IN HER LIBRARY alcove, Tilda and Teddy stood together, brother and sister, gazing at the endless rows of books. Their faces glowed with appreciation.
"Did Bren stay at the shop?" asked Bitterblue.
"We thought it unwise to leave it unguarded, Lady Queen," said Tilda.
"And my Lienid Guard?"
"One stayed to guard Bren, Lady Queen, and the other accompanied us."
"It makes me nervous for them to split up," Bitterblue said. "I'm going to see if we can spare another man or two for you. What news can you give me?"
"Bad news, Lady Queen," said Teddy grimly. "Early this morning, a story room burned. It was empty, so no one was hurt, but no one saw how it started either."
"I suppose we're meant to think it was random," said Bitterblue in frustration. "A coincidence. And naturally, it wasn't in my morning report. And I really don't know what to do," she added, a bit hopelessly, "beyond send the Monsean Guard to patrol the streets more, except that ever since Captain Smit disappeared, I've been leery of trusting the Monsean Guard. Smit's been gone a month and a half, you know. I keep getting reports on his proceedings at the refineries that I cannot get myself to believe. Darby says they're in Smit's handwriting, but Darby hasn't been inspiring confidence of late. Oh," she said, rubbing her forehead. "Perhaps I'm just crazy."
"We could find out whether Captain Smit's truly at the refineries,
Lady Queen," said Tilda, elbowing her brother, "couldn't we, Teddy? Through our own contacts?"
Teddy's face lit up. "We could," he said. "It may take a few weeks, but we'll do it, Lady Queen."
"Thank you," Bitterblue said. "On another matter, can any of you make letter molds?"
"Bren quite enjoys it, Lady Queen," said Tilda.
Bitterblue handed Tilda a piece of paper on which she'd drawn the thirty-two letters of the Dellian alphabet. "Please ask her to make molds of these shapes," said Bitterblue. For Death's translation of the first volume was moving at a crawl and all this talk of fire was making Bitterblue distinctly anxious; what if they lost the other thirty-four volumes somehow, before Death got to them? "Leck's journals need printing," she said. "Tell no one."
THE NEXT MORNING, Bitterblue emerged from her rooms, rubbing sleep from her eyes.
In the sitting room, Helda arranged the breakfast dishes. "Hava was just here, Lady Queen," she said, banging plates around. "She's succeeded where the other tail hasn't. She's followed Fox to her nighttime lair."
"Lair." Bitterblue went to kneel before the fire, adjusting her sword, breathing in the light. It was hard to wake up when the snow never stopped and the sun never reached her windows. "That's not a friendly word. You know, Helda, I've been thinking some things through. Is Fox's lair, by any chance, a cave?"
"It is, Lady Queen," said Helda humorlessly. "Fox lives in a cave across the river."
"And Spook and Gray also live in a cave?"
"Yes. An interesting coincidence, isn't it? Fox's cave is on the other side of Winter Bridge. She gets onto the bridge, if you can believe it, by climbing up its pillars from where they start under the docks."
"Balls," said Bitterblue. "Why not just walk onto it the normal way? Why not row across the river in a boat?"
"We can only assume that she's alert to the possibility of being followed, Lady Queen. It's difficult to spot a person in dark clothing climbing the pillars of a bridge at night, even a bridge made of mirrors. Once Hava understood what Fox was doing, of course, she backtracked and ran onto the bridge in the usual way, but Fox was too fast for her, and got too far ahead. Fox crossed the bridge, shimmied down the pillars again, and, as best as Hava could tell from above, disappeared into a grove of trees."
"How does Hava know about the lair, then?"
"Because she followed the next person who came across the bridge, Lady Queen."
Something in Helda's tone gave Bitterblue a sinking feeling. "And that person was?"
"Sapphire, Lady Queen. He led Hava directly into the trees, then to an outcropping of rock that was guarded by men with swords. Hava can't be sure, of course, but she believes it's a cave and that it was Fox's destination as well."
"Tell me he didn't go in," said Bitterblue. "Tell me he hasn't been working with them all this time."
"No, Lady Queen," said Helda. "Lady Queen! Take a breath," said Helda, coming to Bitterblue, kneeling, grasping Bitterblue's hands hard. "Sapphire did not go in, nor