Page 15 of Searching for Thanksgiving

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“Paul, have you seen Morah this morning?” Morian called.

Paul Grove looked up from his tablet with a frown. He set it down and rose from his chair. A glance at the time on the tablet made him raise an eyebrow. It wasn’t that late, but Morah seldom slept in past eight. Of course, the kids did have a late night.

“No, I’ll see if she’s awake,” he replied.

Morian stepped into the living room with a concerned expression. She shook her head as she came to stand next to him.

“She isn’t in her bedroom. Her bed is messy, so I know she slept there. She’s not in the bathroom either.”

He chuckled. “She probably got up early to play with the other kids. She loves it when Pearl, Sacha, and Hope come to visit.”

“True, but she shouldn’t leave without telling one of us.”

He was about to reply when there was an urgent knock on the door. The knock turned to pounding before Paul could reach it. He pulled the door open and jerked his head to the side to keep from getting rapped between the eyes.

“Good morning?” he greeted.

“There is nothing good about it,” Vox growled.

Paul stepped aside as Vox, Riley, and…

“Oh, my,” he murmured when he saw Roam.

Vox glanced at his oldest son and shook his head. “Yeah, that is problem number two. I’m more concerned about problem number one right now.”

“Paul!” called a man from down the corridor.

Paul looked at the two men and petite woman hurrying towards him—and noticed that Cree, Calo, and Melina weren’t the only ones making a beeline for his door. A sense of dread built within him. Stepping aside again, he waited as more worried and confused parents arrived.

“Morian, is Morah here?” Cara asked.

“No. I was just telling Paul that she is missing,” Morian replied.

“What’s going on? And what happened to Roam?” Creon inquired.

Roam looked like he had been dipped in a barrel of molasses. His white and black-striped fur had sticky spikes, some with odd-shaped twists that looked like the top of a soft-serve ice cream cone. The strangest part was that the twists were moving. Paul felt a pang of sympathy for the young boy.

“Where’s Jabir and Bálint?” Vox muttered suspiciously.

“Looks like the worms caught the cat this time,” Spring said.

Roam released a low, menacing growl. Spring sniffed disdainfully and tossed her white-blonde ponytail before walking into the living room. Paul suppressed his amused chuckle. It was obvious that there was a lesson involved somewhere, and it involved the sticky mess Roam was currently in.

“Has anyone seen Sacha and Pearl?” Riley asked.

“And Hope,” Melina said.

“James is missing, too,” Cara replied.

“Leo’s gone as well,” Tina added.

Paul silently counted the children. All the big kids were here, but every one of the little ones was missing. He silently reached out for his and Morian’s symbiot, Crash. It feigned ignorance but couldn’t hide its amusement. Paul’s dragon was chortling too.

“It isn’t like Hope to just disappear like this,” Cree was saying.

“Leo never misses a meal. What is going on? Does this have anything to do with Ha’ven and Vox declaring war yesterday?” Viper demanded.

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