by Holly Hook
The first swan nodded and poked at it with his head.
"Is that--" I started.
I grabbed the bag and felt inside.
Stems. And blossoms. I plucked one out and the flower almost shone, a pale star in the dark.
It was the starwort. All of it. My brothers had somehow found it and brought it here. The meadow portal. Midnight.
"How did you know I was missing this?" I asked, seizing the bag. I wanted to cry with relief. I could get going on their shirts again.
Of course, none of them could tell me. I wondered if they had overhead anything. There were more flowers on the ground, scattered like they'd had a hard time moving the bag. Of course. Beaks and wings weren't made for hauling things. It had been a struggle for the six of them to get this from whatever portal and then all the way here.
Their story would have to wait for another time.
And it was my job to get this back to the camp. They hadn't wanted to risk taking this bag any further. I searched around but the forest was just as dark as the one in Fable.
"Did you have to go through the portal to get this?" I asked. I thought about that meadow the bandits had followed me through. Of course they would have been able to find it.
One of the swans nodded again.
"Thanks," I said. "I'm glad you're here. I'm glad I can talk for once." My vocal cords felt strange from the disuse. "I'll get working on this again. In fact, I'll stay up the rest of the night." I felt so awake now. The night air was cool and the bugs buzzed around me.
A wolf howled somewhere.
All six of the swans shifted. One ruffled his feathers, ready to take off.
I had to get back inside.
"Thanks," I said again. I wished I could hug my brothers. But if I worked hard enough, I would again. In their true forms. And then we would have to find a way to see Father again. I wanted him to know that we were all still alive.
One of the swans came forward and nudged me, surprisingly strong. Get back, he was saying. Get back now.
I turned. The forest was dark up ahead and I hoped they were pointing me in the right direction.
Another howl came.
It was those wolves that had come through with us and they were at home out here in the wilderness.
I hurried back through the trees. My brothers could take flight. I couldn't. I continued to walk through the trees, dragging the sack, and at last, the clearing of the camp came into sight along with a ribbon of stars overhead. Dragging the bag, I rushed through the last of the trees as another wolf howled from somewhere to my left. It was still distant, but not distant enough. I walked for several minutes, almost blind through the ancient wooden columns of the trees.
Twigs snapped and a dark figure stood in front of me.
I stopped.
Just in time for a blow to hit on the side of my head.
I fell, staggering against a tree trunk. I dropped the sack of flowers. Someone was out here. Someone was attacking me. They might even kill me. My head roared with pain and I gagged like I might throw up. The agony was horrendous.
This might be the end.
I might have failed my brothers.
Even those thoughts struggled to get through the pounding. I waited for another blow to come, but instead, darkness rose up inside and swallowed everything.
Chapter Nine
A scream pierced the dark.
My eyelids fluttered and I opened them. Pale orange light came in through the windows. Early morning. Sun. It all hit me at once and my head throbbed.
I was lying back in my bed, the blanket pulled up to my chin.
"She's dead!"
The words didn't make sense at first, but then my stomach turned over and I sat up, letting the blanket fall away from my chest. My head hurt and I couldn't remember why.
Women were up and standing everywhere, pushing to the back of the longhouse. Rae rushed through them, holding her sparkling braid. Her mouth was open in horror.
I almost asked what was going on, but these weren't my brothers. I couldn't speak to anyone here.
Everyone gathered around the final bed. One of the village women rushed past me and out the door, probably to go get the men.
Then I remembered who was sleeping in the back of the house.
And got up, letting the blankets fall back to the bed.
I tried to push through, but it was a sea of black dresses and aprons and panic. The crowd pressed right around the final bed and someone sobbed.
"Let me through," Rae said. "Please!"
But no one was listening. Everyone talked at once and drowned out her pleas. At last, I squeezed around the crowd and pushed in along the wall, sweat breaking out on the back of my neck.
Mary lay there, on her back as she had the night before.
The smell hit me first, the metallic, coppery smell.
And then the blood.
Mary's sheets were soaked with it. It was brown around the periphery as if it had dried there for hours, but the blood right above her was still reddish and painful and angry. Mary faced the ceiling, eyes open, face wtihout color. Some of her wrinkles had vanished like she had gained some youth, but her mouth was open in a O of horror.
I backed away and held down vomit. Brie pushed past me and stood there in my place, silent for a long time. The elf, Stilt, followed her and tried to peer over her shoulder. Then he tried to pull her back.
"Mary!" Brie shouted, throwing herself down over her.
"What's happening?" Mica asked, joining me. He had to shout over the cries.
I pointed. A strange, numb feeling had filled me. This was some play taking place outside of me and I had nothing to do with it.
Rae kept begging to try to heal her. One of the women shouted that it was too late. Mica seized my arm and pulled me out of the longhouse, past all the beds and out into the cool morning air.
"Mary's gone," he told me. "We have a rat. Did you see who did it? I should have posted guards out here." He turned away as if ashamed.
His words tumbled around in my mind, getting bigger and bigger. I couldn't get the image out of my mind.
Mary.
Gone.
Someone had--
I wanted to scream, but intead, I put my hand over my mouth and sat down next against the house. The men were running towards us. Mica said something to them and they ran in. More of the women were crying. Mary was respected here. Loved.
And now she was gone.
Someone had killed her.
I forced myself to have the thought. And that was when I remembered last night.
My brothers had visited again, bringing me the flowers. I'd been walking back with them and something had hit me over the head. The bag must still be at the tree line. Whoever had knocked me out must have brought me back to my bed. It didn't make any sense.
Macon ran up to the house. "What's happening?" he said. "It wasn't a good idea not to post any guards."
"I wanted you to guard," Mica said, "but you said you were too busy." He was losing his temper. "Find who did this!"
"Who did what?"
Mica drew close to him and spoke in a low voice. "Go in and find out."
Macon gulped and went inside.
Someone had come into the longhouse and murdered Mary while we all slept. She was wanted by Alric. The wizard would of course want the person dead who had possession of that book and knew the stories. He had eliminated his biggest threat.
But that meant he, or someone who served him, knew we were here.
Mica leaned down. "We need to move," he said. Then he studied my skirt. "I think someone is trying to set you up. I know you didn't do anything."
I felt as if someone had struck me all over again.
Macon already suspected me of working with Alric.
And he was all too good and hitting people he wasn't supposed to hit with that bow.
I got up. Terror swept over me and I turned in a circle as another one of the men ran into the womens' lon
ghouse. Macon shouted something in his authoritative way and the house quieted.
"Look at what I found," Macon said. "And whose bed is this?"
I couldn't help it. I peeked back into the longhouse to find Macon standing there, holding a dagger.
A very familiar dagger. It had a red and black handle and it was very long and sharp.
I'd seen it before. At Irving's throat.
It was covered in dried blood--and Macon was standing next to my bed. He must have gone right to it.
"This was under this bed," Macon said. "Who was sleeping here?"
Mica glanced down at my skirt again. I looked.
There was blood smeared across it, as if someone had rubbed the knife there after finishing the deed. It was obvious that someone had tried to set me up, but these people were panicked. Macon was an idiot.
"Come on!" Mica said, grabbing my arm.
I ran. The two of us bolted across the camp and past the dining hall. We then ducked into the men's longhouse, where all the beds were unmade and the blankets were on the floor. Everyone had left in a hurry. Mica ducked and pulled a pack out from his bed. "We need supplies," he said. "Where is your yarn? We need to get to civilization and hide there. I'll tell Brie and Stilt to come along with us. Brie knows someone's working against you."
Footfalls hurried towards the house. I ducked under Mica's bed and slid under just as Macon's booming voice filled the building.
"King Mica," he said. "It's Ignacia. She's killed Mary. What are you doing in here?"
"I need my sword," he said. "If the killer is around, we will need to deal with them. What makes you think Ignacia did it?"
"This," he said. I imagined he was holding up the knife.
"I've never seen her with that," Mica said. "She's only ever had that ball of yarn. Did you find it? If she's around, it will take us to her. Go grab it and bring it to me."
"Here's the thing," Macon said. "She couldn't have gone far. The women all said she was in there and ran out when Mary was discovered. I found the bloody knife under her bed. And right before I ran in there, I swore I saw blood on her clothes."
"If she killed Mary, she was awfully stupid about it," Mica said. "I think the real killer might have framed her. I mean, that's what it looks like to me. My father used to deal with cases like that all the time."
"Well, a lot of people are stupid."
"I know," Mica said. "If it really was her, she might have run into the forest. If I had killed someone, I would have done the same."
My heart raced. All Macon had to do was ask where he was hiding me. It would be all over. The villagers would likely have me put to death, and there was no way I'd be able to defend myself. I couldn't speak and we didn't have the book.
But Macon's footfalls sounded and got farther away. He was leaving.
"Ignacia," Mica said. "Stay there. I'll go get food and see if Brie is going to come with us. She knows this world best of all of us. Though I don't know if she will with Mary and all."
Mica left and the silence in the longhouse was deafening.
The sound of a woman crying floated in. She ran past the open door and I stayed put. The crying vanished. I didn't recognize her. It didn't sound like Brie or Rae.
Brie wouldn't want to help me now. Mary was like a grandmother to her and now Mary was still and covered in blood. Brie was taking this harder than anyone else.
She definitely wouldn't help me if she thought I was the killer.
But the killer might really be whoever had hit me over the head last night.
Annie, even.
She was still out here and I couldn't warn Mica.
I waited for a long time and another pair of women walked past the mens' longhouse, talking in low voices. I made out two words: "trouble" and "new girl."
Macon was convincing a lot of them. I held down vomit. I could die before the sun was down, if I didn't find another copy of the book in time so I could clear my name. And that was if Annie didn't meet me face to face again.
And then several sets of footsteps entered the house.
"Ignacia," Mica said.
I jumped, but his voice was still kind. I crawled out from under the bed and stayed low, out of view of the open door.
Mica stood there with Brie and Stilt, and Brie's eyes were redder than Immanuel's had been that horrible night. She had been crying. Her hair was a mess and even Stilt's inner glow had faded as if the grief had sucked it out. Mica's shoulders were raised and he glanced over his shoulder to check the outside.
"I ordered Macon to assemble a party and search for you in the forest," Mica said. "They are heading back to the spot where we came through since I told them it might be a way back to Fable. They think you're fleeing this world, though I don't see how you could as it is nowhere near midnight. The women are cleaning Mary up and getting ready to hold a service. We've gathered supplies. Brie says there is no money from this world in this camp, so we will need to do something about your clothes."
I stood up, trying not to be sick.
I had brought these people to this place where Annie was still lurking and dangerous. Annie knew about Mary. She had to be in league with Alric, and I had no way to tell these people.
And my brothers were still out here.
But once we had another copy of that book, I could find the right story and tell Mica everything. All I had to do was show him. I was certain someone as smart as him could read.
"Also," Mica said, "Stilt found your bag of flowers outside your cabin. It looks like someone brought them to you. We have them loaded into the thing Brie calls a car."
I gave him a look. I had no idea what a car was.
Brie filled him in. Her voice was cracked and strained. "A car is like a carriage, but it moves on its own. There are no horses needed."
I nodded.
Something like that had entered the camp before the two bandits had chased me back to Fable. Of course it would still be here. They had parked it in the camp.
And now that they were gone, we could use it.
Mica waved me out from behind the bed. "We need to go."
I joined him, studying Brie for any hatred of me. There was none. I glanced down at the dried blood on my skirt. It came in perfect lines. It was obvious someone had rubbed the knife on the fabric. I couldn't believe Macon didn't see the truth.
Mica paused at the door and looked right and left, then waved us out.
It was quiet outside. Empty. Womens' voices came out of the dining hall. The door was mostly closed and the men had vanished. I imagined them marching through the forest, pitchforks in hand, ready to kill me on sight or at least bring me back here to make it a public spectacle. The door to the womens' cabin hung open, forgotten. I could never go in there again. Brie walked outside, making a show of not looking at it. Her despair went down into the ground.
We walked around the mens' cabin and towards the front sign of the camp, where the car was parked. It was a black car, with black wheels and no horses attached. Father had told me there were machines that did everything you could imagine for you in this world. There were four doors on this one. Mica opened one of the back ones for me and waved me in. It was smaller than a carriage. We might feel cramped.
I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Brie got into one of the front seats, the one on the left. She had a wheel in front of her that was attached to the front. Brie picked up a silver key from the seat. "It looks like whoever had this car before forgot about it," she said. "They must have gotten out quickly. Once we start the motor, we should be able to get out of here before anyone can catch us."
Stilt sat beside her. He looked nervous.
"Do you know how to use this thing?" Mica asked, getting in and sitting beside me.
"A little. I got a leaners' permit before I went to Fable with Stilt."
That didn't sound good. Brie inserted the key into a lock by the wheel and turned it.
The entire car rumbled and I jumped. Mica did the same.
The door to the dining hall came open and a flash of orange came out.
Mica's mother.
She stood there, watching us. Mica glared in her direction. "Go," he told Brie. "We don't want to stick around for her."
She moved her foot, turned the car around, and moved her foot again.
We shot forward and I grabbed onto Mica. The car took us past the sign and Brie turned the wheel as if afraid of the machine she was controlling. Mica wrapped his arm around me and held me close. We were both freaked out and Mica wasn't doing a good job of hiding it this time. His pulse raced against mine as I put my head on his shoulder. Mica moved his arm behind me, to make it look like he was supporting me.
"I haven't been in one of these in forever," Stilt said. "I forgot how fast they move."
We moved as if a hundred horses were pulling us. The world sped past. The sign, which said something about the Boy Scouts. The trees. Gravel crunched under us and we headed into the forest. We were on a road. This world had them, too.
"Do you know where to find a book?" Mica asked, obviously trying to distract himself from the ride.
"At a bookstore," Brie said. "We can find one as soon as we get to a city. But I don't have any money. Stilt, you might have to use your magic to get us one."
I got what she was asking. The elf would have to steal us a copy. Elves could move fast and stay out of sight.
Mica breathed out and my pulse calmed down a bit. He rubbed his hand down my bare forearm and kept it there. I was getting a little used to the motion of the car. Brie took even breaths now and her hands relaxed around the wheel. I relaxed against Mica as we rolled farther and farther away from the camp where everyone wanted to kill me.
Where Annie just might be lurking in another shape.
All I could do now was lean against Mica and close my eyes to avoid getting sick.
Chapter Ten
The road had become smoother except for some fast, small bumps which came in a rhythm. I woke and lifted my head from Mica's shoulder.
He smiled at me. "Feeling any better?"
I nodded, but then I remembered it all and sat up, looking behind me.
