The Long Journey Home (The Legend of Vanx Malic Book 8) Read Online Free PDF Page A

is less graded than the slope,” Zeezle said. “Plus, that gets us to here.” He pointed at the “X” on the map. “This way, we get to avoid anything dwelling along the lakeshore.”
    “I have a feeling we will be getting our feet wet,” Vanx said, not mentioning the mirror. Zeezle, or Chelda had dropped it when the Paragon Dracus caught them. He doubted they knew he’d found it, and he hadn’tsaid anything. Using it had almost gotten them killed,
had
gotten Pyra and Kelse killed. It wasn’t to be misused; in fact, he didn’t even trust what he’d just seen—the portents had been changed so many times before.
    And now, he was wondering if he did just get away cleanly, as the mirror depicted.
    “Do we need to know something?” Castavonti asked.
    “Only that I have a feeling we will be getting our feet wet,” Vanx answered, but knew the response didn’t satisfy Zeezle. He turned to his Zythian friend.
    “The route you chose is the best.” Vanx shrugged. “But I think we will find traps and wards and all sorts of pitfalls and end up down by the water.” He shrugged again. “I had to piss in a hole in a rock to raise a stone door so Poops and I could escape the last place the crazy wizard sent me.”
    “Piss in a rock to raise a door?” Castavonti asked as if Vanx had gone mad. “Was there treasure?”
    “There was. There is treasure here, too. I’ve seen it…up here.” He pointed to his head and gave Zeezle a knowing look that said, just trust me. “Now let’s get moving. If we make haste, we can get to the wizard’s mark by nightfall.”
    Just then, the “Chuk! Chuk! Chuk!” sounded again, only this time it was far closer, and before anyone could stop him, Sir Poopsalot, tore off after it.
    “At least he went in the right direction,” Zeezle joked sarcastically as he broke into a full run to try to catch up with the dog.
    Vanx started after him but called back over his shoulder, “Come on! Let’s not get separated.”
    A moment later, Chelda had caught up with Vanx, her long legs eating up twice as much ground as the others’ strides.
    “Lag back and don’t let anything happen to our sea mage,” Vanx told her. “But don’t lose me, either.”
    “Whoa!” they heard Zeezle yell. “Get away from that, Poops. Vanx, come on, man! No Poops! NO!”
    With that, Vanx was running toward Zeezle’s voice as fast as his legs could carry him.

Chapter Eight
    Sometimes you get the radish stew;
    sometimes you get the pie
.
    Sometimes you get your heart’s desire
,
    and then someday you’ll die
.
    A s he ran, Vanx submerged himself in Poops’s senses and found that there was some strange wolfish creature stuck in a tree.
    It wanted down, but Poops was barking up at it. It was what the human hunters of Highlake and the other wild parts of Parydon, who used dogs regularly, called “treed.”
    Vanx tried to ease the dog’s anger but only managed to turn the barking into growling. The thing was growling right back down at Poops, too. By then, Vanx had come up to the scene in person and saw that it had a long, ringed tail helping to hold it in the tree. Its body was thick and coonish but the size of a small bear. Its head had a slightly elongated snout, full of teeth like a wolverine’s or a badger’s. Its fangs bared, it wanted to be away from them as badly as they wanted it to be away.
    Chelda and Sea Mage Castavonti were coming up on the scene, but Vanx called out, “Stay back. Chelda, could you please call the four-legged knight?”
    “Come on, baby,” Chelda said with a couple of loud smooches. “Come to your Chelda, and get some good ear scratching.”
    Poops looked in her direction, then went right back to growling up at the creature.
    Go to her, Poops
, Vanx soothed the dog through their familiar bond.
She has a treat for you. I’ll take care of this guy. Good boy
.
    Poops scoffed at Vanx’s attempt to dissuade him, but still, when Chelda called him a second time, the dog went to