Gone

After the meeting with the others I headed upstairs to prepare for bed. When I drew near the room, I could see no candle light shining under the door.

Looks like Zac already went to bed.

I unlocked and opened the door, yawning as I kicked off my shoes and sat down on the edge of my bed. It was only then that I noticed a distinct lack of snoring, and I glanced up at Zac’s bed.

He was gone.

“Zac?” I called out in a panicked, cracking voice. “Zac!”

The door to Elora’s room burst open, and she stood in the doorway in a black night robe. “Is he missing?” she asked, her tone as panicked as mine.

“He’s not in our room… ZAC!”

I hurried downstairs, the sound of my pounding feet like bricks rolling down the steps. Benji stood in the tavern area, concern wearing his brow. “Zac’s gone?”

“Yes!” I cried.

Benji crossed the room to me in an instant and clasped both of my shoulders in his hands. “You search outside. I’ll check the cellar and the rest of the inn.”

I gave a brief nod and hurried out the back door, knowing that Zac couldn’t have left out the front unnoticed. The moment I stepped outside, ice-cold rain pelted my face and soaked my shirt. My bare feet stuck in the freezing mud, and my eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness.

“ZAC!”

Someone bumped me from behind and my spirits soared for a moment, until I turned and saw that it was Elora and not my son. She held out a leather strap with a glowing stone in the middle.

“Here. Wear this,” she said. I fastened the band around my head, letting the light from the stone guide my way. Elora did the same. “You go that way, I’ll go this way.”

Following her instructions, I headed down the eastern street, toward the river and the bridge. Over and over I cried out his name, and as I did lights came on in the homes on either side of the street. Neighborhood dogs barked and scratched at fences. Soldiers patrolling the streets turned and gave concerned looks.

My mind was swimming with all the terrible things that could happen to Zac if I didn’t find him. Avery’s brother might have snatched him up. Or maybe the snake from earlier returned. Some wild beast could attack him and he’d be helpless.

The river… I bought him that new toy boat. Maybe he went to the river to play with it…

I quickened my pace, heading straight for the bridge. “Zac! You’re not in trouble, please answer!”

“What are you doing yelling in the middle of the night?” bellowed a voice from nearby. The source was a Tagrosi soldier in white uniform with a hooked nose and a pencil-thin mustache.

“My son’s missing!”

His face went pale. “Can’t find your little boy? Gods above! What does he look like?”

“Tan skin, dark hair, short… and he’s a seven-year-old out at night!” I moved to storm past him.

“Answers to Zac?” he said.

“Yes!”

“ZAC!” He cried out, taking one of the side streets. “Zac, your father’s looking for you!”

I continued on my way to the bridge, hoping I might find him there. Behind me, I heard more voices cry out Zac’s name. Within moments it seemed like the whole town, plus a significant number of Tagrosi soldiers, must have been looking for my boy.

By the time I arrived at the bridge, my clothes were completely soaked through and I could no longer keep my body from shaking. My voice was growing hoarse, but I held out for that slim sliver of hope that Zac would be there.

But Zac was not at the bridge, and when I stood there and peered down at the riverbanks in either direction I did not spot him.

Maybe he went back to the grove to climb the tree?

It seemed a long-shot, but the idea that he’d gone back to finish climbing the tree he’d almost climbed earlier wasn’t entirely impossible.

By the time I reached the grove fatigue had sucked the air from my lungs, and splashes of mud caked my legs up to my knees, both under and on my pant-legs. I called out Zac’s name again as I drew near, heading straight for that tallest tree we’d been climbing together earlier. With the deluge pouring down on my face, I peered up into the branches, trying to shield my eyes with my right hand.

No sign of him.

Damn it, Zac! Where are you?

In frustration, I threw out my fist and punched the trunk. The bark cut my knuckles, and the impact sent throbbing pain up through my forearm. I groaned and rubbed my hand, silently cursing the tree for its part in my injury.

“Ahv!” A voice called from behind me.

I whirled around and saw Piers approaching me, his uniform somehow unstained from the mud splashing up around him as he approached.

“Have you found him?” I asked.

He slid to a halt but a few feet away from me and struggled to catch his breath, his palms leaning on his knees. “No… but… I’ve got everyone… looking.”

“Umm… everyone?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said between gasps.

“Who’s everyone?”

“The whole army,” he said, standing up straight as he finally caught his breath. “You’re almost as hard to find as he is, you know.”

“Wait… so, you got Eon to order his soldiers to look for Zac?”

Piers gave me a most quizical look, as if I’d just asked him if there were a second sun in the sky. “No… word’s spread that a little boy is missing, so they volunteered to help look for him.”