s called. How are they going to find it?”
He started sweeping again. “They aren’t. If they haven’t found it yet, I doubt they’re going to. They need help, Basil.”
Basil facepalmed. “You cannot help them, Your Highness.”
“But I can,” Rhaz said. And he would, because the thought of some creature descending upon Moon Creek Falls was not acceptable.
What if it sensed what they were? What if it sensed what Aaron was and went after him?
And what about?—
He cut his own thought off. It came anyway. What about Phin?
She would be defenseless against a Salreth not to mention whatever this Sarian was.
But the Salreth was no longer a threat. The ocean had seen to that. The ocean itself had destroyed the thing. This Sarian, however, was something else.
What was it? How big was it? What did it eat? Did it hunt? He had to find out, and the only way to do that was to find and observe it.
“Your Highness,” Basil prodded. “What are you thinking?”
Rhaz straightened. “There’s something I need to do.”
Basil covered his face with both hands. “No. No, Your Highness.” He dropped them. “I know what you’re thinking. You’ve got that look in your eye.” He shook a finger at him. “I won’t allow it.”
“I’m going to hunt,” Rhaz said, cutting him off.
Basil blinked. “What?”
“I am the only one among us that can cover a great deal of ground very quickly. My dragon’s eyesight is excellent. Even at night. You know this. I can search for it, find it, then let Emory and this Paul Bristow know where it is.”
“Oh dear me.” Basil began pacing. “If you don’t mind my saying so, this is a bad idea.”
“It is an excellent idea,” Rhaz said. “You know I’m right.”
“I know you’re reckless,” Basil shot back, “and that you’re going to get yourself killed if you’re not careful. I’ve seen you do it numerous times.”
“It was not folly on my part,” Rhaz said. “I am a warrior. This is what I do.”
Basil rolled his eyes in impatience. “You are also a prince. And princes do not run off in other realms hunting their creatures. The Sarian is this realm’s problem, not yours.”
Rhaz gave the little gnome a heartfelt look. “My friend, you have watched over me for many years. But I must do this. The humans here are defenseless against one such as I.” At least for a time.
If what Anon told him was true, the weaponry humans possessed could kill him, just as it could probably kill the Sarian, so long as they could find it.
Rhaz knelt in front of Basil. “Do not fret, little friend. I know what I’m doing. All I’m going to do is locate it, then tell Emory. He can tell his friends, and they can kill it. All right?”
Basil growled, grumbled, and finally stomped his foot. “I don’t like this. Not one bit. I’m not agreeing to any of it.”
“You don’t have to agree with it,” Rhaz said. “I’m merely telling you what I’m going to do. And by the way, it doesn’t matter what you say. I’m still going to do it.”
“I know,” Basil growled. “That’s the problem. You always do.” With that, he stormed from the kitchen.
Rhaz went to the window and looked up. The moon was three-quarters full. He might have to wait a night or two before he took to the sky and began his hunt, but he would do it.
Anon was sitting at his desk in his study, which he rarely used, when Basil came stomping across the threshold. “Your Vampireness!”
Anon looked up from his ledgers. “Vampireness?” he drawled. “That’s new. No bloodsucker?”
“Never mind about that,” Basil snapped. “Prince Rhaziel is going to do something reckless, I am afraid.”
“What?” Anon stood, came around the desk, plucked Basil off the floor, and set him on top of it. “What’s this all about?” he asked the gnome.
“The prince is talking about hunting for that Sarian creature. It’s an abominable idea.”
Anon frowned. “Abominable?”
“Yes! He’s done this sort of thing before. You have to understand. He’s a warrior. Proud, valiant, noble.”
“Yes, Basil, we know all that. He’s a fine fellow.” Anon leaned against the desk and thought a moment. “I am assuming he wants to do this in dragon form.”
“Of course he does! But I fear he’s going to get himself into trouble. What if somebody sees him? What if one of those flying machines of yours shoots him right out of the sky? That would kill him for sure.”
“But if it’s at night, no one’s going to see him. A plane wouldn’t see him because they’d be flying too high. And I assume his night vision as a dragon is excellent.”
“Of course it is,” Basil said. “But he’s searching for a creature he knows nothing about.”
“All your prince has to do is locate it.”
“What?”
“Locate it,” Anon said. “Or at least try.”
Basil sucked in a breath. “But I want you to talk him out of it. I came to you so you could do that.”
Anon shrugged. “I think it’s a good idea.”
Basil stared at him. “Are you insane?”
“Not insane,” Anon said, “so long as he’s smart about it. All we have to do is locate the creature and inform the military. Or, in this case, Paul Bristow. They can do the rest. That thing has been eluding them for weeks. I don’t know how they’re unable to find it.”
Basil looked down at the desktop. “I still don’t like it.”
“Of course not. He’s your prince, and there are dangers. But rest assured, he won’t be going alone.”
Basil’s eyes widened. “What do you mean? What are you going to do?”
“Go with him, of course,” Anon said. “It’s the most logical plan.”
Basil climbed to his feet and jumped up and down. “You traitorous bloodsucker! I knew I couldn’t trust you! You were supposed to talk him out of it. This is a disaster! How am I going to get him back to the kingdom in one piece to marry Princess Beyza?”
“What is it about you and this Princess Beyza?” Anon asked. “You seem very anxious to see them wed.”
“It’s what he’s supposed to do. It’s his duty. I don’t expect a bloodsucker like you to understand.” He hopped off the desk and stormed out of the study.
Anon watched him go and shook his head. “He’s so bossy.” Still, Basil made a good point.
Anon left the study and went in search of Rhaz. He found him in the dining room, sitting at one end of the table with his chin in one hand, looking despondent. “Why, Prince of Dragons, whatever is the matter? You look as though you’ve just lost your best friend.”
Rhaz sighed. “Basil is upset with me, and I cannot blame him. I need to talk to you about something.”
“I already know what it is,” Anon said. “Your gnome informed me.”
“He did?”
Anon took the chair next to him. “He wanted me to talk you out of looking for the Sarian.”
Rhaz nodded. “That doesn’t surprise me.”
“But it’s a good idea, and we should do it.”
Rhaz sat up straighter. “Of course I should.”
Anon smiled. “I said we. You and I. I’m going with you.”
Rhaz blinked. “You are?”
“Certainly. I can ride on your back. Between your night vision and mine, we can cover far more ground than either of us could alone.”
“Oh.” Rhaz considered that. “You’re right. That is a good idea.” He smiled. “We should wait until the crescent moon…”
“Let’s not wait at all,” Anon interrupted. “We’ll be fine. It’s secluded enough at Aaron and Betty’s house, and if we avoid town and any pockets of homes, no one will see us. But it will be a long flight if we leave from there.”
Anon left his chair and paced. “It’s either that or we drive closer to where the Sarian was last seen and take off from there. That’s probably the better idea. More secluded. Less chance of being seen.”
Rhaz nodded. “Let’s do that.”
“Very good. I’ll map out a route and inform the others at dinner tonight.” Anon turned to leave, then stopped. “Any particular reason you want to find the Sarian sooner rather than later?”
Rhaz looked at him, then toward the window. “If it’s coming here for the door, it could hurt people. Kill them. I do not want that. And I do not want any damage done to the door. It’s our only way home.”
Anon frowned. “There’s a problem with that, as you know. Even if you are powerful enough to somehow open the door, Caelen, Jackson, and Aaron, won’t take advantage of it. Their mates are human. They can’t go through.”
Rhaz’s gaze dropped to the tabletop. “Quill mentioned that. I’d forgotten. But you could go through.”
Anon shook his head. “I won’t. I won’t leave them here to fend for themselves. It’s not right.”
“What about Quill? He could go through,” Rhaz suggested.
“True. But then he’d return to his realm and have to explain why their prince and first knight failed to come home. Caelen’s parents might kill him. Who knows? Fae are fickle that way.”
“I see,” Rhaz said. “Well, at least the door will be protected. And I suppose that if Aaron, Basil, and I can make it home?—”