Ajax took a deep breath, trying to reign in his temper, and bowed. Having all this power inside him made it harder for him to restrain his anger. It was difficult to cow down to anyone when he was the most powerful person in Rastella, aside from Sliver. “My apologies, Your Highness. It won’t happen again.”
“Father,” the Prince spoke up, trying to change the subject, “certainly the children and their mother could be quarantined to a bedroom. Place them beside me. I give you my solemn word that they shall not leave or be seen by anyone but myself.”
The King paused. “Fine, but only if you can devise a way to get them to the room unseen.”
Axel mouthed the words “thank you” to the Prince.
A loud commotion came from outside the tent. A moment later a soldier rushed in. “The dragon got away.”
The King slammed his fist down on the arm of the chair. “Well go after it!” he commanded. “Find it!”
As they walked back outside, Niv slid her satchel onto Ajax’s arm.
This isn’t right. Ajax pushed the thought toward Niv. He had never tried communicating with someone other than Sliver this way, but his power was growing, so he tried.
She whipped her head back towards him, looking stunned, and then nodded.
“Come, Blake, Nivara. We must go celebrate. My son is back from the dead, and he will be wed to the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. We must let the people know what a blessed day it is.”
The Prince placed his arm around Niv’s shoulders, ushering her forward. He turned and looked back apologetically at Ajax.
The sorcerer stood there in stunned silence. He had the power to alter all of this. He could rip the locks from the cages and free his friends and family in mere moments, yet he was standing here doing nothing. Once more, his companions were advising him to not lift a finger.
Axel ran to the cage that held Sinda and his children. He whispered a few words to each of them, kissed his wife through the bars, and squeezed Edwin’s and Veda’s hands gently. Tears were running down all of their faces.
Finally, Axel turned and started walking into the forest. Ajax looked guiltily at his friends. He opened his mind up to Neely. Stay strong. I will fix this. You shall never be abandoned. Tell the others.
She nodded, letting him know the message had been received.
The Prince stopped and spoke to one of the captains in the King’s guard. A moment later soldiers began carrying blankets to the cages, pushing them through the bars with the tips of their swords, careful to stay far from the dangerous monsters.
Ajax nodded to the Prince; at least his friends wouldn’t freeze tonight. Then he turned and hurried after his brother. “Where are you going?” he called to Axel.
He didn’t turn around. “Home. To see Mother and Father.”
Ajax ran up to him and shook him. “That’s it? They have your wife and kids!” he snapped angrily.
Axel raised his hand to strike him and then dropped it in defeat. “Do you think I don’t know that? What do you want from me? Should we just start a war in this world too and then find another one to mess up?”
“We have to do something.”
“Ajax,” he said, resting his hand on his brother’s shoulder, “I know. And we shall, but we need to plan this through. We have to be diplomatic. I merely need to convince the King that Sinda is not a threat. As much as I hate the separation it might be better to wait until tomorrow so each side can think more calmly.”
He watched as his brother walked slowly back in the direction of their home and didn’t follow. He was angry that his brother had let his family be taken. But also, Ajax felt that Axel deserved a few undisturbed moments with their parents. He stood there with the anger bottled up inside him, ready to burst.
He jumped as the satchel to the bag flew open. “Thank goodness,” the blue furry head said, popping out and taking a deep breath. “Do you have any clue as to how stuffy it is in there?”
Setting the bag down, Ajax pulled the hoosula out of the bag. He stretched. “Thank you,” he added appreciatively. “Now let’s go figure out a plan to save my brother…and the others too.” His stomach growled. “But first let’s find something to eat. And Niv really had better have been kidding when she said you only eat one meal a day.”
Ajax laughed, his anger diffused some by the good nature of the hoosula. Sky was right, they would come up with a plan. He would fix this. He just needed to clear his head, find Sliver, and together they would make everything right. After all he was a Maxwell, and that meant something.
Acknowledgements
There are so many people who assist me and give me inspiration and amazing feedback. Thank you everyone!
First off, thank you Rodney Smith. You terrified me as a child when you transformed into the Sandworm. Who knew years later the Sandworm would take form in one of my stories? Thanks for the inspiration, if not for the nightmares...LOL.
Thank you to my amazing editor, Courtney Johansson, for editing this in a time crunch.
Thank you Eden Sanchez. You inspire me every day to work harder. I am so proud of you and of all of your accomplishments.
Also, thank you to my son Maximo. You wanted dragons, I give you dragons. Thanks for being my most enthusiastic beta reader. I loved it when you were disappointed if I didn’t finish writing a chapter. It was encouraging to see you enjoy the story and characters so much.
Thank you to all my other beta readers: Dawn Potter, Kiora Nield, Teri Cisneros, and everyone who read and gave me feedback on The Portal Keeper. You helped me more than words can say. Thank you!
And a special thanks to my youngest beta reader, Jack Cisneros. I loved your enthusiasm. Thank you for your support!
I also need to thank my PR agent, Kyler Sanchez. He might be the youngest agent at age nine, but he never lets an opportunity pass him by where he doesn’t promote my book. Thanks buddy!
And always, thank you Mom! For reading, editing, and giving me lots of support.
Thank you so much to all my readers! You are the reason I get to spend my time doing something I am passionate about. Please don’t forget to go review The Portal Keeper on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, or any other review site. It means the world to me.
I love to hear from readers. Drop me a line at [email protected].
Check out my blog: www.authorstsanchez.blogspot.com
The Portal Keeper – Alternate Cover Design by Maximo Sanchez
Don’t Miss S. T. Sanchez’s epic YA series The Sunwalker Trilogy
Book 1
SUNWALKER
Book 2 Coming 2018
NIGHTWALKER
The Portal Keeper Page 25
