home to die?" He glared at her. "You sound like my father?"
"Maybe your father was right to begin with." She said.
He couldn't believe her. This was completely ridiculous. She brought him this far, she was so resolved to help him. And now? He turned his chair around and pushed into the crowd rushing back and forth along boardwalk.
"Emret! Wait." She followed. "You're not being fair. I mean, I brought you half way across the continent looking for help. If I had any idea where else to take you I would. But... I was wrong, and it wasn’t there. There’s nothing here to take you too," she finished, her voice trembling with emotion. "I don't know what else to do."
He clenched his fist. She doesn't know what else to do? He told her what else they could do. She's not listening. "Fine. You don't have to go. I'll take myself."
She grabbed the handle on the back of the chair. "Emret! Would you please tell me what's up in the mountains that's so important? How could you possibly know anything about the mountains here to begin with? You haven't talked to anybody but me?"
He wheeled his chair around.
"When I touched the lowest branch of the tree it took me there." He pointed behind them, "to that mountain side and showed me a little white stone sitting in the forest."
Several people in the crowd slowed down and looked at the boy as they passed. Another stopped completely.
"It was glowing like the sun. I could hardly look at it."
Moslin gave the gawking pedestrians a dirty look then grabbed Emret's chair from behind and wheeled him away.
He turned in his seat to face her. "I can't go home yet."
"OK." She half shouted as she tightened her grip on the back of the chair. "If I take you up there we're going straight home after wards. No complaining."
He nodded, "If it leads to nothing, I'll go home."
She lets out a frustrated sigh. "I can't believe I'm doing this."
Chapter
SEVEN
Handers hurried down the stone path through the forest underbrush. His mind wandered, filling with images of the white building he’d just seen. This path lead to that place, he was confident. But what he still didn’t know, even after all he’d seen, was the purpose of that place, or what it had to do with him, or even more importantly, what it had to do with his son?
He wanted to know who built it. It was obviously enough of an undertaking to be considered significant. That meant it was most likely not going to be left abandoned. And that meant the likely hood of running into to someone there was rather high. That made him terribly uneasy. How would these people feel about strangers showing up uninvited?
He held the little glowing Token, wrapped in its protective felt cloth, up where he could see it. He was putting so much trust in this strange little object. He hoped he wouldn't regret it.
A voice came through the forest behind him. "Sir! Mr. Handers, sir!" He spun around to the voice.
Rinacht hobbled over a few stones cropping up in the middle of the path as he hurried towards Raj as fast as his short legs would carry him. "I thought I'd never catch up." He stopped and curled over, breathing in gasps.
"Rinacht, what're you doing here?" Raj asked.
"I'm sorry I didn't realize you were that uneasy about the situation. You have a tendency to... dwell on the negative." Rinacht said.
"Yeah? Then its a good thing you came back to cheer me up. I feel better already." Raj joked.
Rinacht straighten up as his breathing eased. "If I'd known you were about to run off into the woods on your own I would've..."
"Made some jokes?" Raj interrupted.
"Well, does seem liked a missed opportunity." He smiled, wiping his brown. "I didn't come all this way to see you walk off into the woods by yourself."
Handers grabbed Rinacht's hand and pulled him into a half embrace. "Thank you." He turned back in the direction he was headed and continued down the path. "Not a lot seems to be going my way. It’s good to have at least one person on my side."
"There you go again. Dwelling on the negative." Rinacht jabbed.
-
Handers stopped suddenly. "Did you hear anything?" He glanced back at Rinach who was panting heavily behind him.
"Hear what?" Rinacht asked, happy to have the chance to catch his breath. He let out an over exaggerated exhale. "Woowh! And pointed his stubby legs, "these little