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MISSING

Kale sat on a log and watched her father roam the periphery of the meadow one more time. He meandered, examining the vegetation as if the trees and flowering bushes hid something important. Of course, according to him, they did. She and her father had come through one gateway moments before, and another gateway, her father claimed, existed within a few feet.

Her father beat at a prism bush with his staff. The multicolored blossoms refracted the light and sent rainbows dancing around the clearing. “Gateways don’t dissolve into nothing.” He moved on to push aside a fragrant bush’s heavy branches.

“No, not usually,” agreed Kale. She stared at the band of gold encircling a finger on her left hand, then glanced over her shoulder, half afraid the gateway back to her husband would disappear too.

Sir Kemry cleared his throat. “Well, send your dragons out to help in the search, Kale.”

“Oh, of course.” She stood and spread the front of her cape open.

Six dragons crawled out of their pocket-dens and took flight. Kale put her hand on the blue scarf she used as a belt around her waist. Under her tunic, six more dragon eggs rested against her skin. They would quicken and hatch within a month. Now she had other things to attend to.

Her father might not be able to pick up on her instructions to the dragons. Kale wasn’t sure how much he followed her mental conversations with the little beasts. She addressed the dragons aloud, even though she knew they understood her mindspeaking more accurately. How could they confuse the word gateway? And it was important her father understand what she was doing. “Help us find the second gateway. It’s around here somewhere.”

They circled her head, chittered at one another, then proceeded to swoop and careen around the forest’s edge.

Kale gestured at the smaller trees and waist-high bushes. “Pat says this is new growth.”

Her father stood and put his hands on his hips. “Yes, the clearing seems somewhat smaller than when I was here last. We shall step into the foliage a few feet, search for the gateway once around, and then step another foot deeper into the forest for another round of examination. Methodically, we should be able to locate the gateway.” He started into the forest. “Kale, you take that side, and I’ll take this.”

Kale clutched her skirts close and then released the material. Poking around the woods would be easier in a different outfit. She spun and attired herself in soft boots, leggings, a blouse and tunic, much like the uniforms of Paladin’s servants. Inside the fringe of the forest, she moved counterclockwise and bumped into her father within moments.

Sir Kemry laughed. “We’re going to have to develop our teamwork skills. Let’s start again. You go clockwise, and I will go counter. We’ll meet on the other side.”

Kale pushed down the first thought that came to her mind. She and Bardon would not have been so inept. Every move they made was synchronized. One barely conjured up a thought before the other knew it. She could pause for a fraction of a second and pinpoint his location. Bardon did the same. On the verge of such an important enterprise, why did Paladin expect her and her father to form a new bond? Wouldn’t it have been more efficient to use talent that was already meshed?

The minor dragons buzzed her head as they passed. Clearly, their cheerful moods were not diminished by Kale’s morose thoughts. Pat, she noticed, walked at her heels, chomping on bugs she stirred up from the undergrowth. Kale took care to avoid stepping on her small, round friend.

She and her father met on the other side of the clearing without uncovering anything resembling a gateway. They both stepped farther into the woods and made the second sweep in the older and thicker vegetation. Pat still foraged around her feet, and several of the other dragons passed her, occupied by their own search. She met her father again after pushing through the denser foliage.

“Right,” he said, awkwardly patting her shoulder. “Well then, the next round should uncover the hidden entry.”

Kale offered him a weak smile and started once more to search for the elusive gateway. Again Pat kept her company, but only two of the other dragons zoomed by. She felt a tremor of apprehension as she noted their frantic flight. With her mind, she scanned the area. She located her father and three of her little friends.

Father!

“What’s wrong?”

Three, no four! Four of the minor dragons are missing.

“What do you mean missing?”

Missing! Not here! They’re gone!

“What do the two who are with you say?”

Kale consulted Pat, who knew nothing. When she reached for the one remaining dragon, dismay wrenched at her heart. The last dragon in the air had disappeared. Pat flew to her shoulder and called out in a series of high-pitched squeaks. No response came from his comrades. He stamped his feet and called again. No answer. He spread his wings, and Kale caught him before he took off. “No, whatever has happened to them might happen to you too.”

Father, only Pat is with me now, and he doesn’t know where they went.

“I do.” Her father’s voice sounded in her mind with a deep tone of caution. “To your left, only a few yards away, is a creature cloaked against our discovering it. I can’t tell if it is ropma, bisonbeck, or grawlig.”

Kale sought the creature with her mind and found where it stood by the emptiness of the spot rather than by its presence. She waited, wondering if her father had a plan. With Bardon, she would not have had to wonder. She bit her lip, angry with herself for wasting thought on what couldn’t be helped. Her dragons were in danger.

“He’s moving.”

Yes, I know. Kale sensed the creature edging deeper into the forest. She stealthily followed and knew her father inched closer from the other side. We’ve got to catch it.

“I suspect it’s leading us to the gateway.”

The dragons are more important than that gateway.

“Calm yourself, Kale. Of course, they are. But I think if we follow our visitor, we shall find both the dragons and the gateway. Cover yourself with your moonbeam cape so it doesn’t know where you are.”

Kale took the necessary precaution and slipped as quietly as she could through the brush. Her father had also done something to obscure his presence. She had no idea where he was but assumed he advanced on their target from the opposite side.

The creature’s shield slipped and resettled around it. Kale thought she detected a ropma, but why would one of those gentle creatures snatch the minor dragons? It moved more quickly now, careless and nervous. The shield flickered as if the fugitive could not hold it steady.

Again her father surprised her. A surge of energy emerged out of seemingly nothing and covered their target. The faltering shield melted into a puddle on the ground, exposing an enormous ropma carrying a cloth bag. A vine sprouted at its feet and quickly trapped it by wrapping the ropma from chin to toes. The captured creature squealed and trembled, tears running down its hairy, unkempt face.

“No hurt. No hurt,” it begged.

Kale saw a claw slitting through the bag and knew her dragons would soon be free by their own efforts. As soon as the holes grew a bit bigger, she heard their indignation.

She nodded at the ropma, indicating the sack it clutched. “Bounty carter. You are supposed to soak the material every night to keep it from getting brittle. Your bounty carter still contains the sounds and scent of your prey, but it is not strong enough to keep them from breaking out.” She stepped forward and placed a soothing hand on the distressed ropma’s arm. “Who gave these to you? Who told you to catch dragons?”

The ropma shook his head, matted tresses of hair swinging wildly about. “No, no tell. Mean woman kill.”

“Kill you or kill the dragons?”

The ropma ceased all movement while it considered this question.

A smile lifted his lips, indicating he had come to the answer of the puzzle. Then he frowned. “Me.”

Sir Kemry spoke. “We are mighty wizards. We offer you our protection.”

Startled by the sound of his voice, the ropma stiffened, with eyes widened and fists clenched. The creature’s face folded into a hideous scowl.

Kale patted the ropma’s shoulder. “We’ll help. We’ll keep you safe. Mean woman no kill.”

The ropma relaxed, and with a distrustful glare at Kale’s father, handed the friendly young woman his prize bag.

“Little dragons pretty, but no want. Bite. Bite hard. Hurts.”

“Yes, they do.”

“Spit. Bite and spit. No want.”

Kale tore open the hole in the cloth carter, making it easier for the disgruntled dragons to climb out.

“Does the mean woman have lots of dragons?”

The ropma’s head bobbed with vigor. “Lots. Big. Little. Lots.”

“Well,” said Sir Kemry. “It looks like we shall have to turn aside from our quest to perform a rescue.”

Kale snuggled Metta under her chin. She totally agreed.