Kull spoke up. “The rails will take you wherever you need to be, preferably away from our lands.”
Maveryck nodded and moved toward the road leading to the rails, but Heidel stepped in front of him.
“Brother, this is unjust. There is no proof he has done anything wrong. He has been falsely accused. Keeping secrets is not a crime.”
“It is when it leads to the staff getting stolen by the elves.”
“You are only sending him away because he shows interest in me.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is true. At least you’ve fulfilled one of your life’s missions as you are like Father in at least one respect. He wouldn’t let you have Olive, and you will not let me be with whom I choose.”
“That’s uncalled for.”
“Heidel,” Maveryck said quietly, “I will go. There is no need to argue.”
He took her hand, kissed it gently, and then turned away from us. The sound of his footfalls treading quietly over the leaf-strewn ground was the only noise to break up the silence. As he walked, a form appeared in his path. In the darkness, I could only make out that it was some sort of creature with fur and liquid silver eyes.
Maveryck knelt as the creature approached him. Kull had his sword out in an instant, but as we approached, the gray coat of Maveryck’s wolf stood out under the moonlight.
“Grace,” Maveryck said softly, “you’ve returned.”
“Where has she been?” Heidel asked.
“I sent her on a journey, and it seems she has been successful.”
“How do you know that?”
He ran his hand over her head. “Because she brings us news from Lauressa.”
He removed a small scroll from a cylindrical pouch attached to her collar. He stood, then moved to stand under the light of Kull’s torch. After reading the message, he looked at each of us.
“It seems the missing staff has been found.”
Chapter 25
“Where is the staff?” Kull demanded as he, Heidel, Maveryck, and I stood in the forest and surrounded Maveryck’s wolf, Grace. A fragile stillness clung to the frigid air, yet tension lay beneath Kull’s words.
“The staff was stolen by the elves and taken to the capitol in Lauressa.”
“How do you know that?”
Maveryck patted Grace’s head. “I tasked Grace with keeping watch on the staff while we were in the desert. She saw the infiltrator aid the elves in taking the staff, and then she followed them back to the elven capitol where she met up with a contact I have there. He is someone I trust, and he was able to write this note and send it back to us. If we hurry, we may be able to meet up with him.”
I eyed the wolf. “Did the message say who the infiltrator was?”
“It shouldn’t come as a shock. It was Euric.”
“Euric?” Kull said. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Quite sure. Euric wants nothing more than to see you disgraced. He thought that by aiding the elves to remove the staff from your supposedly impenetrable keep, he would make you look like a fool.”
Kull balled his fists. “I will deal with him.”
“You may not have to,” Maveryck said. “It seems Euric has been detained by the elves.”
Beyond the forest, a carriage arrived, a brilliant bauble of golden light that looked like a marble from our perspective.
“Well,” Maveryck said, “it seems I have found the staff for you, which should put me back in your good graces and ensure that I am no longer banished from your lands. Am I correct?”
“Not so fast, thief,” Kull said. “How can we trust that what you say is true? How do we know you didn’t invent this story just to save your own skin from banishment?”
“I will prove it if I must. Journey with me to Lauressa, and we shall find the missing staff.”
Kull glanced at Heidel. “Convenient, isn’t it? Moments before his banishment and suddenly the staff is found.”
Heidel shrugged. “Perhaps.”
Maveryck turned to me. “Olive, you will join me, won’t you? Magistrate Pozin is your father, is he not?”
“Yes, but what’s that got to do with anything?”
“Because he is the contact I spoke of earlier. If anyone can help us find where the elves have taken it, it will be him.”
I shook my head. “No, you’re wrong. My father left Lauressa months ago so he could be with my mom. They were in Africa in Earth Kingdom the last time I checked. He couldn’t be in Lauressa.”
“I assure you, he is there. He returned several weeks ago. He spoke of a secret quest, though he didn’t say more. He has been there ever since.”
A breeze stirred the boughs overhead as I pondered Maveryck’s words. Why would my father have returned to Lauressa? If he were traveling with my mom, the elven capitol was the last place they would have gone. The elves had a standing order to execute witches within their borders, and since my mom was a witch, she would be putting herself in unnecessary danger by entering the heart of elf country. What was so important that would make my parents travel back to the capitol?
“Are you sure?” I asked Maveryck. “You actually saw my father in the capitol?”
“Of course I’m sure. I realize he has been gone for some time, which is not characteristic of him, but he returned several weeks ago.”
“Was there anyone who returned with him? A woman, maybe?”
“No one that I know of.”
My heart sank. Where was Mom? “He was alone? Are you sure of that?”
“Quite sure.”
My shoulders sagged. Had they split up again? Or had something happened to her? I’d been out of contact with them, but I’d assumed they had wanted it that way. The only way to know for sure if my mom was okay would be to travel to Lauressa and find out. It looked like I had more than one reason to go to the elf kingdom.
“We’ll go the capitol and discover the location of the staff,” Kull said. “And I expect complete honesty from you, Maveryck. We’ve had enough secrets.”
Maveryck gave a curt nod. “Very
