Unleashed (The Gate Chronicles Book 3)

Chapter 23: Broken Hearts

Andrew sighed. Donnovan still hadn’t shown up. He had been missing all day since the fight with his father, and evening had come and gone with no sign of the boy. Morning was spilling over the horizon, and Andrew didn’t know what to do or where to look.

He walked down the grey, empty halls, headed for Donnovan’s office. Perhaps Ansgar could shed some light on his brother’s whereabouts. As Andrew walked past people, they nodded in greeting, and he smiled at them despite his inner turmoil.

When he finally reached the office, he sat down at the desk and woke the holograph on the desk up. Tapping in a few commands, he sent a call to Ansgar.

The call was answered after the terminal made four or five rounds of beeping noises to indicate that the call hadn’t been received yet. Ansgar appeared in the monitor, yawning and rubbing his eyes. His hair was a wreck, and his clothes were rumpled as though he’d slept in them. When he saw Andrew, he snapped to attention. “Andrew? Any news on my brother?”

“Yes.” Andrew sighed.

Ansgar frowned. “What’s going on? Is he back?”

Andrew nodded. “Yes. He’s back with your father and Kane.”

“Then why do you sound so irritated and worried?” Ansgar demanded.

“Because I am. Kane was been wounded and poisoned during a fight in the other dimension. He’s dying, and Donnovan’s run off somewhere. I haven’t been able to find him since last afternoon when he blew up at your father and then stormed off.”

Ansgar shook his head, burying his head in his hands. “So what do you need me to do?”

“I need to know if you have any idea where Donnovan might have gone.” Andrew bit his lip. “Please say you do. I’m out of options over here.”

Ansgar nodded. “I have an idea. He has a tree house in the jungle where he goes to think and relax when things get to be too much. It’s on the other side of the river.”

“How do I get there?”

Ansgar glared down at the table top. “I guess I’ll have to send you the map we made when we were younger.”

“We? And why are you so upset about it?”

“Donnovan made me swear to keep it a secret. If you tell him that I told you, I’m dead.”

“You were kids when you agreed to that. Donnovan’s not going to kill you for giving me the map. We need him back here now to deal with Kane and your father.” Andrew grimaced. “Send me the map if you’ve got it.”

Ansgar nodded and keyed a few things into the terminal. A few moments later, a ping sounded on Andrew’s side, and he opened the file that Ansgar had sent him. When he saw the map, he laughed. Ansgar frowned. “What’s so funny?”

“How old were you when you drew this?”

“Uh… Donnovan drew it. He was probably thirteen. He built it right after we moved. He missed the trees and natural settings we were used to.” Ansgar explained.

“I’m just laughing because he’s the only thirteen year old I know who would make the map look just like one of the real ones.” Andrew smiled. “Count on you and your brother to go all out.” He looked up and met Ansgar’s eyes. “Thank you.”

Ansgar smiled back and nodded. “Just find him and get him back here. He doesn’t get to skip out on all the trouble the rest of us are enduring. And mention to him that I need him to come visit Ry. Did you ever figure out what the name Byrd meant?”