Page 37 of Dragon Heir

Enna snatched the purse off the desk and untied the top. The others leaned in as she opened the mouth. Even from my distance, I could see the glisten of many coins.

Enna noticed the vultures hanging over her and pulled the drawstrings tight. “Back off, you fools. None of us gets to do anything with this until we’re done with the job.” She tied the purse to her hip and returned her attention to Will. “So what’s this all about? Kind of sudden for you to be missing a kid and everyone knows a dragon takes care of his bride.”

“This is a rather dangerous matter,” Will admitted as he leaned back with a frown on his face. “Rose has been attacked once already, and in our room. I expect another attack any moment.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “How’d something get past you?”

“It was small enough to fit through the window jam,” I told her.

Enna whistled. “That does sound like something hard to catch. What is it?”

Will shook his head. “Unfortunately, we don’t have the answer to that mystery, either. We only know that there is at least one another like it out in the woods and we suspect there’s more than that, but we haven’t proved it yet.”

“And this girl we’re supposed to be looking for?” one of the men spoke up.

“She’s about six and was last seen wearing leather pants, a tan blouse shirt, and leather sandals,” Will told him.

“And where was she last seen?” the other fellow chimed in.

“Outside this very house last evening,” Will revealed.

Enna lifted an eyebrow. “So why didn’t you catch her then? Getting slow in your old age?”

A faint smile teased the corners of his lips. “She vanished before any of us could catch her.”

The three hunters had a mixture of confusion and surprise on their faces. One of the men shook his head. “I don’t understand it, Lord Thorn. How could somebody just disappear without you following them?”

“That’s why I’m entrusting you to this task, Blake,” Will told him as he stood. “Saber and you have a difficult task ahead of you but I have faith that you will find something to point us in the right direction.”

Saber and Blake stood erect and gave him a lazy salute. “We’ll try our best, My Lord!” Saber promised before he prodded his elbow into Blake’s arm. “Now let’s get out of here and start looking.” Blake nodded and the pair stampeded out of the room.

Enna rolled her eyes at their raucous exit and marched over to the door they had left ajar. She shut it before she turned around to face me. The huntress folded her arms over her chest and looked me over. “You sure you want me to do this?”

I had to admit I had some trepidation about this setup but I shrugged. “We can try it. If it doesn’t work out then-”

“What is the meaning of this?”

Chapter Twenty-Two

The booming voice came from out in the hall and the study door was flung open. Enna leaped out of the way of the wildly swinging entrance but found herself hidden behind the wood as Vargas stomped into the room. She slammed her palms on the desk and glared at Will.

“What in the world are those ruffians doing here?” she snapped at him.

Will lifted an eyebrow. “You know them?”

She curled her lips back in a sneer. “Know them? Everyone knows the Bred brothers and their foul ways! How could you allow them into this house without having them arrested?”

Will resumed his seat in his chair and crossed his legs before he set his hands in his lap. “They are very useful for my purposes.”

“What hideous purpose could you have for using such nefarious fiends?” she questioned him.

Will lifted his chin slightly and met her gaze with a cool one. “We need men with their unique abilities to find that girl whom even Ware can’t track.”

“There is some witchery going on with that girl!” Ware shouted as he marched into the room and stood beside Vargas. “But I must also protest to your using those men. They are known thieves and worse.”

“Their resumes don’t include murder if that’s what you’re worried about,” Will assured them.

“But the theft of priceless artifacts and kidnapping is fine with you? How could you face any of their victims and tell them you allowed those fiends to run free?”

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