Seek and Retrieve

Glad you could join us for the next fool-hardy episode of Elliot’s Adventures. If you’re new here, you can catch up by returning to the beginning, and reading really fast…

Madalena, Queen of the Hiverarchy of Free Bees, paced the length of the Inner Chamber and back, over and over again. I never should have let Samantha leave. This colony had been built on the promise of peace and self-sufficiency. No good could come of her daughter fighting in a war that didn’t have anything to do with them.

“You sent for me, Mother?” Andre stood at the room’s entrance.

“Yes. I want you to find your sister and bring her home.”

He sauntered in. “If she’s still alive, you mean,” he drawled, not even trying to hide his smile.

The Queen leveled him with a look. “I mean before anything happens to her, but you are to bring her home no matter what.”

Gritting his teeth, he dropped his gaze to the floor. “I’ll need to take a few guys with me.”

“Fine,” she allowed. “No more than five altogether. Let Kýrios know when you leave and who will be going with you.”

“Where exactly am I supposed to look?”

“Start in Fen.”

His lip curled. “Should I ask ‘Ambassador’ Arturo?”

“No,” his mother said. “The Alliance doesn’t need to know Hiverarchy business, and I don’t want Samantha to know you’re coming. I’m afraid she won’t return willingly.”

“Leave her to me.” Andre flew from the room.

~~~

Sucking up their fill of honeyed nectar before leaving the Freelands, Andre and his friends grew rowdier with each sip.

“Are we gonna get to fight?” The undersized, pugnacious Bram flexed his muscles and punched the guy next to him in the arm.

Rubbing his arm and glaring at Bram, Lee asked, “What are we supposed to do when we find your sister?”

“My half-sister,” Andre corrected him. “We’re supposed to bring her back here.”

“Yeah,” Lee nodded, “but if she doesn’t wanna come, do we knock her out and drag her away?”

Andre shrugged. “Hey, my mother said ‘no matter what’, so, sounds good to me.”

“This is gonna be great!” Reuben shook his fists over his head. “Man, I can hardly wait to get back and tell everybody what went down. They’re gonna be so jealous. Who knows? Maybe Sam will finally find me irresistible.”

Andre snorted. “Don’t push your luck. You guys done jawin’?”

A little bleary-eyed, they all nodded.

“Then let’s go!”

One at a time, they staggered into the sky, and aimed roughly toward a stealthy dawn, listing slightly to the right.

To be continued. . .

Previously, on Elliot’s Adventures ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Next time . . .