forward. Robin threw an arm out to prevent her from falling. He pulled the Maid towards him. 'Very well,' he said softly, 'a few minutes rest will do us all good.' He turned towards the straggling group and shouted for them to halt.
Grateful for even a moments' respite the Merrie Men slumped to the ground. Only Annabel remained standing. But all too soon, it seemed, it was time to resume the march. The going continued to be slow in the darkness but shortly thereafter a silvery moon rose high enough to cast a little light, and the pass ceased to rise. Presently it started to slope downwards. Soon the group found themselves out of the mountains and in the foothills and in the far distance the lights of Port Tawny began to appear. Although the port was obviously still some hours away the sight of the lights gave the march fresh impetus and, slowly but surely, their destination grew closer.
Henry could hear Theodore approaching long before the devil's head appeared in his doorway. His cousin was in a foul mood, that much was obvious, thought Henry as he regarded Theo's even redder than usual face.
'That bloody wizard of yours tells me that the PDA's going to be down for at least two hours,' Theodore complained. 'In the meantime those bloody Merrie Men could be up to all sorts of mischief.'
'I would have thought that you'd be wholeheartedly in support of creating mischief,' answered Henry drily.
'Yes, but it's got to be the right type of mischief,' Theo responded. 'Or wrong,' he added, 'to be more precise. Anyway, I need to find out where they are.'
Henry shook his head. 'But Theo, just think back. You said yourself that they had split up and were heading for Tri Via. Have you tried there?'
Theo stared at Henry for a moment, before hitting his own forehead with his hand. 'How bloody stupid of me,' he muttered, but it wasn't in his nature to take responsibility for his own ineptitude. He looked again at Henry. 'Why didn't you remind me sooner,' he accused. 'You could have saved me a whole heap of worry.'
Henry began to say 'I tried-' but then decided that the best course of action to take was to remain silent.
'Right, I'm off to Tri Via then,' said Theodore. 'But don't think I've forgotten this matter,' he continued, pointing at Henry. 'I'll deal with your incompetence later, cousin.' He disappeared, this time adding red smoke for dramatic effect.
Henry sighed. It was obvious that Theo was losing it, and that something would have to be done about the matter.
Rude Awakenings Page 34