Page 61 of MidKnight
"Just a little further," Ryan whispered in my ear, encouraging me.
We traveled through the clouds, which were wet and unpleasant.
"Can we go around?" I whined as my dress got soaked and my toes turned into icicles.
Ryan's voice was warm on my ear, "No, Dearling. Just a warning, it's going to get slightly more intense before we get there. That’s why it’s taken my men and I a few days to get through."
I didn't have time to ask him what he meant before the clouds around us grew darker. The raindrops grew larger and more intense. Suddenly, a jagged streak of light flashed ten feet in front of us. The thunder that followed was a concussive force that made my ears ring. Blue scratched my chest as he scrabbled in fear. I put a hand over him, steadying him.
Ryan navigated upward; he flew us straight into the heart of a thunderstorm.
He carefully steered us through the dark clouds. The lightning bolts grew closer and more intense. The hairs on the back my neck stood up.
My jaw clenched. I wanted to yank the reins out of Ryan’s hands and pull us into a dive. I wanted to scream. But any of that might just lead us straight into a lightning bolt. All I did was clutch onto Ryan's massive forearm with my left hand, keeping the other over Blue. I slammed my lips together and forced myself to keep quiet when a bolt made my hair stand out all around me. One wrong move and we'd be burnt to a crisp.
Ryan yanked back on the reins, making our gargoyle head straight up. I fell into the hard planes of his chest as we tilted back and darted vertically through the sky. The only reason Ryan and I didn’t plummet to our deaths was because his giant legs were wrapped around the gargoyle’s belly in a death grip. We crested the clouds, exiting the storm, and then he brought us level again.
My heart lurched in relief that we were through the storm. My body nearly rebelled the swift change in direction. But I took a moment to breathe deeply before I launched a curse at Ryan, "What the hell—" my rant died on my lips as I saw where Ryan had brought us.
Floating on top of the white puffy cloud in front of us was a quirky wooden cottage. It had wooden plank and shingle siding, and the roof was curved in a low arc. It looked to be two stories; the second story was an odd mixture of windowed jetties that jutted out beyond the first story. The curved roof was coved in red tiles.
“How?” I asked as Ryan led our gargoyle to land on top of the cloud. Ryan didn’t immediately answer; he dismounted and helped me down. To my shock and amazement, the cloud’s texture was soft and spongy, like a very thick layer of moss.
“This is the home of the wizard who helped Quinn,” Ryan whispered.
“The thought beads?” I asked.
Ryan nodded.
Quinn’s beads were some of the best magic I’d ever seen. He’d had them since he was a kid and they didn’t fail over time, like most mage spells would. They didn’t fade with distance. Quinn and his spies could travel across the sea to Sedara and still communicate via thought. Each of my knights and I had a bead as well. Hope blossomed. I felt certain this man could help us recover my sister.
Ryan murmured, “I showed Quinn the mental image of the wizard after I found him. He confirmed it’s the same man.” Ryan gestured at the little cabin. “This house must have been what we spotted flying south after the attack. The wizard’s our best bet to ask about Avia. Even get help with Abbas. Or the dragon.”
Blue tweeted plaintively from inside my dress. I helped him wriggle out so he could perch on my shoulder.
The door of the cabin opened and a man with an eye patch and a long golden beard trailing his knees popped out. He was dressed in a bright yellow shirt and trousers that had been mended so often with so many colors that I couldn’t tell which ones belonged to the original pants. He only had one shoe on, and the shoe’s toe curved up into a point. He looked like a jester fallen on hard times.
“What’s the difference between a princess that’s lost and the lost princess?” the wizard called out instead of greeting us.
“I don’t know,” I told him as I looked up at Ryan, curious.
Ryan shrugged at me. I assumed that meant he hadn’t spoken to the wizard when he found him last time.
"I'm searching for one, you're searching for the other. Both will be found by a different brother." The old man gestured toward his door, waving. "Come in, come in, so we can begin.”
I whispered to Ryan as we walked toward the cottage, "Are you sure this is a good idea?" This wizard was obviously incredibly powerful, if he could levitate his home. But he didn’t seem all there.
Ryan nodded, “We’ve still got a dragon to fight, and Declan says wizards …” he trailed off as we reached the stoop.
I reached the old man’s steps and extended my hand delicately, so he could kiss it. “Thank you for inviting us in. It’s wonderful to meet you. I’m Bloss Hale, the Queen of Evaness.”
He didn’t take my hand, just widened his single eye and let his grin stretch ear to ear. “There is no need for royalty here, there’s nothing but loyalty here in the clouds, with only crows and snows and sunset glows allowed.”
I retracted my hand and pasted on my court smile, the fake one. This wizard either enjoyed speaking in riddles, in which case I was certain I’d soon have a headache, or he had lost his marbles. I hesitated, but Blue flew right into the living room.
“Oh, ho! Quite the friend you have! You like supernatural men, then? I’ve been called bewitching a time or two, it’s true.” The wizard winked at me with his good eye.
Ryan stiffened beside me. I just laughed. “I am looking for a man who can tame a dragon. Would that be you?”
