“Stay away! I said stay away, you fiendish thing!”
The shriek came from my mother. The source of her consternation was the tiny creature that fluttered after her.
Caligo squeaked and flew low enough to brush his tiny, clawed feet against her hair.
Mom skidded to a stop in the middle of the hallway of the palace and stomped her foot on the floor. “You are just evil!”
The bat squeaked away. By this time, I was able to recognize an evil laugh when I heard one.
“Are you two playing again?” I teased as I strolled down the corridor toward them.
My mom glared at the flying critter. “This flying rat won’t stop trying to nest in my hair!”
I stopped at her side and studied her fluff. “Maybe he feels safe there. I would.”
My mom clapped her hands on top of her head. “Well, he can make a nest somewhere else!” She spun around to face me. “And speaking of nests, are you sure you want me staying here in your nest? You two might want some time alone.”
I snorted. “This place is so huge that an army could be staying here and I wouldn’t notice. You won’t be a bother at all.”
The little bat squeaked.
My mom cast a dark look at him. “What did he say?”
“He said he would miss you if you left.” The voice came from the other end of the hall. It was Cassian, and he wore a mischievous smile on his lips. “As would I.”
Mom crossed her arms over her chest and frowned, but her eyes twinkled. “You men are such awful flatterers.”
“Will my flattery allow me to take your daughter away for a moment?” he requested.
My mom tilted her head back and eyed him with a sharp look. “Of course, but you’re up to something. I can feel it.”
“You should get that looked at,” I teased.
I skirted her swatting hand and slipped around Cassian’s other side, where I grabbed his hand. “Quick, before she shows off how fast she is.”
I tugged him down the hall, but my mom’s voice echoed after us. “And I am most definitely faster than I look!”
“Squeak!”
“Oh! You hateful little thing! Stay out of my hair!”
“Squeak!”
“Gah!”
“Your Highness!”
We stopped a few yards down the passage and half-turned toward the entrance hall. One of the guards from the front gate hurried over to us. He held a card in his hand. “A dwarf wishes to see you.”
Cassian lifted an eyebrow as he took the card. “Thulak Barazul. What business did he wish to discuss?”
The guard shook his head. “He would not discuss the matter with us. He only said it would be ‘worth your while.’”
Cassian handed back the card. “Inform him I will meet with him later this evening, if he will but give the hotel where he’s staying.”
The guard bowed low at the waist. “As you wish, Your Highness.” And he hurried off to fulfill his command.
Cassian took the wheel and steered us into his study. He led me over to the large table where a map had been unfurled. “I was just going over the travel plans to Gorewood Marshes.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That really is a disgusting name.”
“A disgusting name for a disgusting place,” he confirmed as he brushed his hand over a large, grayish spot on the map. It was to the northeast of our location. “This is the location of the marshes. They are only a mile from the sea, and the salt water mixes with the dank marshland to create a rather inhospitable area.”
“So is it hard to get there?”
“No. The journey is quite easy.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Because there’s nothing there,” Cassian told me as he nodded at the featureless location. “It’s as fascinating as the rubbish heaps in the Morsden. There are a few ruins with the same markings as those in the rubbish heaps, but beyond that, there’s only the dank waters with their salty brine.”
I looked down at the paper. “There has to be something there. We just have to find it.”
A knock came from the door. Cassian frowned. “What is it?”
The door opened, and the same guard as before stepped into the room. “My sincerest apologies, Your Highness, but the dwarf will not leave. He insists on seeing you right now.”
“And that means at this moment!” a deep and yet high voice shouted.
A man of three feet strode into the chambers. He wore a luxurious silken coat over a lace-cuffed white blouse. Heavy boots with thick soles covered his feet, and were partly covered by his stiff leather pants. The dwarf had a head of shocking red hair that was tied in a braid and ran down to his waist, where it was tucked into his thick black belt. A plan tan satchel was strapped over his chest.
The guard grabbed him behind the collar and lifted him off the floor. “How dare you steal into His Highness’ office! How did you get past the other guards?”
The dwarf thrashed in his hold and only ended up spinning in a tight circle. “Put me down! Put me down, or I won’t tell you!”
“Put him down,” Cassian commanded his soldier.
The guard reluctantly did as he was bidden. The dwarf smoothed out the wrinkles in his clothes. “You need to teach your guards some manners, Your Highness.”
“How did you get past them?” Cassian inquired.
The dwarf puffed out his chest. “I’ll have you know I’m small, and I’m faster than I look. Does that answer your question?”
The guard glared at him. “No, but a long stay in a cell may give a better answer.”
The dwarf scooted out of his reach and around to the far side of the map table. “But I have something your king will want to see! Something he’s been searching for!”
Cassian held up his hand to the guard and studied the dwarf. “Have you been to the sands of Morsden and the mountain of Veridion recently?”
He wrinkled his nose. “Yes, and what a couple of wasted trips those were. And expensive, too.”
My eyes widened as I realized what Cassian was hinting at. This was the dwarf who had stayed one step ahead of us on our last adventure.
“I will speak with him for a moment,” Cassian informed the guard.
The man pursed his lips, but bowed and slipped out of the room.
The dwarf breathed a sigh of relief. “That man needs lessons against violating guests.”
Cassian clasped his hands behind his back. “I may call him in if I find that you’ve lied to me.”
The dwarf cleared his throat. “Yes, well, we’ll get down to business. My name is Thulak Barazul, and I have a proposition for you.”
I snorted. “We don’t need a vacuum cleaner.”
He grinned and dipped his hand into his satchel. “No, but you might need this.”
The dwarf drew out a Dreadwrought. My heart skipped a beat.
The dwarf wiggled it at us. “Well? Would you like to talk now?”
