The Beast and His Tamer

Chapter 55: Mitrov's Compass

"So, then I tried to tell him, 'Aye mate! Ya can't do that here!'"

"And this was an ogre?"

"Oh, yeah," Geoff waved it off like it was nothing. "Let me tell you, they seem mean, and they definitely smell mean," he pinched his nose and made a face. "But, once you get passed that, they're nice blokes. Just gotta get through a bit of a language barrier."

"A language barrier?" Matt looked at him curiously. "You mean they speak a different language than everyone else?"

"Not really," Geoff explained. "They know English, it's just difficult for them to understand what you're tryin to say sometimes. That, and they always think you're an enemy. It's difficult to get their guard down."

"How'd you do it, then?"

"Eh, I've got a thing for getting them to listen to me," Geoff shrugged nonchalantly. "Besides, they don't really like being around humans anyway, so he was quick to leave as soon as I told him that it was a human village."

Geoff had a gift for many things, Rhett could tell. And one of those things seemed to be that he just didn't know when to keep his mouth shut. At this point, he was glad that he allowed for Matt to come along. At least he didn't have to be the one to talk to all of him. He just had to hear all the stories while he attempted to find some hint as to where his mate was.

It wouldn't be that bad if the boy just told one story, but he seemed to have infinite, even at his age. And, of course, he just had to tell him them while they were journeying. He understood that it was probably to comfort him while he worried, but he would rather focus on the task at hand.

Needless to say, he still kept his mouth shut as they continued to search.

"So, why are you both human right now?" Geoff asked, after finally finishing his tale about a confused ogre. "I don't think we're exactly close right now."

"How do you know that?" Rhett asked. The boy was surprisingly a great navigator, although he shouldn't be surprised considering all the other things he had heard from him. That and that family of his were full of tricks. Even thinking about that reminded him of the time that Sebastian had somehow convinced him to pull a sting on a tiny ball and get himself tied to a tree. He had been so enraged then.

Now he wished he could go back to that time. At least it meant that Sebastian would still be in his arms rather than galivanting through the forest on a fool's quest while a wizard lured him to his demise. Just the thought of that made Rhett's heart race. No matter how many stories that Geoff told, he would never be able to get that out of the front of his thoughts.

"If he's trying to lure Sebastian," Geoff said. "Then it's going to be all the way to his lair. This isn't just some cave, like what Gulliver was hidden in. The arse wants to hurt Sebastian himself."

"Any clue as to where his lair is?"

"I have a rough idea," Geoff told him. "The key is to figure out just how to get to it without him knowing."

"We need to find Sebastian before he gets caught," Rhett stopped him. He didn't want to risk him getting hurt. He wasn't even sure if his family members had even gotten captured by the wizard. If what Geoff said was true, they could still be in the forest looking for more caves to venture through. "Did you hear anything from your family, by the way?"

"Nothing yet," Geoff sighed. He could tell that the boy was worried himself. His voice wasn't as enthusiastic as it was just a minute before. He felt bad for him, looking past the times when he had annoyed him with his constant talking.