Sylvia clutched Maddy’s note in her fist as she paced back to the inn. The villa had been empty, except for the hastily penned note set in the center of the kitchen table, which left a poor explanation to the girl’s younger sister. Sylvia was furious.
The note said that Maddy’s parents had been gone for much too long. It also said that Maddy was going after them; she was, after all, beginning to train in the family profession.
There were plenty of explanations for her parents not returning in time—the setback Sylvia was currently experiencing in her own journey would have been enough to convince Maddy not to leave. Delays in item production, washed out trails in the wilds, or even things like losing a pack had all set her back at least once.
Sylvia reached the inn and hesitated by the black door. How would Gloriana react to this news? Just the threat of her older sister venturing into the wilds had sent her to find help, to the place she knew other Riders gathered. How would she take her sister’s actual disappearance?
She paused with her hand on the door, but didn’t have long to think. A tall man lumbered down the alley heading for the inn—another Rider coming in from the wilds. She swung the door open for him.
He was haggard, his clothes and shoes in disrepair from far too many days travelling. He had a slight limp, too. She held the door open, and he grunted his thanks. She followed him inside, dreading breaking the news.
The man collapsed into a seat by the fire and Aurora brought him some hot coffee and several slices of bread, which he tore into as if he hadn’t eaten in days—which was entirely possible, if his journey through the wilds had been difficult.
She sidled over to Aurora, who had returned to her post behind the counter. Gloriana sat tightly wrapped in a blanket by the fire at the other end of the inn.
“She’s gone already,” Sylvia hissed to the innkeeper, trying to avoid Gloriana’s notice. Aurora put a hand to her heart and glanced at the little girl in worry.
“I’m going to try and find her,” Sylvia told her, already having made up her mind.
The stout woman’s brow creased in worry. “Are you sure? Why don’t you ask ole’ Jamesfeld to take a look for the girl?” The innkeeper jerked her chin to indicate the grizzly older man now warming his hands around his coffee cup and staring into the fire. “He’s from Lightcity. Bound to know the girl’s parents, anyway.”
“He looks like he’s seen a lot of the wilds lately,” Sylvia hedged, “and I don’t want to bother him.”
“Nonsense,” Aurora said, and raised her voice, “Jamesfeld! Come here a minute, I want a word with you.”
With no change in his sullen expression, Jamesfeld took a last gulp of his coffee, heaved himself back to his feet, and shuffled over, the limp pronounced as he navigated to the counter.
“What?” he grunted.
The innkeeper wasn’t troubled at all by the man’s gruffness. Completely unfazed, she dove right in and explained Maddy’s disappearance.
Sylvia, beginning to feel as if Aurora thought she wasn’t up to the task, jumped in once the innkeeper finished. “I was going to go and find her,” she offered, finding her voice weaker than she had intended when she looked into Jamesfeld’s lined and bearded face.
The older Rider let out what might have been a laugh or a grunt, Sylvia wasn’t sure. She saw Aurora give Jamesfeld a somewhat pleading look.
He cleared his throat. “I’m not going back out there,” he said bluntly. “There’s a pack o’ wolves gathered out to the west, between here an’ Riftcity. I couldn’t even get around ‘em—two of ‘em cornered me in a ridge where I turned my ankle,” he gestured needlessly to his foot. “I’m too old to go looking for a fledgling Rider, anyway.”
Aurora looked unhappy, and began slicing more bread forcefully on the wooden counter.
“Where’s she gone, anyway?” Jamesfeld demanded.
“We’re not sure,” Sylvia admitted. She gazed over to where Gloriana sat with her back to them, and felt her heart wrench.
She already had a plan. “I’m going over to the gate. Hopefully someone there can tell me where her parents were headed when they left—maybe Maddy will try to follow them.” Let’s just hope it wasn’t toward Riftcity and the wolf pack, she added to herself.