as the faerie lord used the shelves to rest his boots.
“I have a master list of the gates and keys we know of. Iwill look and see which ones require black silk.”
Jus nodded and asked, “Where do the gates go?”
“From here? Only to the forest. Within the forest, there aregates to other places across the Flanaess. The forest seems to have served as a travel nexus.” The man rose to his feet. “What are we looking for? Who killedTarquil?”
“A faerie-a faerie who travels through a gate triggered byblack thread, a faerie who could not resist taking the slowglass necklace for his own. The murderer had access to a marine cone shell and knew how to handle it and had the means to keep it alive. And he was able to pass your guards without suspicion.”
Unhappy, Lord Faen plucked at his beard and said, “I cannotuse this to clear Escalla’s name. There is evidence enough to convict her ifSable presses for a judgment. We must catch the murderer and link the cone shell, black threads, and motive to them.”
“It can be done.” Jus kept the tiny golden link broken fromEscalla’s necklace in his hand. “This gold link was part of the slowglassnecklace. We can use it for a location spell to find the rest of the necklace, if you have a mage capable of casting it.”
“We have mages capable of casting it.” Charn arose onwhirring wings. “I will arrange it, and I will fetch the master gate list.”
“Then we will find your murderer.” Jus arose, his kneescracking and autumn leaves drifting from his clothes. “We have the tools. Wemerely need the time.”
Back at the castle cellar, Enid, Polk, and Escalla were busystuffing themselves with a favorite delicacy-ham sandwiches made with freshwhite bread and butter. With all due seriousness, Enid sat holding a little sandwich between her great paws. The mule stood in one corner, its eyes nervous as it listened to creatures hooting in the night.
Meanwhile, Polk slathered butter upon more bread and let his voice boom into the gloom. “Don’t worry, girl! False accusations are all part ofthe deal! Without false accusations, you don’t get righteous indignation!Without righteous indignation, you don’t get mighty oaths! Without oaths, youdon’t get gods interfering with heroic souls, and we can’t have heroic soulsrunning about doing stuff without being guided by the gods. Stands to reason!”
Worried and annoyed, Escalla looked at him across the surface of a titanic sandwich. “What are you on about now?”
“Gods, girl! Heroes are heroes because they’re tools of thegods!”
“Polk, what’s heroic about being a theological hand puppet?Anyway, have you seen the names these gods give themselves?” Escalla took amouthful of bread and ham. “Ne’fer fo’ow a god whosh name reads like shomefingfrom an apothecary’s shelf!”
Her freckles living a life of their own in the gloom, Enid licked butter from her paws and said, “I made a glove puppet once!”
Stones shifted at the door. Without looking up, Escalla made another sandwich filled with extra ham. “Hey, Jus!”
The big man loomed in the blockaded door, checking that all was well. “We’re moving out. You’re ready?”
“Yep. Spellbooks read, and I’m all charged up!”
“You didn’t set a guard?”
“Invisible servant. You just passed him. If it was anyoneelse, he’d have smashed a bottle on the castle wall.” Escalla rose and looked atJus, handing him the sandwich and trying not to appear as anxious as she felt.
“So did you go and… you know… see the dead guy andall?”
“Yes.” Jus looked levelly at the girl. “Tell me: were youquiet when you went into the room?”
“Ah, maybe?”
“You never noticed he was dead?”
“Um, well he did seem a little subdued.” Escalla blinked. “Sohe was dead all the time?”
“Looks like it.” Jus helped shift rocks aside, clearing apath into the castle. “Your father’s here. The murderer took your slowglassnecklace, and we have a locator. We’re going to look at a gate we’ve found. It’sthe one the murderers used to escape.”
“Oh, hoopy!” Escalla instantly cheered up. “So you can get meoff?”
“Nope. Unless we get the slowglass necklace back, you’retoast.” Jus ushered everyone outside. “Come on!”
Lord Charn awaited his daughter and her friends, keeping a worried look upon the nighttime sky. The distant sound of elf hounds could be heard off to the south. It signified nothing. Hunters could be lying invisible almost anywhere. Escalla’s father took his daughter’s hands and drew her up intohis arms.
Jus began to mount the way back up to the magic gate above the castle courtyard. He called down, “We have to get the murderer before thehunt gets Escalla. She’s safest on the move with us. Polk, get climbing!”
The archway above the castle yard was a small window-toosmall for a sphinx. Enid eyed it unhappily and tested her wings. “Can I fly andmeet you where the gate empties out?”
“Best not.” Jus cursed and then jumped down to rest a hand onthe sphinx’s soft brown hair. “Look. Set up shop back at that old desertedtavern. Take Polk’s mule with you. Read your books, eat stirges, and make it look like you, Polk, and I have set up camp. We’ll be a while. Just wait. We’ll comeback quick as we can.” Jus shoved Polk onward and pressed a sprig of fennel intohis hands. “Polk, go through the arch and just stay put!”
“Son, maybe I should stay with Enid and-”
“Enid will keep
Escalla fluttered over to the unhappy Enid, kissed her on the nose, and then shot up toward the gate. As the arch flashed with light, the fugitives slipped through in haste, ending up in the forest near the palace in the faerie realm.
Lord Faen awaited them. He quickly ushered the way to a stone gazebo just out of sight of the family wing of the palace. An archway showed the recent scuff of boots. Jus ushered his party together then turned to lift a hand in farewell to Lords Faen and Charn. Lord Nightshade held out a piece of silver wire and thrust it beneath the gazebo’s arch.
Magic flickered. Jus stepped through, dragging the wailing Polk underneath his arm. Left with her father and Lord Faen, Escalla fluttered unhappily. She flew to the gate, stopped, rushed back to give her father a kiss, and then shot through the arch an instant before the gateway flickered shut.
Standing alone with Lord Faen, Escalla’s father suddenly felthis world turn a little dim.
10
In the dark of night, the stink of corpses hung foul andsickly sweet. There was a reek of smoke, and a stir of rats and night creatures fleeing from gnawed carrion. Standing beneath an ancient stone archway, Escalla, Jus, and Polk looked about, listening to awful, furtive little noises in the dark.
“Sour Patch.”
The shanties were burned, and the bodies of slain refugees were hanging rat-gnawn in the gloom. At least the stink would have driven away any faerie courtiers. Surveying the wreckage, Jus rested his hand on his sword and pointed the way over to the apple orchard.
“This way.”
Escalla looked around, appalled by the half-seen corpses in the gloom.
“What the hell happened here?”
“Massacre before dawn this morning. It was a slave raid. Theykilled the old and weak, then took everyone else through a gate over there in the apple trees.”
