Kira and the Rat Queen by Jason R. James

Author:Jason R. James
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781979773966
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2017-11-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12: The Throne Room

Kira looked around the room again. On the far wall there was a thin slit for a window, throwing a rectangle of sunlight across the scattered straw on the floor. Other than that, the room was empty, aside from Sarah, Chase, and herself.

Kira felt her stomach tighten like she was about to get sick; she turned to Sarah and screamed, “Where’s my dad? He’s not here! You said you would show me my father!”

Sarah shook her head. “I never said that. I never told you Uncle Henry was here. I told you I would show you where he is, and so that’s what I’m doing.” Sarah pointed to the window in the far wall. “I sent your dad north into the Gryphon Mountains. He’s with my mom now, Princess Indigo, on one of those mountaintops. That’s where he is—or at least that’s where he was.”

Kira looked out the window. Far away to the north, she could see gray stone mountains cutting their jagged peaks against the clear blue sky, and on the highest mountains, stretching far into the distance, Kira could see snowcapped summits standing out like white fingernails on sharp, gray talons.

Kira started to cry. Warm tears filled her eyes, and her shoulders shook up and down with quiet sobs.

Sarah hugged her arms around Kira, squeezing her tight. “You want to see your dad, so that’s just what we’re going to do. I promise. I’m going to take you there myself. We can leave—”

“Ex-excuse me, Y-Your Majesty,” a thin voice called out from the doorway.

Kira looked down to see a small, gray rat standing on his hind legs, nervously folding and unfolding his hands as he sniffed the air.

Sarah turned to look at the rat. “Yes, Howard, what is it?”

“It’s just—it seems—what I mean to say is… He’s—he’s here, Your Majesty,” the gray rat finally squeaked.

Sarah dropped her shoulders and sighed. “Of course he is. Then I guess we can leave for the Gryphon Mountains as soon as he’s gone. Is that all right with you, Grand Vizier?”

Kira wiped her eyes and nodded.

“We should go to the throne room and receive our guest.” Without waiting for an answer, Sarah turned and walked out of the room. Kira followed her, and Chase and Howard trailed behind them. They crossed the cheese room and went back through the door into the hallway. Then they turned left through another open door, climbed a quick flight of stairs, and turned to the right at the end of the hall.

Now Kira found herself standing in the throne room of the Rat Fort. The room itself was massive. Kira guessed it was big enough to hold her entire house with room to spare. A dozen stained-glass windows decorated the walls on the left and right, filtering cyan-colored sunlight onto the floor below. It made Kira feel like she was stepping inside an aquarium.

Farther in from the walls, six black stone columns stretched from the floor to the ceiling, standing like sentinels on either side of the room.

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