Draggah Read Free Page B

was bothering him so much about the encounter.  It was easy to simply point out the fact that he had been terrified.  She might have drugged him somehow, he reasoned.  It would explain the hallucination, and the fact that he ’ d passed out.
    “ Where the hell have you been? ” Brutas asked as he came around the corner.
    “ What? ”
    “ Father is looking for you.  It ’ s almost time for the final feast before the King leaves and you ’ ve been missing all day. ”
    “ Night has fallen? ”
    “ Uh, yes... where have you been? ”
    “ I wasn ’ t well, ” Leonosis said.  “ I took a nap. ”
    “ Well, you picked a perfect time.  I ’ m sure the King won ’ t mind if you need to retire early, ” Brutas scoffed.  “ You ’ d better clean yourself up, you look terrible. ”
    “ Tell father I ’ m on my way, ” Leonosis said.
    Brutas shook his head and hurried away.  Normally, Leonosis would never have permitted his brother to speak to him in such a fashion, but his mind was still on the Princess.  There were other explanations for what had happened, but the most worrisome involved magic and no matter how hard he tried, Leonosis couldn ’ t shake the feeling that the Princess was a witch.

Chapter 2
    Tiberius
    “ Gather our things, ” Tiberius said.  “ I ’ ll saddle the horses. ”
    “ We ’ re going after her now? ” Rafe asked.
    “ Of course we are. ”
    “ But we don ’ t even know where she went, ” Rafe said.
    “ It ’ s most likely that she went back to Avondale, ” Tiberius said.  “ She must have thought you were defeated in the Tuscogee last night. ”
    “ Alright, alright, but let me check on Olyva.  And we ’ ll need supplies as well.  We can ’ t just go rushing off and leave the tribe without guidance. ”
    “ I ’ ll take care of it. Just get your weapons and get back here, ” Tiberius said.
    He watched as his friend walked away.  He was so frustrated that he wanted to scream.  Lexi had saved their lives and made a huge sacrifice to leave Avondale with Tiberius, but Rafe acted as if she didn ’ t matter in the least.  If Lady Olyva had gone missing, it would be a different story, he guessed.
    “ Swanee, ” the Hoskali man who had been tending the animals said.  “ You are leaving the tribe? ”
    “ I have to go find my friend, ” Tiberius said.  “ She could be in danger. ”
    “ The Rogu will help, ” the man said.  “ They read the grasses. ”
    “ The Rogu? ” Tiberius said.  “ Who is that? ”
    “ Hunters, ” the man said excited.  “ Come, I show you. ”
    Tiberius wanted to stay and saddle the horses, but he decided that if the Hoskali had people that could help him find Lexi, he would be foolish not to include them.  The man smiled and spoke as they walked.  Tiberius could tell he was very excited.
    “ It is good to have a new Swanee, ” he said.  “ Moswanee was cruel, even to the animals.  I don ’ t think you have a shadow on your heart.  You have a sign of the Great Father on you. ”
    “ The Great Father? ” Tiberius said as he walked along beside the man.
    “ He makes the light shine in the sky and gives the healing rain, ” said the man.  “ You not know the Great Father, Swanee? ”
    “ You mean God?  Addoni? ” Tiberius asked.
    “ Addoni, means Great Father, yes, ” said the man.  “ I am Quntah, it means horseman in the old tongue.  I care for your animals.  Te ’ sumee leads the Rogu.  Te ’ sumee means shadow hunter. ”
    “ He can track animals? ” Tiberius asked.
    “ Animals, people, horses, ” Quntah said.  “ Te ’ sumee can track fish through the water. ”
    Tiberius smiled.  He was beginning to like Quntah.  They went to a part of the camp where a group of men slept out in the open.  Most of the tribal folk had shelters made from animal hides stretched over pliable wooden staves.  The shelters looked like giant mushrooms on the grassy prairie.  Some were only large enough