Page 79 of The Beauty and the Griffin

“No! No, he can’t be!” I utterly fell apart, and by the time I recovered sense enough to speak through panic and tears, my voice was raspy. “Where? Where is he? He’s not in his office.” Usually, I could sense his presence nearby, though never too close.

But I couldn’t sense him anywhere.

My griflet tilted her head the other way. “He here, but not inside the palace.”

“He’s in the gardens! I’ll need a jacket.” Once I had a destination, my natural practicality kicked in. Well, partly. After pulling on my shoes and grabbing the first coat I saw in the wardrobe, I ran along the hall and downstairs in a fluffy fur coat and high heels.

A few dim lights appeared in the Great Hall as I passed through, but when I hauled open one of the huge double doors and slipped outside, only two of the lanterns in the circle drive flickered sporadically. Chicky had followed me downstairs, but as soon as she stepped outside, she cheerfully squawked, “Chicky has important job too. I be back!” then spread her wings and took off.

“What? Where are you going? Chicky!” I called after her.

She didn’t answer.

She didn’t need to. I got the point: finding the Gamekeeper was my quest. Was Chicky planning to join the battle at Faraway Castle? Or maybe she hoped to find Dodger and Win.

Shivering, I wrapped my furry coat close and came to the realization that I’d paid little attention to the palace grounds during my stay. Other than that morning’s hike and observing the griflets’ early training sessions, I’d seldom ventured out of doors since we arrived . . . however many weeks ago that was. Time was all jumbled inside my head.

Everythinginside my head felt jumbled.

“Think, Beatrice,” I admonished myself. Breathing deeply, I did my best to calm my heart and thoughts. How had I found the Gamekeeper in the past? At Faraway Castle, I’d always sensed when he was near.

But now, when I paused and tried to focus, I couldn’t sense him at all. The obvious answer was to move, but in which direction? Time was ticking past! Yesterday, Win had led me down the hillside that was now to my right, and nothing but pastures, stables, and meadows lay in that direction. Therefore, the gardens I had strolled through with the Gamekeeper must be somewhere to my left.

Nodding to reassure myself, I turned and started walking. My eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and I kept teetering along a downward slope on my stupid heels. Within a short time, I heard rustling ahead. “Hello? Can anyone hear me? I need help! I must find the Gamekeeper. He’s in trouble!”

The last thing I’d expected to hear was a chorus of squeaking. Cinder sprites? How could they possibly help me? Despite my doubts, I headed toward the noise and found a low barnlike structure with a sheltered area along one side. “Can anyone help me? Starfire?”

I nearly jumped out of my skin when a little voice answered, “Beatrice!” Then several voices cried my name, magically translating in my mind. “Beatrice, our friend! We help you.”

Through a small doorway at the base of a wall, cinder sprites trotted down a ramp, one after another, and clustered near my feet. Two white sprites were easiest to see in the near darkness, but a few others had white markings. “Starfire?” I asked hesitantly. How long did cinder sprites live?

“Starfire is away defending Faraway Castle, but I’m here,” a sweet voice squeaked.

I remembered that voice. “Comet?” Surprise turned my own voice into a squeak.

“Yes, and Midnight is in charge of things here.”

“Hello, Beatrice!” Midnight whistled a greeting.

“I’m here too,” Moonlight squeaked. “We came to help you.”

Those little baby sprites I remembered were adults now, of course.

“Oh, thank you!” My response was sincere, though I couldn’t help wondering how much help cinder sprites could offer.

“I’m Frosti,” the other white sprite informed me. “I’m pregnant, so I couldn’t go fight, but my sister Sparki and our husbands are also at the battlefront.”

“How about we all get reacquaintedafterwe find the Gamekeeper.” Midnight sounded impatient.

“You’re right,” Frosti admitted. “Beatrice must find him before sunrise. We don’t have long.”

I started in dismay. “What? There’s a deadline?”

“Yes,” Midnight answered. “Everyone, pair up and spread out. Whoever finds the Gamekeeper, sound the emergency alarm, and we’ll convene at your position.”

The chattering sprites began to organize themselves. “Beatrice?” Midnight flung back his silky bangs to peer up at me, his long, spiraled horns gleaming with magic. “Please come with me.”

He quizzed me about recent events while leading the way along garden paths that branched too often for me to keep track. Rime edged the plants we passed, and ice sometimes crunched beneath my cold, aching feet. “I thought winter didn’t touch the gardens here,” I grumbled, slightly breathless.

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