Dragon's Key--Complete

Chapter Two

I slept late the next morning, so exhausted I hadn't even heard the alarm on my cell phone go off. Between the travel time, the conference with my grandfather and the shower before bed, I'd gone without sleep for two days straight. My body still thought I was living in eastern U.S. time as well.  I was surprised, though, when Henry didn't wake me with a breakfast tray like he used to when I was a child. 

I didn't take a lot of time to shower and get ready.  I was feeling more refreshed and able to think than I had been the night before. I wanted to find Henry and then check in on my grandfather, to see how he was feeling today.  I hoped to get some more solid answers about the estrangement between my father and grandfather since neither of them had ever been forthcoming with information about it right up until the day I had lost my father.

I had just sat down to put on my shoes when I heard the footsteps of several people walk loudly down the hallway all at once. They were moving quickly and with purpose, it almost sounded like a herd of elephants. There was muffled talking, more footsteps and then the heavy slam of a door. 

I tied my shoes quickly and then got up to see what was going on, I was greeted by a silent and empty hallway when I opened my door. Curious, I stepped outside of my room and closed the door behind me before I turned to look both ways down the hall. I had heard the door slam further down, likely the one to my grandfather's room, that was the first place to look.

I could hardly imagine that Henry would allow all this fuss and noise with Albert trying to sleep so close by, let alone to allow people to stomp through the house. I walked over to the door near the end of the hall and paused just a moment to listen, to see if I could hear movement or talking inside. A strange sense of foreboding washed over me. 

With a surge of decision, I took a step closer and opened the door, letting myself into the room. I left the door open behind me as I observed that there were several people here including Henry, which I was quite grateful for, and a stern looking man was drawing the sheet up and over the face of the man in the bed. I froze by the door, shocked. He couldn't be gone already, I had only been here a few hours. We hadn't had very long to talk and I certainly didn't have the information I needed before he left me altogether.  Henry had told me when he called to summon me here that the doctor had informed him that he would live for weeks, perhaps months more

Henry caught sight of me and he walked over to draw me into the room, gently closing the door. He tugged deliberately until I joined him beside the bed, then gestured to the man who had covered up my grandfather. 

“Miss Sofia, this is Dr. Storey. He has been seeing to the care of Mr. Albert,” Henry said as his own eyes moved to the still figure on the bed. “I called him in when I noticed that Mr. Albert was not breathing when I came to give him his medication this morning.”

At the sadness in Henry's voice, my eyes shot to his face. I might have been Albert's last living relative, but Henry had known him and worked for him far longer than I had been alive. I reached out to touch his arm, giving him what little comfort that I could in this time. It helped me to understand that I was not the only one here who had lost someone important. 

“Miss Williams,” the doctor said mildly. I'm sure his smile was meant to be reassuring, and while there was nothing that could be, the gesture was appreciated, and I tried to smile back at him. “There is nothing that you can do here now, either of you.  Though we will give you a moment to pay your respects, if you like.” 

I had only just caught a glimpse of my grandfather's face as they were covering him up and for a moment, I wondered at the speed with which they were ready to take him away without his heir even aware he had passed.  Rather than starting a fuss I nodded at the doctor and his helpers and gestured to the door.