Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 444

Chapter 444: Come out, come out wherever you are
Ford could tell Mia was anxious, and increasingly so every moment.

His own emotions rose with hers, hoping that she wouldn’t drive herself into the horrid state she’d suffered in the jeweled forest.

He couldn’t bear watching that again.

They were all straining their ears to hear what was happening above, but judging from the others’ expressions, no one else was making much more sense of things than Ford was.

Until a call came from above.

“Ford! Grandpa! Martin! Could you come up here, please? And… if you know where Denholm is, could you bring him along as well?”

It was Anaisa’s voice. Ford glanced at Mia. The only people not called to the top of the bed were her, Princess Sapphira, and Trace.

It wasn’t hard to figure what the summoned people had in common.

“Don’t go,” Mia whispered, clenching her hand around Ford’s. “Please don’t leave me.”

“Stay here,” He told her. “Don’t you trust Anaisa?”

He didn’t like leaving her behind, but the call was extremely specific. There must be a reason for the others to stay behind, to not be seen.

And Ford wanted Mia to be as safe as she possibly could be.

“Denholm is behind that curtain,” Mia pointed. “He’s dangerous. Very, very dangerous.”

The warning was a strange one, but Ford nodded slowly at Mia’s serious tone. They’d been together for practically every interaction either one of them had ever had with the man, but she spoke as if she knew more about him than he did.

Perhaps she did.

“We’ll get him,” He promised her. “We’ll bring him up with us.”

If Anaisa needed Denholm, Ford would make sure the man made an appearance.

“Careful,” She whispered as he stood. Her perfectly blue eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, and he swallowed.

Leaning forward, he put his free hand beneath the hair at the back of her neck, and pulled her a little closer, pressing his lips to her forehead.

Hopefully that didn’t violate the spirit of his promise to Seth.

Mia wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly in a farewell, before turning to hug Grandpa as well.

Martin looked unsure about whether he wanted to comply with the request that he head up to the bed to meet the powerful being.

Ford looked at them and held out his hands.

“Denholm’s over there,” He said quietly. “We’ll go get him first, while he can’t see us. We might have to restrain him to drag him along.”

Martin sighed heavily, and held out his hand.

“If that monster’s gonna off us, at least we get to take that idiot along,” He took Ford’s hand as Grandpa took the other.

Ford cast a last, longing glance at Mia before activating his magic.

The three men vanished, and Ford led them to the curtain Mia had indicated next to the window.

He wondered what had prompted her to look for the man, and what accounted for the serious look in her eyes when she’d called Denholm dangerous.

There was no further talk from above. The group seemed to be waiting.

Waiting for them.

Hopefully this slight detour to get Denholm wouldn’t take long enough to anger the Emperor. The trio of men moved along with coordination, trying to create a circle around the area as much as they could while still holding hands to keep track of each other.

Ford thought the curtains must be decorative, since there was no sunlight in a cave. The curtain itself, where it brushed the floor, had enough room behind it to hold at least a dozen men and keep them out of sight.

Denholm might not be able to see them coming, but once they began moving the curtain to find him, he was liable to bolt.

Was that good, or bad? Perhaps he’d already started moving.

But there was no other hiding place to get to without going into the open first, which was to his great disadvantage… unless he tried climbing the curtain to the window, but then what could the endgame be? Trying to climb down the smooth outside of the castle?

Ford stopped trying to account for every possibility and focused on coordinating the men he held in silent invisibility. It would be best, perhaps, to come at the curtain from both sides, but that would make it harder to keep track of each other.

Ford squeezed Grandpa’s hand, and pushed slightly towards the far side of the curtain.

Since Martin had seemed reluctant to head up to the top of the bed, Ford figured staying with the miner was the better choice.

Grandpa seemed to understand the assignment and released Ford. How fast the old man would move into position was anyone’s guess, but Martin and Ford continued towards the nearer side of the fabric.

Hopefully Grandpa would only be needed to prevent an attempted escape, and not to actually take Denholm down. The evil man was strong, and a good fighter.

Gently, Ford moved the curtain aside, and peered behind it.

Darkness. The curtain was thick enough to keep out most ambient light from the room’s lamps.

Should he open it wider to let in as much light as possible, or sneak in for the element of surprise?

Ford chose the latter, bringing Martin in with him.

Their advantage of invisibility was all but moot back here, but at least they were silent. Ford listened carefully for breathing.

In the quiet, he thought he could pinpoint it. Martin seemed to as well, because the old miner moved forward, pulling Ford along with him, then suddenly letting go.

A grunt broke the air, followed by one-sided sounds of a struggle. Ford couldn’t see well enough to pitch in, but on the other side of the sounds, someone was moving the curtain aside to let in the lamplight.

Denholm was sitting on something on the floor, holding a short blade in his hand.

“Drop your magic, Ford, or I’ll kill.”