A stab of fear pierced her as she realized she hadn’t asked the vital question she should have.
“What are you?”
She saw him smile, his familiar chipped front tooth peeping at her.
He took her hand and pressed it over his heart. He let it stay there, just for a moment. Long enough to show her.
“You cut your hair,” she said, relaxing.
“Yeah. Tino told me to neaten up, remember? Suki did it for me, just after you left.”
Rowan frowned. For some reason, the thought of Suki cutting Sparrow’s hair irritated her.
“You scrub up all right,” she said eventually. “So are you going to tell me what’s up, or not? And watch what you say. The walls have ears in this place, if you know what I mean.” She pointed toward the tea caddy where the brownie lived. Though she could not be sure, she thought she saw the lid twitching and lifting slightly.
He nodded. “I wasn’t going to say nothing, not until I saw you tomorrow,” he said. “Didn’t want to worry you, not tonight.”
“I’m already worried. Any number of things could go wrong tomorrow—”
“It’s not about tomorrow.”
“What then?”
“It’s about what happened tonight. After you’d gone.” He lifted his hands to his face and placed them over it, leaving only his eyes visible. “Me and Suki went to see Fix, like Tino told us to.” His voice was muffled a little from behind his hands, and she noticed his fingernails were short, and also clean.
“So you could get something from her to dispel the changeling’s glamour tomorrow,” said Rowan. “Did you get it?”
Sparrow shook his head and dropped his hands on the table. For a heartbeat it looked as though they were trembling.
“No. We got to her place but there was no answer when we knocked.”
“What are we going to do?” she asked. “We need that potion, it’s crucial to the plan. What if you went in the morning, first thing? Fix will probably be back from wherever she is tonight, and you can—”
“It weren’t that she was out,” he said. “That’s what we thought at first. We knocked a few times, but everyone knows Fix don’t really go out late at night. Not unless she has to. We was going to leave but then Suki remembered that she had a bunch of keys on her from the last job she’d done with Crooks. We decided to give it a go… we knew Fix wouldn’t mind if we let ourselves in if there was a chance we could find something, a potion for what we needed. But when we got inside… she was there. She’s… she’s dead.”
“Dead?” Rowan whispered. “Are you sure?”
He nodded. “We checked her pulse. But even before, we knew. The color of her face…” He blinked hard. “The place was full of potions, but without Fix, we’d no way of telling what they were.”
“How… how did she die?”
Sparrow looked sick now. Rowan got up and filled a glass with some water. She set it before him and he gulped at it shakily.
“There was a bottle on the floor, near to her body,” he said, wiping his hand across his mouth. “It must have been poison. One of her own. It was empty.”
“I don’t understand,” Rowan said slowly. “If it was her own, then… are you saying that you think… you think she drank it on purpose ?”
“That’s just it. I don’t know. Suki seems to think that was what happened. I mean, we all knew Fix’s life wasn’t easy. She was in a lot of pain. But it could also have been an accident—the wrong ingredient in the wrong bottle. Everyone’s capable of mistakes, but Fix was always so… responsible. And so careful.”
“So if she didn’t do it to herself, that means someone else did,” said Rowan.
“I couldn’t see no signs of a struggle,” he said. “That’s what’s so odd.”
“She must have let them in,” said Rowan. The thought sickened her. “If someone killed her, she must have known them. Trusted them, even. Could they have slipped the poison in her food or drink?”
“Possibly,” said Sparrow. “Some poisons are tasteless and have no smell, in which case she wouldn’t have known until it was too late. The other possibility is that someone forced her to drink it.”
“You mean, actually poured it down her throat?” Rowan asked him in horror.
Sparrow shrugged. “She wouldn’t have been difficult to overpower, would she?”
Rowan swallowed. “Does Tino know about this?”
“Not yet, but he will soon. Suki’s on her way back there now.”
“Alone?”
He nodded, and Rowan’s heartbeat quickened as she realized they were both thinking the same thing. “And what about Cobbler and Dawn?” she said weakly. “Any news on them?”
“Still nothing.” He got up, uncomfortable. “I’d better go and catch up with Suki. I told her we should really be sticking together but she insisted she’d be all right. We’re both watching our backs now, at any rate. But I had to check that you were safe.”
“Who’s going to check on you?” she asked softly.
He gave a small, sad smile. “I can look after myself.”
They went to the door, and Rowan opened it. She shivered as cool fingers of a breeze snaked around her ankles.
“What are we going to do about the potion?” she asked. “Are we still going ahead with the plan tomorrow?”
“We’ll have to see what Tino says. For now, we have to assume it’s going to happen.”
“It’s at two thirty that we’re meeting, isn’t it?” she asked.
“Yeah. Although Suki will be there way earlier, for the delivery.”
“Unless we have some kind of potion it’s going to fail though, isn’t it?” she said desperately. “We have to think… is there anyone else who—”
And then it hit her.
“What?” said Sparrow, his blue eyes searching hers.
“I think I know someone who might be able to help. Leave it to me.”
A glimmer of hope lit Sparrow’s eyes. He nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Stay safe.”
“You too,” she whispered as he started to walk away. “Sparrow?”
“Yes?”
She hesitated. “What Merchant said the other night. Do you think it could be true, about someone knowing about us?”
Sparrow was quiet for a long moment. “Until we find out what’s happened to Dawn and Cobbler, we can’t be sure what’s going on… but…” He broke off, biting his lip.
“But what?”
“I don’t know. Just… something doesn’t feel right. We don’t know exactly what’s happened to Fix or the other two. It could just be coincidence—”
“But you don’t think so,” she finished for him.
“No, I don’t. I think something’s going on and I got a bad feeling about this one, Red. A really bad feeling.”
His words echoed in Rowan’s head long after he had gone.
Tanya found herself unable to look Warwick and Rose in the eye at breakfast the next morning. She felt a grain of satisfaction at the mounting evidence that neither of them had slept well: Warwick gulped down mug after mug of strong coffee, while Rose’s hair stood out from her head in an untamed auburn cloud.
Serves them right, Tanya thought tetchily. Her own sleep had come in fits and starts, and she rubbed at her gritty eyes in resentment.
Opposite her, Rowan watched the hearthfay flitting hopefully across Fabian’s line of vision. Fabian, however, was oblivious as always to the fairy’s demands for his attention and was muttering to himself as he wiped at egg yolk on his pajamas.
“You’re a gloomy bunch this morning,” said Nell, squinting around the table.
“How rude,” the General agreed, nibbling a toast crust lodged between his scaly toes.
“We’ve got more animals arriving today,” said Rose, evidently deciding to make an effort at conversation. “A litter of orphaned fox cubs and a hedgehog who had a lucky escape with a car.” She looked hopefully at Rowan and Fabian, but skimmed over Tanya’s eyes
quickly. “Perhaps you’d like to give me a hand getting them settled in.”
Fabian’s head shot up, and he glanced at Tanya and Rowan. They all knew that they could not afford to get held up at the manor if they were going to help Jack at the Spiral Staircase.
“What time are they getting here?” Rowan asked, her voice calm. She did not look up from her breakfast, but despite her unruffled exterior, Tanya knew that her mind would be calculating exactly how to handle this.
“Warwick’s going to collect the fox cubs after breakfast, and the hedgehog is being brought to us around midday.”
Rowan glanced at Tanya and Fabian. “We can help, can’t we?”
They both nodded their agreement, following her lead.
After breakfast, Tanya called to Oberon and took his leash off the back door. As she passed through the overgrown garden and went to the gate leading to the fields, she kept an eye out for Brunswick, the goblin who lived in the garden, but there was no sign of him. Heading toward the brook on the outskirts of the forest, she followed it along, watching Oberon as he snuffled in the long grass, his tail in the air.
She heard the thud of running feet on the ground behind her and turned. Rowan and Fabian had come to join her. She continued along toward the little church, waiting for them to get their breath back.
The scaffolding at the back of the church was still visible. Repairs to the crumbling building had been taking place for some months now, but the entire back wall had been reduced to rubble after they’d discovered the church was one of the locations for the missing charms in Rowan’s quest to find James. They had been lucky to escape alive.
“Listen,” said Rowan. “We’ve got a problem. Well, two problems, in fact.”
“We’ve always got problems,” said Fabian. “What now?”
Rowan flicked a strand of hair out of her eyes. “Last night, when everyone was in bed, Sparrow came to the house. He’d been to see Fix with Suki to get the potion we need for today. Fix was dead when they got there.”
“Fix… she was the one with all the tattoos, and the walking stick, wasn’t she?” Tanya asked, stunned. “What happened to her?”
“We don’t know for sure,” said Rowan. “But it looks like she was poisoned.”
“Someone killed her?” Fabian blurted out.
“Again, we don’t know,” said Rowan. “She could just as easily have taken the poison herself. But Sparrow doesn’t believe that.”
Tanya felt a cold dread engulf her. “You have to break ties with these people,” she said. “After today, you have to stop seeing them. It’s dangerous.”
Rowan stared back at the house, her pointed features sharpened with worry. “I know.”
“What’s the other problem?” Fabian asked. He chewed his thumbnail nervously. “You said there were two.”
“We don’t have the potion to dispel the glamour,” said Rowan. “Without it, I don’t see how our plan can work, and from what Jack said last night I don’t think we can wait much longer before doing anything.”
The tale of Suki’s past hung between them, almost tangible even though it was unspoken.
“Wait a minute,” said Fabian. He pulled his brown leather book out of his pocket and thumbed through the pages. “There’s something in here about getting changelings to leave… I wrote it down from that book of yours—”
“I don’t think—” Rowan began with a snort, but Fabian continued.
“No, listen. Here it is: ‘A changeling can be made to reveal its true nature by holding it above a hot poker, or throwing it on the fire. The fairy will fly up the chimney and send the real human back.’ ”
“That’s a bit vicious, isn’t it?” Tanya asked.
“Not to mention stupid, in this case,” Rowan said cuttingly. “This is a fully grown adult fairy we’re dealing with, not an ancient one pretending to be a baby. The thing posing as Jack’s mother isn’t going to let anyone get near it, let alone grab hold of it and throw it on a fire.”
“Then what about this,” said Fabian obstinately. “ ‘Another method is to take twenty-four halves of eggshells and go about brewing beer in them—’ ”
He broke off, pushing his glasses up his nose, and pondered. “I don’t suppose we have enough time to find out how to brew beer, but we could try something else… brewing tea, perhaps.
“ ‘When the changeling sees this it will announce its astonishment, saying: The acorn comes before the oak, and the egg before the hen. But never before have I seen brewing done in eggshells!’ ” He closed the book.
“Fabian, that story is as old as time,” Rowan said. “I think the fairies have grown wise to it by now.”
Fabian scowled. “Have you got another idea, then?”
“Yes. I think our best chance is to get a potion to dispel the glamour. Without Fix, there’s only one other person I can think of who might be able to help us.” She pointed toward Hangman’s Wood.
“Morag,” Tanya realized.
Rowan nodded. “She’s our last hope, but it’s a long shot. I’m guessing she would be able to provide what we need, but I don’t know whether she’d need more time if she doesn’t have one already prepared. Sometimes potions can take days or weeks to fuse properly. We’ve got only hours.”
“I’ll go,” said Tanya. “She knows me, and I know the way to her caravan.”
“But what about Gredin? If he finds out you’re helping us—”
“I’m helping you,” said Tanya. “I’m not directly involved, and going to see Morag doesn’t put me in danger.”
“All right,” said Rowan. “As soon as you’ve seen her, come back to the house. We’ll be outside with Rose. Once you’re back, we’ll leave to get to Tickey End before half past two. I’ll think of some excuse to get us out of there on time.”
“What if someone asks where Tanya is?” said Fabian.
“Just say I’m still walking Oberon,” Tanya answered. “If I’m late then I’ll say he ran off.”
“You’d better go,” said Rowan. “And whatever you do, don’t let Warwick catch you in the woods, or he’ll probably ground you, and that’s the last thing we need today.”
Tanya watched as Fabian and Rowan set off back to the house. While she had no intention of letting Warwick find out about her going into the woods, she alone knew that if he did, what she had seen last night provided her with more than enough to barter for his silence.
“Come on, Oberon,” she called, walking back to where the stepping stones led across the brook. In a couple of places the water ran across her toes, wetting them through her sandals. Oberon splashed through to the other side, pausing halfway to lap at the water. Then, without a further glance back, she crossed the border of the forest into the dark shade of the ancient trees.
Mad Morag’s caravan was hidden well, deep in the woods. However, if the way was known, it did not take too long to find, and Tanya had the advantage of having been there twice before.
What she had forgotten was how oppressive and disorienting the woods were, especially when she was alone. Every sound, every rustle of wildlife—both everyday and fey—was magnified tenfold. Chirps and whispers of fairies in their nests carried down to her, reminding her that she was an intruder here. She kept her head down, avoiding eye contact and anything that could be seen as aggressive or confrontational, and she kept Oberon close.
She had just reached the first catacomb when she realized that she had completely forgotten to protect herself. With a gasp, she pulled off her thin top and hurriedly turned it inside out, her hands shaking and tangling in the soft fabric. Tugging it back on, she looked around fearfully, feeling stupid and ashamed as she remembered Gredin’s words.
It takes a lot of concentration to employ deterrents all the time…. Only takes a moment’s distraction…. And then, I’ll be waiting.
She leaned against the cool metal railings surrounding the catacomb, taking a moment to gather her wits and sense of direction. Through the railings, a cavernous hole ya
wned like a chasm. It was one of seven deneholes—mysterious caves which wound underground for miles. In the years before the railings had been put up, the deneholes had claimed many lives, earning them the name “catacombs,” meaning “ancient burial chambers.”
She went on her way, trying not to let her mind wander to the bottom of the catacomb and what it might hold. She came upon the second, smaller cavern soon after, finding it ominous, yet reassuring. It signaled that she was on the right path to the old gypsy woman’s caravan.
Minutes later, just long enough for doubt to set in, she found it, tucked snugly away within a sheltered glade. Tanya made for the steps leading to the front door but stopped as a creaking sound caught her attention. She frowned and followed her ears to the far side of the caravan.
A pair of heavily veined feet, pale and twisted with age, popped into view, and then out again. They reappeared, then disappeared, reappeared and disappeared at regular intervals. Tanya peered around the side of the caravan.
Morag sat in a rocking chair, her eyes closed against the morning sun. A book of crossword puzzles rested facedown in her lap over a long raggedy dress. At her side, her smoke-gray cat snoozed in a sunny patch of grass, one eye an open slit on the lookout for predators. It leaped up after a curious sniff from Oberon, hissing and spitting.
Morag’s eyes opened and she shielded them from the sun with a wrinkled hand.
“Sorry,” said Tanya. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Morag chuckled. “Come, now, Grimalkin,” she said to the fizzing cat. “That’s no way to treat our guests, is it?” She stopped rocking and eased herself out of the wooden chair. Grimalkin stared balefully at Oberon and then stalked off into the bushes, tail in the air.
“Come in, then,” said Morag, her knees clicking as she climbed the steps to the caravan.
Tanya followed her inside, breathing in the smoky scent of incense that filled the caravan.
“I’m sorry,” she blurted out again. “I know that every time I come here it’s to ask for your help, without ever giving anything back to you. I’ve been meaning to bring you a puzzle book to say thank you, but I’ve left it at my grandmother’s house because I didn’t even know I needed to come and see you until a few minutes ago and I—”