Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

To say I was nervous about Will leaving was an understatement. Will and I walked out of the dining room and discovered our first guests standing in the foyer. Allard stepped forward and bowed his head to Will. “I would like to offer my services to help your people.”

Will smiled and nodded. “I would be grateful for your expertise in any sicknesses.”

“And I offer you my nose!” Ware chimed in as he lifted his schnoz. “We will find those rodents and dispose of them forthwith!”

“I had hoped you would remain here and protect Rose,” Will admitted.

Vargas scoffed. “As though there is any need for more than just me.” She made a point to flicker her eyes to Enna who sauntered into the foyer behind us picking her teeth.

“I’m going to earn my pay whether you’re here or there,” Enna warned her as she leaned her shoulder against the dining room entrance door frame. “So you may as well go with them.”

Vargas turned her nose up at her competition. “I will remain. You do not know our foe like I do.”

I hope she doesn’t learn I thought to myself.

“Regardless of the tasks, we will return before sunset,” Will promised us as he turned and grasped my hands. “Stay inside.”

I nodded. “Only too gladly, and I’ll make sure the window stays shut this time.”

He pecked a kiss on my forehead and reluctantly released me. I was equally reluctant to let him go as the other two and Will left. We three women followed them outside where the men turned to us. My eyes widened as wings sprouted from all their backs. Gray for Ware, brown for the good doctor, and my Will’s beautiful red. He gave me an encouraging smile before he leaped into the air. The other two followed him.

Vargas took a couple of steps onto the driveway with her eyes glued to the sky and one gray-winged dragon in particular. “You be careful, you old fool!” Vargas shouted. Ware lifted his arm and waved before they disappeared over the tops of the trees.

A small laugh came from behind us, and Vargas and I turned to find Enna now leaning against the frame of the front door. Her bemused gaze lay on the dragon. “I’ve never seen a dragon that smitten with another one. I thought you guys were supposed to look for mortals?”

Vargas lifted her nose. “I have no doubt you have seen very little of the world, what with your short lifespan.”

Enna didn’t look the least bit riled as she nodded at me. “Careful with those words. You’re insulting the lady of the house, too.”

The corners of Vargas’ lips tightened. She balled her hands into fists and marched past Enna and disappeared into the house. I remembered my promise to Will and only too gladly followed Vargas inside. Enna stepped in and shut the door behind us.

Vargas marched up the stairs and into her bedroom where she slammed the door. The echo hadn’t died down yet when I turned to Enna. “So. . .what now?”

She shrugged. “Now you don’t try to run away like last time and we get through this without any fuss.” I folded my arms over my chest and swept my eyes over the room. Enna frowned at me. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to figure out what I can do while waiting for Will to get back,” I mused as I sauntered around the foyer.

She walked over to a chair set against the wall near the door and took a seat. “Sitting still is a good idea.”

“It’s not easy doing that when someone out there you love is doing work that might be dangerous,” I countered as I stopped beside one of the beautiful tapestries that graced the wall. It showed a hunting scene where dragons preyed on wild boar. I paused and turned my head toward Enna. “Aren’t you worried about those two guys who are with you?”

She scoffed. “Blake and Saber? Those two can take care of themselves.”

I frowned. “But one of those things that’s after me was seen near that girl. They might be in trouble if they keep tracking her.”

Enna’s eyebrows crashed down and she leaned forward with her arms draped over the front of the chair arms. “What’s that about the girl being tracked?”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure if she was being tracked but one of the things that attacked me came up to her after we found her.” I folded my arms over my chest and stared hard at the floor. “Or maybe it was after me and she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Which is it?” Enna questioned me.

My shoulders slumped and I bit my lower lip. “I think if I knew the answer to that question I’d know who was controlling those things.”

“What makes you think they’re not working on their own?” she wondered as she slumped in her chair. “Maybe they just don’t like you.”

I snorted and rocked to and fro on the balls of my feet. “Well, if they’re who we think they are then no, they wouldn’t like us.”

Enna’s eyes brightened and she sat up. “What do you mean by that? Do you know what they are or not?”

I tamped down a mischievous smile as I strolled around the room. “Yes and no. Will and I blasted that thing into a million little pieces but it looks like some of those pieces decided to come back together and get its revenge.”

“What exactly did you almost destroy?” she persisted as she followed me with her eyes.

Hook, line, and sinker.

I tried not to stare at her as I shrugged. “Just some ancient evil that even the elves couldn’t handle. Nothing really major.”

“Uh-huh,” was her nonchalant reply as she crossed her arms over her chest. “And this is what I’m supposed to be protecting you against? Something even those snotty elves couldn’t handle?”

I stopped and feigned thought before I nodded. “Yep.”

She glared at me. “That’s not something I signed up for.”

I sauntered over to her with my hands clasped behind me and an innocent look on my face. “That’s fine. We’re just going to need that coin purse back-”

“Oh hell no,” Enna snapped as she clapped her hand over where she’d hidden the money bag. “I’m going to earn this money and then enjoy it, and no ancient evil is going to stop me from doing that. Besides, you guys must’ve weakened it pretty badly with whatever magic you used on it. It shouldn’t be too dangerous now, right?”

I stopped at one of the windows on her left and stared out at the driveway. “I hope we don’t have to find out.”

“Then stop bothering me with what-ifs and maybe’s. . .” Enna grumbled as she sank into a morose silence.

That fun was spent. I folded my arms over my chest and wracked my brain for another idea. Another heavy tapestry hung nearby. It was big enough to hide both me and a large buffalo. That gave me another idea.

I gave my quiet companion a toothy grin. “Do you know how to play hide and seek?”

She lifted an eyebrow. “Yeah, why?”

“I just thought we could have some fun. I don’t know the house that well so I won’t have an advantage.”

She stared ahead and sneered. “I’m not playing any kid’s game.”

“What if I offered to be ‘it?’”

I saw a spark of temptation in her eyes. She turned her face away from me. “No way.”

I sighed and shrugged. “Alright. I’ll get Vargas to play with me and you can watch.” I turned toward the stairs. “Lady Vargas!”

There was a moment of silence before the bedroom door upstairs opened a crack. “What is it?”

“Did you want to play a game of hide and seek with me in the house?” I asked her.

She scoffed. “Why ever would I want to do such a thing?”

“Well, Enna won’t play with me so I thought maybe you’d be more fun than her,” I replied.

The door was flung open and Vargas marched out to the railing. “Of course, I would be more entertaining than that. . .that woman. I doubt she even knows how to play such a simple game.”

Bingo.

Enna leaped to her feet and glared at the lady dragon. “Of course, I know how to play such a stupid game! I just don’t want to!”

Vargas swaggered down the stairs with one hand on the banister and a smirk on her lips. “So you believe you would fail at it?”

“Even if I did I wouldn’t fail as badly as you!” she snapped.

“Then everyone’s willing to play?” I spoke up.

Vargas nodded. “I will do so if only to pass the time until the men return.”

Enna crossed her arms over her chest and gave a nod. “And I’ll do it just to prove that you’re lousy at the game.”

“And I will be ‘it,’” a voice spoke up and Raines appeared out of the dining room. His wrinkled hands and rolled-up sleeves told us he had just finished cleaning up the breakfast dishes. He rolled down his sleeves and nodded at the house around us. “The only rule is that you not leave the house. All the rooms are unlocked and available to you.”

I frowned. “But I offered to be ‘it.’”

He smiled and shook his head. “It would be far more challenging to you all if I was ‘it,’ My Lady. After all, I know all the hiding locations.”

A crooked smile slipped onto Enna’s lips. “Now this is starting to get interesting.”

Raines bowed his head. “Then we shall begin.”