The Lost Knight (Volume III) The Lost World

Chapter 25: War and Horsies

I exit the bathroom to find Mapta stacking an immense mountain of pillows by the patio door. "What are they for?" I ask automatically, forgetting she can't understand me.

She points at Lenox while pantomiming throwing the pillows out the door.

I shake my head. "No, you can't. This is every pillow in the house."

I'm torn. Lenox is exhausted and could definitely use a good rest on a comfy nest, but this is too much. These pillows are insanely expensive, and once he uses them, they'll be garbage.

I shake my head. "We're not going to be here much longer. He sleeps standing up with me at home." Although, he does take an afternoon nap in his nest. He should be fine for a few days.

Mapta is undeterred by my refusal. She opens the door and chucks the pillows directly at Lenox. He's confused at first but gets into the spirit of things and grabs the pillows out of the air, shaking them violently.

"Wait, stop!" I insist. I grab an armful of pillows and head out to the patio before he tears them apart.

"Here," I say to him when I toss them on the floor in the corner. "I'm making your bed. I'll get a few more. Then you can get some rest."

When I bring out the second load, Lenox comes over and smells every pillow while I gather the ones that Mapta has already thrown out. Before I can finish constructing the nest, he circles a few times and lies down with a groan.

I kneel next to him and give his itchy ears a good scratch while he purrs loudly. "Okay, buddy. I'm going to get some breakfast. You get some rest, and I'll be back."

He shoves a few pillows around, then rests his head on top of the mound and closes his eyes.

"He likes it," I say to Mapta with a smile. She smiles back as we both leave the room.

Stratagor Ziras is waiting for me on the veranda outside his office. I didn't notice before, but this patio connects to the one in the living room we were in earlier. He's sitting at a small table in the center and stands when he sees me.

"Your pegasus is faring well?" he asks while pulling my chair out for me.

"Yeah. Thank you for the pillows. He's very comfortable. He went to sleep immediately."

"Good," he says. "He needed some comfort. We were trying to think of what to use because it would take at least a day to get to the mainland for supplies, but then Yury thought of the pillows. I'm not much of an animal person, but any friend of yours is welcome in my home. You may have to help us care for him, though, since none of us have any experience with a pegasus."

"Thank you. He's pretty easygoing, so he should be no trouble," I lie.

The more I get to know Stratagor Ziras, the more I like him. He seems genuine and kind. The Liisoole faeries flash across my mind, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to pull up a clear image of that horror. I can't imagine a man who lets a dirty pegasus stroll through his pristine home would be the same man capable of hanging infants from tree limbs.

Breakfast comes and briefly ends our conversation. When we finish, he wipes his mouth and says, "Your pegasus being here poses a bit of a problem with getting you back to the curra."

"Why? He's solved the problem. Now I have my own transportation."

"Originally, I had planned on sending you through the local portal and have you catch a plane back to New York. You would've been in King Ohad's arms by the end of the day. I may be wrong, but I don't believe you'll leave your pegasus here, and the trip back through Ashra would take several days."