She reached in to feel the fabric. It was soft and smooth. Was she perhaps being unreasonable? She tried to picture herself in it, but it had been more than three years since she had worn anything other than clothes fit for a thief.

"I bet Ethan would like it," Thora had told her.

This had embarra.s.sed Kat to no end.

Her thoughts were broken by Asta calling out from downstairs.

"Come on, Kat. Hurry up."

She liked Asta and Maile very much, and enjoyed the time she spent with them. Though they acted a bit childish at times in fact most of the time they were fun to be around.

Since she had first arrived at the house, Lady Thora had made a point of seeing to it that the girls had plenty of time to play together. It had been a long time since Kat had done anything so frivolous as playing. At first she found it difficult joining in. Soon though, she was laughing and giggling as much as the other two while looking for clever places to hide or running through the halls trying to get away from whoever was 'it' at the time.

All this reminded Kat of her life when she was a little girl; sometimes thinking about it made her quite sad. Asta and Maile would pick up on her mood immediately and do their best to cheer her up. Occasionally they would ask her about things in the human world, or what she had done before coming to Elyfoss. Unwilling to tell them that she had been a thief, Kat refused to answer anything about her past although she did so as politely as possible. Thankfully, the girls didn't pressure her, so she was never forced to be openly rude.

Though not as vast as the king's manor, Lady Thora's home was every bit as elegant and well-furnished. The art on the walls, the intricacy of the fixtures, and the polished silver rails along the broad spiral staircase all indicated a person of great wealth and power. Yet in spite of the lavish nature of her surroundings, the warm way that Lady Thora had opened her home made Kat feel comfortable and relaxed. It was all too easy to forget that only days before they had been running for their lives from the agents of the Emperor.

She made her way downstairs to a small parlor where Asta and Maile were sitting at a round breakfast table. A bowl of steaming porridge and a gla.s.s of cold juice had been placed in front of an empty chair. The girls had already started eating when she arrived.

"Sorry," said Asta. "We couldn't wait."

Kat smiled and took a seat. "That's all right. I eat faster than you anyway."

After breakfast they played a game of hide and seek, then took turns reading stories from one of Maile's books. Kat didn't care so much for this particular activity. Dwarf stories were confusing, and she could never quite get the point to most of them.

When it was time for lunch, Kat suggested that they go to the king's manor. "You can meet my friends," she said.

Asta and Maile looked at each other, mouths open and eyes wide.

"What's wrong?" Kat asked. "I'm sure Lady Thora won't mind."

"We can't," said Asta, wringing her hands. "Grandmother said we should stay inside today."

"Besides," added Maile. "It's much too far. I don't feel like walking all that way. Let's just stay here."

It was obvious that the girls were becoming increasingly uneasy.

"What's going on?" Kat asked. "You can tell me."

The pair looked at each other again, then said in unison: "Nothing."

"Tell me!" Kat repeated, this time more forcefully.

Asta lowered her eyes and kicked her feet. Maile also tried to look away, but Kat stepped forward and bent down to her eye level.

"I...I...," Maile stammered. "It's not our fault. We overheard grandmother talking. She made us promise not to tell you."

A chill shot down Kat's spine. "Tell me what?"

"Promise that you won't be angry." Maile was nearly in tears. "Promise, and I'll tell you."

Kat took a deep breath. "I promise."

"They're gone," she said.

Kat's eyes narrowed. "Who's gone?"

"Your friends. You know, Ethan, Markus and Jonas. They left Elyfoss last night with Birger. Asta and I heard grandmother talking to my uncle about it right after bed-time when we came back down for a gla.s.s of water. She made us swear not to tell you."

Kat felt like she had been punched in the stomach. She staggered back, her head swimming.

"I'm sorry," said Asta. "We wanted to tell you. But we swore not to. Please don't be angry."

Tears were streaming down both girls' cheeks.

Something inside Kat snapped. "They had no right!" she screamed. "They had no right to leave me behind!"

Maile reached out to comfort her, but Kat brushed past and set off at a run toward the front door.

"Please wait," Maile begged. "They're already gone."

Kat did not even hear her. She burst through the door and raced as fast as her legs would carry her to the king's manor.

Normally the guards at the entrance would let her in without question. But this time they barred her way.

"Lady Thora is occupied at the moment," one of them said. "She left word to say you must wait for her at the house until she returns."

"I'm not here to see Lady Thora," said Kat, trying her best to sound calm. "I just need to get something from my room."

The guard crossed his arms and shook his head. "I'm sorry, but whatever it is will have to wait until Lady Thora is finished in council."

With fingernails biting into her palms, Kat forced a smile. "Of course. If you see her, please tell her I came by and that I'll see her later."

The guard nodded, watching closely as she headed back in the direction of Lady Thora's house. However, once safely out of sight around the corner of the next block, she stopped and placed her back flat against the building. Her heart was pounding and her breaths came in shallow gasps.

How could he do this to me?

It took her a full minute to regain her composure. Then, once she was sure that no one was looking at her, she concentrated hard on a point deep inside her mind. Within seconds Kat could feel a heat and power throbbing to the rhythm of her pulse. When she was badly afraid, this only took a fraction of a second to happen, but now the process was taking quite a bit longer. Only when she was certain that it was completely done did she step out from behind the building and walk back toward the king's manor.

The guards were talking quietly about how they wished the council would hurry up and decide what to do so they could get back to their regular duties. They had no idea that Kat was walking silently in front of them.

The doors were shut. If she tried to open them the guards would notice and the spell would be broken. She'd be caught for sure then. She moved along the building a short way and tugged at one of the first story windows, but it was locked on the inside. There was an open window on the second floor, but the walls were too smooth to climb.

It was hard to stop herself from crying out with frustration. Normally she did this sort of thing under the cover of darkness. But it was never dark in Elyfoss. She looked left and right. The manor was ma.s.sive. It would take way too long to search the entire ground floor for an unlocked window.

The front door opened and three dwarf women walked out. The guards snapped to attention as they pa.s.sed, then relaxed again the moment they were on the avenue. Slowly the door shut with a m.u.f.fled thud.

That's it, Kat said to herself.

Creeping close to the guards, she crouched down between the pair of them. She knew this was risky. If someone looked directly at her with too much curiosity or intensity, it might cause the spell to break. It was how that oaf Durst had caught her.

"What was that?" asked the guard on the left. He glanced briefly down in her general direction.

The other guard looked across at him, but his eyes were pa.s.sing over her head.

Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't look down, she repeated over and over in a silent prayer.

"I don't see anything," he said.

"I could have sworn..." His companion shrugged. "I guess it was nothing."

The door opened again. This time a young male dwarf and an older woman stepped out. Once again the guards snapped to attention. Kat waited just long enough for the way to be clear, then scuttled through. It began to close just as she was safely inside.

She gave a brief smile of satisfaction. Jeb would have been proud.

After hurrying up the stairs, she headed straight to Ethan's room, still clinging to the vain hope that the girls might have been wrong. But they weren't. His room was empty. So was Markus'.

The hollow ache in the pit of her stomach turned into a sharp pain. She fell to her knees, weeping uncontrollably.

A stern female voice sounded. "What are you doing here?"

Kat glanced up to see a dark haired dwarf woman with a broom in her hand standing in the doorway. She was looking very displeased.

"Answer me," the woman snapped.

The sorrow tearing away at Kat's insides suddenly boiled up into a blind rage. Jumping to her feet, she shoved the woman aside and stormed her way directly to the council chamber. By the time she reached it, her tears were completely dry. Flinging the door open, she walked boldly inside.

The council was in the middle of what looked to be a highly heated argument. King Halvar was pounding his fist on the table and shouting at the top of his voice - something about liars and traitors.

A sudden hush fell over the room as Kat appeared.

Halvar then found his voice again. "What the b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l is she doing here?" His face was bright red and his knuckles sc.r.a.ped and bruised from pounding them on the stone table.

Lady Thora sprang up and was at Kat's side in an instant. "Come with me, child."

"Why did you do it?" Kat shouted at her, ignoring all else.

Thora leaned close to whisper in her ear. "Not here. Please. I'll explain everything later, I swear I will."

"Will someone answer me?" demanded Halvar. "Why is this child here?"

"She's upset, my king," explained Thora. "And for good reason, as you well know. I'll take her back to my home and return as soon as I am able." She gave the a.s.sembly a slight bow. "I'm sure you can all shout and yell at each other perfectly well without me for a while."

Before the king could say another word, she ushered Kat from the chamber and closed the door. "You shouldn't have come here," she said.

Kat's eyes were still blazing. "Don't you dare tell me what I should or shouldn't do. You lied to me."

"Yes," she admitted. "And if you will just come back to my house, I'll explain why."

"Explain to me now." Kat crossed her arms defiantly.

Thora sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "My dear, if you don't come with me right away, we will both end up in a whole world of trouble."

"Fine. But I want answers as soon as we get there."

As they exited the manor, the guards gazed at Kat in shock and alarm.

"How did you get in here?" one of them demanded.

A harsh look from Lady Thora silenced him. Both guards then quickly snapped to attention.

Kat didn't utter a single word during the walk back to the house. When they entered the front door, Asta and Maile were waiting, their faces bright red from crying.

"We're sorry," each of them wailed.

Thora gave her granddaughters a loving smile. "Dry your tears. You did nothing wrong."

"But we promised you," said Asta.

"It's fine, darling," Thora gently a.s.sured her. "I know you only did what you thought was right. The fault is mine. I shouldn't have asked you to lie to a friend. Now go upstairs and wash your faces. You both look a complete mess."

The girls paused to look at Kat, but she was still too furious to speak.

"Go on," said Thora, a touch more firmly.

The girls burst into a run and were up the stairs in seconds.

Thora waited until she heard their door slam shut before speaking again. "You shouldn't blame them."

"I don't. I blame you."

She held out her hand. "Come. Please. Let's sit and talk."

Kat refused to take Thora's hand, but the woman simply smiled and walked toward a door leading into the library at the rear of the house. Kat followed...but not closely.

The library was stocked to the brim with hundreds upon hundreds of books and scrolls. A glowing rajni stone hung from the ceiling.

Thora sniffed the air and sighed as she entered the room. "I love the smell of books, don't you? I used to spend hours in here when I was a girl."

"I don't care what you did when you were a girl," Kat retorted. "I only care about why I was left behind."

Unmoved by her rudeness, Thora laughed softly to herself. "You are so much like my daughter. Headstrong and stubborn. And when she was angry...well, you had better get out of her way."

She walked over to a masterfully carved wooden table at the center of the room and gestured to one of the chairs placed beside it. Kat gave a curt shake of the head.

"Suit yourself," said Thora. "But I'm sure you'll be more comfortable sitting. We have a great deal to discuss."

Kat huffed and growled, but finally sat down. "Now tell me where they are or I'll...I'll..."