on their way home.
He and Sinesh followed the officer to the back of an enormous tent. They waited as the officer knocked on a post hidden beneath the canvas.
A soldier came out through a flap next to the post. The Officer whispered some instructions to him that he couldn't make out. He turned his attention back to Handers and beckoned he and Sinesh to follow him into the tent.
Was this where they were keeping Emret? Seemed a little extreme for a small boy. He noticed the soldier that the officer had whispered too didn't follow them in. He glanced back and saw the large Petra hurrying over to another tent. He wondered what that was all about.
The interior of the tent was impressive. The sheer size made him feel small and insignificant. Even the ground was covered with canvas. Tall posts topped with Oil lamps circled the outer walls of the tent, casting a warm light on a table and three chairs sitting in the middle.
The officer pointed at chairs. “Please have a seat.”
Hander sat down. Were they going to bring Emret in to him here? Was this somewhere they brought him to wait? Sinesh climbed up onto the high chair next to Handers.
The officer sat down across the table from them. "I'm sorry, tell my your name again?"
"Raj Handers." He said.
"And your missing child?" Asked the officer.
"Emret." He said.
"And you last saw him how long ago?"
"We noticed him missing a few hours ago." Handers said.
"And where were you traveling from?"
"Pipfe." Handers answered.
"And your destination?"
Handers hadn't thought about that yet. This wasn't working out to well. If they'd asked any of the same questions to Emret, they'd be entirely different. He didn't even know where the road they had been on led to. He was such a terrible liar. What about the small border village they just left. What was it called? Upper Archtlier? "Upper Archlier." He answered.
The officer looked up from his notes with a raised eyebrow. Not a common destination then, Handers guessed?
"And the nature of your visit?"
"We're visiting friends of the family. They just had a child." That sounded pretty reasonable. Maybe?
"I see." The Officer paused. "And your son was by himself when he wandered off?"
Oh, no! He forgot about Moslin! He hated lying, he was terrible at it. There were too many things to keep track of. What was he suppose to say now? Just add Moslin in? 'Oh yeah, Emret was with another lady who also happens to be missing, but I didn't mention it for some reason.
"Look, have you seen my son or not? I thought you said you could help?" Handers asked, working himself up to sound upset.
The officer put down his pen. He pushed his chair back and stood up. "I'm sorry Mr Handers we haven't seen your son." He walked away from the table.
Handers stood up too. "What do you mean you haven't seen my son? Wait! Where are you going? You just said you could help me! I know he’s here!" Handers was too tired and had gone through too much to play any more games. This was it. He wanted his son.
The Officer stopped and turned back to Handers with a smile. "And how would you know that?"
Anger stirred from within. Why was this so difficult? Who care if he couldn't tell a consistent story? He was just a boy, what did they want with him? They should be happy to get him back to his parents. "Where is my son? What's going on here?"
"Excellent question. What is going on here?" The officer folded his arms and waited.
Handers stared back at him for a moment then gave in. Fine! "You want to know what's going on? I'll tell you. That lady you have with my son kidnapped him from his hospital bed and dragged him half way across the world. I've been trying find them for almost a week.
"So now, I'd really appreciate it if you'd return him to my custody, so I can get him back to the hospital to resume his treatments, so that he doesn't die!"
The Officer took in a deep cleansing breath. "Aaah, now we're getting somewhere." He returned to the table. "What do you know of the small figurine the boy was carrying?"
"Figurine?" Handers asked.
“Yes, the small, broken fragment of stone that's shaped like a small plant.”
Bedic was right. Emret came looking for the Token! Unbelievable. Was that what the Petra were after as well? What would they want with it?
"He didn't have anything