Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 129584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
“I mean, I can get on the web and see if anyone caught something, but that’s kind of a needle-in-a-haystack approach. Plus, at this early hour, there are very few potential witnesses.”
She was right. Sora had no faith in that idea.
His mother caught his face with both hands, looking him dead in the eyes. Her outrage was only matched by her concern. “Breathe, my son. We’ll find him.”
“I’m breathing,” he assured her quietly.
“I know that look. You’re about to head to Prague and tear the city apart with your bare hands.”
How well she knew him. Sora was ready to do just that. “You say that as if it won’t grant me results.”
King Chalo cleared his throat. “Before we start tearing apart important landmarks, let’s try a different approach. Consort Cameron, you say Ravi is under a ward, that’s why your seeking spell isn’t working. You sure of that?”
“It’s just a guess, but it’s a reasonable one.” Cameron shot Sora an apologetic look before tacking on, “Even if Ravi were dead, the spell would still work. It would behave differently, but it would still take us to his body. The spell is acting now as if the target doesn’t exist at all. It can’t seek what we’re targeting. It’s flat not working. I can’t think of anything but a ward that would interfere with the spell.”
Lisette stepped forward for the first time, clearing her throat to catch their attention. “I agree with this assessment. I had them do the search as it’s a Noh spell. There’s certainly not a better seeking spell.”
Ah, true. A Noh’s seeking spell had always been superior. But that meant they’d already used the very best method, only for it to fail. Sora felt nauseated at that realization.
The Earth Dragon King once again interjected. “But that won’t stop us from searching for him.”
Everyone looked at him blankly.
With some asperity, he asked, “You lot do remember that we have our own methods of speaking to the earth? As long as Ravi’s touching the ground, and we’re within a certain range of him, we’ll be able to detect him.”
Sora latched onto his arm, his grip tight enough to be painful. The hope renewed at those words was dizzying. “How close do you need to be?”
“My personal best was 600 kilometers, and I’m one of the best in my clan at this. Sahan said he disappeared just outside of Prague. I say, let’s go to Prague, pick up Ravi’s trail from there.” He gave Sora a quick smile, although it looked tight and forced. “We’ve lost too many mates as it is. We won’t see the two of you suffer that loss. Alric, how many can you spare?”
“If you really think a single dragon is staying at home when Ravi’s been taken?” King Alric shook his head. “Then you’re mistaken. We have a destination of sorts, let’s go.”
Sora had never been so glad to hear those words. People started racing out, calling to each other, and only sometimes by phone. He was practically on their heels, ready to race out with the rest of the rescue party.
His mother’s hand stayed him, although she was practically vibrating with the urge to move, as well. “Don’t forget your bag, he might need medical attention.”
A disturbing thought, but a good reminder. “I’ll fetch it.”
“And, Sora, promise me. No matter what happens, don’t be rash.”
Sora couldn’t even manage a smile, didn’t try. “Sorry, I can’t promise that.”
“No,” she said, understanding. “I don’t suppose you can. Let’s focus on bringing Ravi home. You two owe me grandchildren.”
“We want four, you know.”
Her eyes lit up for a moment. “Four? Really? Oh, in that case, we definitely need to get him back quickly. And you two bonded. I’ve waited quite long enough for grandchildren.”
The vision of that future scene danced quickly through his head. Sora wanted it so desperately that, for a moment, he could barely breathe.
“If I have my say, we won’t have to wait very long at all. Let’s go find Ravi.”
“And kick some Jaeggi ass.” She nodded in agreement, then spun on her heel, stalking out of the room. “They don’t know who they’re messing with, clearly.”
That, at least, brought a smile to his face. No, the Jaeggi had no idea the fury they’d just unleashed. It wasn’t just the Burkhards they were tangling with, not anymore. And Sora would take great delight in proving it to them.
Ravi woke to the sounds of screaming. He was only partially grateful they weren’t his own screams. The sounds were sharp and shrill, wrung out from great pain. They seemed to echo and bounce off stone, coming from both men and women.
They didn’t sound familiar at all, which was a small consolation. His clanmates weren’t the ones screaming in pain and terror.
One person’s cries were cut off sharply, and a chill skittered down Ravi’s spine. He knew, without anyone needing to tell him, that the person had died. Another person who had been screaming let out a whimper and then fell silent, too.