deep breath. He didn’t want to answer that. He tried to think of some possible answers that wouldn’t give her away. “Argh…”
Lord Barnus pushed his injured arm further in an unnatural direction. The pain cascaded down his spine.
“She would’ve taken him to Shishkameen,” He cried!
“Why?” Valance asked.
“She thinks she’ll find something there that’ll heal the boy.”
“And what would that be?”
“Red Leaves.” Bedic whispered.
Valance laughed. “She thinks Red Leaves is still there? Why would she think that?”
“Because I taught her through her childhood that it was still there, Bedic admitted.
“Why?” Valance asked.
“I wanted her to have something concrete to believe in. Something tangible. And…” He paused to think of how to phrase his response. “I wanted her to be proud of who she was and where she came from. It's not easy growing up different from everyone around you. A Botann in a Zoen country doesn’t make for an easy childhood.”
“Interesting,” Valance added. “Well perhaps, we should go find her.”
That was what Bedic was afraid of. “She doesn’t know anything. She’s acting on a stupid lie that I told her as a child and never corrected as an adult.”
“And what of this Handers fellow? Did he believe your daughter? Was he interested in finding Red Leaves?”
Bedic thought carefully about how to answer. He didn’t want anyone to get hurt. “He forbid my daughter from reading stories from the Old Books to his son. I don’t think they shared the same beliefs.” He struggled. If he said nothing more, this Lord Valance and his mercenaries would probably go after his daughter instead of Raj. And what would they do to her once they found her? The thought filled his heart with dread. But if he said more, they might choose to go after Mr Handers. This was unfair.
“Yet…” He had to protect his daughter. That was his first and highest obligation, wasn’t it? He thought. “He was particularly interested in a certain book while he was here.”
“Which book?” Valance asked.
Whiting let the old man sit up enough to point out. Valance followed Bedic’s trembling outstretched hand to a large book sitting on a pedestal. He closed it to see the cover. It was a green leather with an image of the Token engraved in the center.
Valance spun back to Whiting and motioned for them to go. “Tie him up!” He looked at Bedic before heading out the door. “Lets go find them shall we!”
-
Sinesh stuck her head out past a heavy wooden door that she had cracked open and scanned the hallway for adults. Nothing in either direction. She had heard some yelling and load banging and wanted to see what was going on. She’d never seen a Cleric yell before and thought that might be kind of fun to see.
She tip toed into the hallway towards the noises. A muffled voice echoed off the stone walls from around a corner. "Stay away from her! She doesn't know anything about this!” That was her Grandpa. She’d never heard him raise his voice like that. Her tip toeing turned into a quiet run.
She heard another voice from the same place, much younger. “Well, It wouldn't hurt to ask, would it?” It didn’t sound like any of the Clerics she knew.
She made it to the corner of the hallway and stopped. The loud footsteps of boots bounced off the walls. It sounded like there was a bunch of people. And they were leaving.
She peaked around the corner. “Gah!” She covered her mouth to stop herself from making too much noise and whipped her head back around to safety. Her Grandfather was all tied up, and they were dragging him down the hallway. Why would they do that? She wondered. She could hear his muffled screams.
She could feel her heart racing inside her chest. It was telling her what to do. Grandpa needed her. And she had to help. She waited until she could barely hear their footsteps then turned and followed them down the hallway.
-
Emret watched the massive columns of the Botann Clan’s Palace as they grew from small sticks in the distance to great towers above them. Moslin was pushing his wheel chair at a quick pace. He didn’t think she like the idea of being out with him at night.
Moslin slowed as they passed under the towering entry way ceiling held up by the giant columns. It was certainly an intimidating way to enter a building. Not the friendly welcome he’d hoped for.
Before they reached the massive wooden doorway, it creaked open,