We popped out about a mile from the faces and one hundred feet above the visitor center’s parking lot. As soon as Maia, Tess, and Bruno had followed us through, I closed the portal and looked around for a good landing spot.
The lot was out of the question as it was crowded for the off-season.
“Beast, take us above the monument and land somewhere up there,” I ordered.
Without comment, Beast began to gain altitude and soon we were flying over Washington’s nose in route to the top.
Gray clouds were moving in from the northwest and I could see the pines bending against a strong wind. South Dakota often had late season snowstorms, but this was late even for the Black Hills. I felt for any sign that it wasn’t natural, but as far as I could tell, it was just a mundane storm. For most of us, that wasn’t much of a problem, but Cris would be another matter. I’d have to keep an eye on her and make sure she was warm enough.
I let Beast pick a spot and soon Cris and I were standing beside Beast on a granite boulder larger than Joe’s cabin. Maia and Tess set down close and joined us. Bruno was curled around Tess’s neck like some kind of weird reptilian shawl.
“So, Rafe, still think you’re ready to take on Rowle?” Tess asked.
“I’ve been giving it a lot of thought. I’m not ready to fight him, but maybe we could just try to get him to see reason and give Alex to us.”
Tess’s eyebrows rose. “Say what now?”
“You can’t be serious, Rafe. He tried to kill you,” Cris said.
“Well, maybe. He had several opportunities to kill me and didn’t take them. I think he has a soft spot for his descendants and maybe we can play off his feelings for the two of us.”
“Sheesh,” Tess said, as she threw her hands into the air, startling the wyvern awake. “He didn’t even bother to tell you that you were related. Are you forgetting that his dragon tried to eat you?”
“No, I’m not forgetting that, but his dragon is dead. Tit for tat.”
“Tit for tat, my ass!” Tess shouted. “What’s the matter with you? When did you develop a death wish?”
“Tess, hear me out before you start judging my sanity. He’s acquired an apprentice, a Wanderer apprentice. He must know that Alex is my son and therefore another of his descendants. Rowle started ignoring Verðandi’s summons back in the 19th century. Since then, he’s had plenty of opportunities to take an apprentice and yet he never did. Something has changed, I don’t know what, but perhaps he can be reasoned with now.”
“Oh for Christ’s sake. Rafe you can’t be serious!”
“I’m with Tess on this, Rafe,” Cris commented. “This man has twice almost killed you. Granted, as you say he had opportunities to finish the job and didn’t take them, but given a chance, that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t kill you now. And what about that trap you sprung that removed your tats. That sounded like it was supposed to be fatal and if you hadn’t called lightning down on yourself it probably would have been.”
“Yeah, what she said,” Tess said. “Neither of us think you’re ready to confront Rowle, but that doesn’t mean you have to try and make peace with the bastard. Let’s just stay away from him until you’re back at full strength and then we can make a go at getting Alex away from him.”
“I hear your logic, but I’m willing to take a shot at getting Rowle to listen to reason,” I said.
“Rafe, Boss, I know I’m the apprentice here, but you taking a suicidal course isn’t going to get me trained. You’re the one who needs to listen to reason. This is crazy talk.”
I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest. “You’re right. I am the boss and I’ve decided to give Rowle a chance.”
“Bullshit! Did he give Walt a chance? How about the other Wanderers? They haven’t been dead a year yet and you’re talking about making peace with this bloodthirsty bastard. Rafe, you can’t trust him.”
“I know what he did to Walt and the others, but that doesn’t change the fact that I have a better chance of getting Alex away from him with reason than with force.”
“So that’s it? You’re afraid that Alex will be in the line of fire if you try to confront Rowle?” Cris asked.
“That’s part of it. A Wanderer has to have complete faith in his apprentice and vice versa,” I said with a hard glare at Tess. “If we show up and attempt to sway Alex away from him, Rowle will have to be careful of what he does. Alex is fond of Tess and he has no issues with me. If Rowle attacks us without provocation then Alex would never make a trustworthy apprentice. Alex already knows that Rowle and I have fought on multiple occasions. If I come bearing an olive branch, then Alex will expect Rowle to hear us out rather than attacking us.”
“Boss, damnit, that sort of logic doesn’t apply to someone who tried to start Ragnarök. In case you’ve forgotten, that’s the twilight of the gods, the end of everything,” Tess said.
“I haven’t forgotten anything,” I snapped.
Cris stepped close and stared into my eyes.
“What?” I asked.
“I was wondering if there’s some lingering effect of that night magic that’s causing you to act unreasonable.”
“I’m not being unreasonable.”
“Rafe, dear, I still have to side with Tess on this. You can’t trust Rowle.”
I stared down at her. “Siding with Tess doesn’t change anything. It’s my decision to make and I’ve made it. If you don’t want to come along, then I’ll drop you off at a motel before I meet with Rowle.”
