Quest Maker by Laurie McKay Page A

“You can stop fight—”
    Caden punched him in the gut. Hard enough that he loosened his hold. Caden pulled free and kicked at Rath Dunn’s knee. The kick, Rath Dunn blocked. Mostly. He grimaced, though, and Caden jumped two strides back.
    Rath Dunn straightened up. He motioned for them to come back. “Don’t make me run you boys down.”
    Caden was fairly certain Rath Dunn could catch one of them. His skill in battle was great. Yet Caden would rather run than surrender. He nodded to Tito and they dashed in opposite directions.
    Rath Dunn grabbed Caden before he’d run a stride. He whacked him in the temple, which made Caden a bit dizzy, and dragged him to the car. “Behave,” he said, and tossed him into the passenger seat. “I’m taking you home. That’s all.” He paused and turned back to the parking lot and spoke in a loud voice. “That is, I’ll take you home if Tito gets in the car. Otherwise, I’ll toss you down the rocky side of the mountain.”
    â€œAnd if I get in, you won’t hurt us?” Tito sounded like he was halfway across the parking lot. “Why should I believe you?”
    Rath Dunn sounded offended. “I don’t lie, boy.”
    In some ways, it made Rath Dunn more treacherous. It gave people confidence when striking deals with him. Even Caden had once fallen prey to his honesty. It seemed now Tito had as well, as he was throwing his backpack in the backseat and slowly getting into the car. Honesty andhonor, Caden was beginning to believe, weren’t always the same thing.
    Before Caden fully regained his senses, Tito was in the backseat, the doors were locked, and Rath Dunn was zooming from the parking lot. Caden hurried to buckle his seat belt. Rosa insisted they always wear seat belts. He rubbed his temple. His arm throbbed. He felt a bit carsick from the twisting, turning road.
    â€œYou boys should be grateful,” Rath Dunn said in his pedantic teacher’s voice. “I’m teaching you a lesson today.”
    Tito leaned forward. He, too, looked pale. “What lesson is that? How to be a maniac?”
    Rath Dunn grinned. He took a sharp turn, and the force slammed Caden against the door and Tito back. “That when I decide to kill you, I can.” He shrugged. “And will.”
    Caden felt his heart racing, his stomach turning. “That’s against Ms. Primrose’s rules.”
    Rath Dunn turned to look at him. “For now,” he said. Truly, he should keep his eyes on the twisting road before them and not on Caden. “You’d be wise to be useful,” Rath Dunn added, “but it seems you’re too foolish for that.”
    Caden rested back against the leather seat. Though not the appropriate reaction of an eighth-born prince nor a future Elite Paladin, he felt like he was going to throw up. The thought of how his father would crinkle his brow in disappointment if he did so helped him keep down his lunch. “You’d be wise to slow down,” he managed to say.
    Rath Dunn growled at him in such a way that Caden worried he might change his mind and kill him in the passenger seat of the red Audi. “Next time I get you alone, son of Axel, you’ll suffer. Tell your brother that for me.”
    Caden wouldn’t tell Jasan that. Tito, however, was also his brother. Mostly to irritate Rath Dunn, he turned and said, “I’ll suffer next time. Did you get that, Sir Tito?”
    â€œHuh?” Tito said. “Oh yeah, sure.” He sounded distracted. With Caden’s life being threatened, he could pay a bit more attention. Also, “yeah, sure” was hardly an appropriate response to Caden’s future torture.
    Rath Dunn took another sharp turn. His eyes flashed, and he glanced into his rearview mirror. “What are you doing back there?”
    â€œI’m going to tell Rosa you threatened us.”
    Rath Dunn returned his gaze to the