time and the tooth came free. It twisted once, twice, and then stilled.
Uncle Argoth grasped the dead worm thing about his throat and ripped it free. He held it up before him then cast it to the floor.
A bright spot of red glistened on his neck.
Uncle Argoth stroked the spot. Then he pulled his hand away and looked at the blood there.
“That was a nasty bite,” he said to Sugar. “But well done. Now free Ke and the Creek Widow. Then Hogan, River, and Purity. In that order.”
“Bring the crown here,” he said. “She’ll feel the breach. We don’t have much time.”
Talen hurried over to Uncle Argoth, who was still in chains, and held the crown out to him.
Uncle Argoth took it by the strap and lay the square medallion in the palm of his hand. He stroked its surface with his finger.
Sugar moved to Ke, who stretched his thick neck to the side.
“Wait,” said Talen. “Give me the other gauntlet and tooth. We’ll do two at a time.”
Sugar nodded and removed the second gauntlet from her belt. She tossed it to Talen.
He caught it midstride. It was as light as silk and thin. Even the weave in its palm was thin. He expected to feel some surge of power when he pulled it on to his left hand, but he felt no such thing. It felt simply like an exceedingly fine glove. The gold studs were small enough that it wouldn’t affect the grip of the glove too much. He had no time to tie the sleeve, so he let the straps dangle.
Sugar lay the silver case containing the last tooth on the floor and turned to Ke. He gasped when she put the tooth to his collar. But this time she kept a firm grip and the tooth did not jump from her hand.
Talen bent down, opened the case, and removed the last tooth. He approached the Creek Widow. Her eyes danced with delight. “Did I not say you were the one to watch?”
She turned her head and put her arms behind her back. Her chains clinked and clattered. How they were going to break those he did not know.
He now saw that the collars weren’t all one color. Instead, they were dark and muddy, shot through with browns and greens and a heavy blue. There was a pattern to it, but it was all too dark to distinguish it well. They reminded him of hideous, too-short eels.
Talen did not hesitate, but quickly pricked it with the sharp point of the tooth.
He was not ready for the power and slipperiness of the tooth. It jumped like a fish from his hand to twine and wrestle with the dark collar. Then it began to wriggle in.
Frantically, Talen grasped for the tooth. He caught the end barely before it completely disappeared into the body of the collar.
He glanced at the Creek Widow’s face. She was grimacing in pain, gritting her teeth.
The collar about the Creek Widow’s neck jerked and rolled. The tooth strained against his grasp. And then it stopped and the collar hung limp about the Creek Widow’s neck.
Talen yanked back on the tooth and it came out, trailing some substance that was dark and sticky.
Behind him, he heard Ke grunt. Talen turned and saw Ke straining, pulling at the chain where it was bolted to the rock wall. He gave another heave and, with a crack, pulled the iron loop from the rock.
Talen shook his head. Admiration bloomed in him: his brother was as strong as any dreadman. Stronger.
The Creek Widow tugged at the collar. When it came loose, she flung it to the floor and then felt her throat. “You can be sure I won’t be asking for one of those during the Festival of Gifts.”
The skin where the collar had coiled about her neck was red and raised in a long welt.
Ke strode over to the Creek Widow, rolling his shoulders and shaking his arms to loosen them. He looked at Talen and grinned. “Step aside, little man.”
He picked up the chain binding the Creek Widow to the wall, grimaced, and gave it a mighty yank. The chain ripped completely out of the wall.
Ke grunted.
“Handy,” said the Creek Widow, “isn’t he? Now get your sister.”
The Creek Widow joined Ke and Uncle Argoth off to one side in an odd circle. They began chanting—one would speak, then the other two would repeat it in unison. Talen couldn’t understand the words and realized they were in some odd