Page 35 of The Night Prince 2

“I won’t pass on whatever you say. I know you’re not speaking for him. We’re just talking.”

“And I won’t say anything to anyone either,” Elasha promised her. “Well, I think my uncle wants to hear all sides.”

The old woman’s head was bobbing. She was smiling again. She must be having nice dreams.

Cara’s eyes filled with hope. “If you say that then maybe the stalemate that currently exists will break.”

Elasha wanted that to be true. There had been growing tensions between humanity and the rest of the Empire. Helping them had brought the disparate people of the Empire together, had shown that they could do wonders if they worked together. If that ended in humanity pulling away from them then it would tarnish that success.

“We’ll see what happens,” Elasha said. “But that’s not really what’s on my mind though it’s why I can be here today.”

Cara drank more tea and waited for her to speak. Humans were always so quick to talk, but Cara reminded her of some of the older Aravae who used silence to their advantage. Yet Cara used it to show she was listening intently.

“Darcassan went to the ruins last night,” she said carefully. “And he didn’t come home this morning.”

The old woman let out a startled snort. But that was because the young man and girl had returned with drinks. The young woman put a cup before her. She peered down into it suspiciously.

“Is this tea? You know how I feel about tea: water gone wrong!” Gran pronounced.

“No, that’s why we got you coffee, Gran,” the young girl enunciated the word “coffee” carefully as if she thought the old woman wouldn’t know what it was.

“Oh, yes, though this looks a little murky,” Gran muttered.

“Put some sugar and milk into it,” the young man suggested. “It’ll sweeten it right up.”

Her gaze went back to Cara who had gone very still at her words, but then she abruptly leaned forward as if she were going to leap up from her chair. “Do you want me to ask the scouts if they’ve seen him?”

Elasha had considered this. “I don’t want to make a big thing out of this. He’s done it before, you know?”

Cara nodded. “Yes, but things have been strange in the ruins as of late.”

“Strange how?”

Cara bit her lip again as she considered whether to tell Elasha what she clearly thought of as Separatist business.

“We’re all in danger, Cara, if something is happening in the ruins because of the Under Dark. I’m assuming by strange that’s what you mean,” Elasha said.

“That’s just it, it’s been very quiet,” Cara said. “Too quiet actually.”

“What do you mean?”

“We can pretty much guarantee where and how many rifts will open during any given week. We’ve been keeping careful track,” Cara said carefully.

Elasha nodded. She had expected nothing less. “We have as well.”

“But your people don’t really go into the ruins as much as we do,” Cara objected with a shake of her head. “Yet those incursions have dropped to near zero.”

Elasha blinked and sat back in her chair. “That should be what we want, but…”

“But. Exactly. It’s not going to happen, right? The rifts are still going to keep opening and more creatures will come through. Not hordes of Leviathan maybe, but other things,” Cara agreed. “Yet there’s nothing. It’s almost as if–and I know that this is going to sound crazy–but as if they’re scared of something. You know how insects go all quiet when a predator is nearby?”

Elasha nodded. “You think there’s something scaring off the creatures from coming through?”

Cara nodded. “I do. I just worry about what could do that and if… if it has come through to Earth.”

At that moment, Elasha lifted her head and saw that Gran was staring at her steadily. A chill went down her spine. Had something come through? And had her brother encountered it?

Windows To The Soul

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