WangXian Forever Book 8

Chapter 67 Parting

Hui Gai put away the stick (temporarily calling it that in his head) and gathered the children around him. Li XiWang sat next to him but he somehow managed to get the other three: Rumi, Klem and Jez all on his lap.

He looked up at Oge, grinning at her but he knew she could see the sadness in his eyes.

He licked his red lips first.

This was going to be a tough conversation.

"Alright kids, I'm going to need you all to be brave now. There's nothing to worry about though, you're all going to be fine, safe and sound here with Auntie/Mother Oge. Okay?" He said softly, as kindly as he could.

"That's what all grown-ups say when they're about to do something dangerous." Li XiWang grumbled, her owlish gaze never wandering.

Hui Gai patted her head, his big hand cradling her face. The contrast was startling from his dark scales and her pale ivory skin. She leaned into the warmth, holding his hand in place.

"I'm better than your average grown-up." He said gently, understanding that he would have to be more careful with her.

Li XiWang was cleverer than her years and if she panicked, or became upset, the other children would follow her lead. And then he had an idea. Li XiWang was naturally a care-giver, having looked after children younger than herself when she lived with her grandmother. So the responsibility he was going to put on her young shoulders would distract her from the pain of missing her parents and himself.

He had so much to do and so little time to do it all in, according to his plan, yet all of it was necessary and he had to leave soon to do it.

But, this...saying goodbye with a promise to return was even more important.

"Little Rabbit...I need more help from you than anybody else. You're older than them, and they'll look to you for guidance. And really, all you have to do is play with them...and I'll be back as soon as I can." He vowed.

"With my fathers?" She demanded.

Sometimes Hui Gai wished she wasn't so intelligent...

"I don't know where they are...but I'm going to see if I can find out what's happening. Suanni said they had to be taken somewhere special for dragons, right? So we have to trust what they said, because we have no idea what to do about your parents. I will definitely come back and tell you everything." He hoped he sounded encouraging.

More than that, he wished his friends were here...either one. Even Lan Zhan could comfort the children better than he could.

"Plus...we still have the Sleeping Sickness Demon to deal with...right?" His red eyes gleamed dangerously as he thought of the Demon's insane demand for Rumi.

Someone was going to die for just that alone.

A gentle pat on his arm brought him out of his murderous thoughts.

Rumi, beautiful with his black and white scales, was looking up at him with affection in those purple eyes. He leaned up and kissed Hui Gai's cheek.

"Safe." He said quietly.

Rumi didn't talk much.

But whenever he did...the single words he used seemed to be achingly deep.

Hui Gai had the feeling that Rumi could talk but like Lan Zhan, he did not see any reason to make more noise than necessary, choosing to be silent instead. He had often seen the boy studying his parents, watching Li XiWang diligently, trying to decipher exactly what they were discussing.

That he was smart went without saying.

But first and foremost, he was a child.

Hui Gai kissed the top of his head, letting his lips linger.

"Yes, I will be safe...and so will all of you. Stay here, do not venture out and everything will be fine. No one will know that you're here, but Oge knows how to leave should it come to that." Hui Gai reassured them.

Both Klem and Jez kissed his cheeks after that and then Hui Gai stood up.

He wished for something and it appeared in his warm palm.

"Here...teach them how to play." He smiled at Li XiWang and handed her the silver pieces of the game he had invented with her.

"Jacks!" She cried out, enthusiastically taking them from him.

Jez was too young to play but he watched Li XiWang, her contagious eagerness to play an attraction to the baby.

There were gasps of joy from the other two as the three children began tossing the pieces into the air as Li XiWang guided them.

Hui Gai set Jez down and went to Oge. Taking her hand, he led her out of earshot and kissed her cheek.

Her black eyes were bright with unshed tears.

"Oge-" Hui Gai was about to say something, but she stopped him by putting her hand over his mouth.

"Don't."

Instead, she came closer and simply hugged him.

The lump in her throat made it really difficult to speak, but she tried her best.

"Just come back safely." She told him.

Hui Gai held her tightly, giving her body a light squeeze.

"I'm sorry I can't stay." He said it anyway...feeling worse that she understood him so well.

Oge was a strong woman, one of the strongest people he had ever met. But then the trials and the suffering in her life had made her that way.

The person who had caused her harm was dead now, and Hui Gai had killed him twice no less, but still, he wouldn't mind killing Yao Wang again and again for what he did to her.

"Don't be sorry." She grinned at him as she stepped away on purpose. "Be fast."

"I love you." He replied, knowing she needed him to leave now.

"Me too." She whispered as he vanished. "Me too."

*********

Outside of Cloud Recesses, Hui Gai examined the ward that Wei Ying had strengthened. He knew the basics of what was apparent here....but after that thought occurred to him about the Sleeping Sickness Demon's master, that what if he was more powerful than the idiot that had turned up unable to get past the ward?

So it wouldn't hurt to give them more protection, would it?

Hui Gai grinned to himself and chanted the spell. His hands rested on the invisible ward as he placed the extra protection around the home of his friends.

Sometimes the simplest punishments were the best, he decided, reminding himself that he would need to remove this particular spell at some point.

Satisfied that the ward was now solid, he vanished, going to his next destination.

************

A/N

Dear Lovely Readers,

Some of you have requested that WangXian be brought back as soon as possible and I would love to, because I am also really missing them. However, this is only the second or third day since the cocoon formed around them. I searched Google and it says a butterfly needs 7-14 days to emerge...so I'm asking for your patience. A lot of things are going to happen first, and as your author, I'm asking for you to trust me.

I can promise you two things:

I love happy endings and I would never write a sad one, and to make up for all this time not having WangXian, I'm going to write lots of fluffy stories at the end of this book.

Happy Saturday everyone!

Charlie.