If Thorne could see to take a fresh nightshirt and then climb into bed, how could he possibly not see me? I ran a hand down my leg. I was solid enough. Then I rubbed my finger against the ring. In twisting it around and around, I had reversed it. The part of it with the strange three-hooked design was facing downward, and the ring’s band was exposed on the top side of my thumb.
I had worn the ring before and nothing special had happened. But I had never reversed the ring before, I thought. In twisting the ring around as I’d done, had I been, well, rendered incapable of being seen? It seemed an impossible thought, but what other explanation was there?
So could I sneak out of here? I would still have to move the door to get through it. Thorne would certainly know someone or something was there. Or I could stay here and wait for first light. I decided to chance it.
I glanced through the crack once more and saw Thorne in bed. He had kept one candle burning, but the chamber was only partially lighted by it. I waited twenty more slivers until I started to hear his breathing deepen. When a soft snore escaped his lips, I counted to ten and then quietly opened the wardrobe door. It gave a little creak, which sounded to me like the scream of a garm on the hunt.
I froze, awaiting Thorne possibly springing up and wondering how his wardrobe had managed to open its own door. But he didn’t stir. I closed the door behind me after sliding the box with the mystic carving back where I’d found it.
I looked up at the massive chamber door. I tried to wedge my head through an opening between it and the wall, but I couldn’t fit. The ekos had leaned it back against the wall so that there were only crevices on either side. There was a hole dead center in the door where the Elemental had hit it, only it wasn’t large enough for me to climb through. And anyway, it was too far off the floor for me to reach.
I placed my fingers inside one of the crevices, set my feet and pulled. The door didn’t budge. It would have been easy with Destin around my waist because of the exceptional strength it conveyed to me. But my chain was around Thorne’s waist and I seriously doubted I could strip it off him without the bloke noticing. I almost cried out when I heard the whispery voice from the other side of the huge door.
“Wotcha, Vega Jane?”
It was Delph.
I crept forward and put my mouth right next to the crevice.
“He’s in here asleep, but I can’t get out.”
“Stand back,” he said.
“What are you going to do?” I breathed through the crevice.
“Same as I did before.”
The Elemental struck the door dead-on less than a sliver later, and it toppled inward. I was through the opening so fast that I could see the Elemental smack back into Delph’s outstretched glove. Then he disappeared down the hall, running for his life. I was also running for my life down the passage because morta rounds were exploding out of the chamber I had just escaped. I turned for a moment and saw Thorne in the open doorway. He had a short-barreled morta in either hand and was blasting away. And though I might be invisible, I was still flesh and blood. One round zinged past my ear. Another splattered off the wall, and a piece of stone shattered off, hit my arm and cut it. I kept running and didn’t stop until I was back in our sleeping chamber. Delph was already there, bent over, his big chest heaving in and out.
The full-size Elemental was on the floor. Delph had forgotten to shrink it and Thorne might be here any sliver. I snatched the glove off his hand, hefted the golden lance and willed it to its tiny size.
Delph nearly jumped to the ceiling. It was then I realized that he could not see me. He had just seen the Elemental and the glove suspended in air.
I spun the ring around until it was back to its normal position.
He stared at me like he’d seen an adar flying around the room.
“How— how— how—?” Poor Delph couldn’t finish. He was shaking too badly.
“It was the ring.” I held it up.
“How can a bloody ring make you... make you not there?”
I twisted the ring and vanished. I knew I had vanished because Delph was looking around to see where I’d gone. I put it back once more and reappeared. “I don’t know how it does it, Delph. I’m just glad it did so this night. Otherwise I’d be dead.” This made me remember what I’d discovered.
“Delph, I have so much to tell you.”
I told him about the picture first.
He scratched his chin and said, “So you think Thorne is Morrigone’s father?”
“I’m sure of it. And Murgatroyd is her mother. Was her mother. She’s dead.”
“Well, how do you know that?” he asked.
“Because of the second thing I found. It was a letter. From Virgil to Thorne.”
“What letter?”
“Virgil accused Thorne of murdering Murgatroyd with poisoned mushrooms. He said he was going to see Thorne executed for his crime. And he mentioned Morrigone in the letter. He said that Thorne had robbed her of her mother. That’s why Thorne had to flee Wormwood.”
“Bloody Hel,” exclaimed Delph. “That bloke just likes to kill, don’t he?”
I sat down on the pallet next to him. “Murgatroyd was like Morrigone. It was her job to take care of Wugs and Wormwood. I bet that made Thorne jealous. I bet he also knew what else she could do. The same things Morrigone can do now.”
“Ya mean magic-sorcery stuff?”
“I wonder if Morrigone even knows what really happened to her mother?”
“Makes me feel kind-a sorry for her,” said Delph.
I had never thought I would feel sorry for Morrigone. But if Thorne had murdered Morrigone’s mother? What a weight to carry in one’s heart.
I was surprised that Thorne had not turned up to check on us by now. But perhaps he was chasing down grubbs in some far-off part of his kingdom. At least it would give us some time to think.
Thorne was undeniably a monster. And he had to be stopped. Now. But how? Then I remembered. The book I had taken from under Thorne’s mattress. Maybe there was something in there.
I pulled the book out and showed it to Delph.
“Blimey,” he said. “Experiments?”
We started reading the book together. It was filled not only with words but with drawings. We both turned pale and then I felt sick to my stomach.
They were drawings of cut-up ekos, gnomes and grubbs. The drawings of young ekos, their bodies all disfigured, made me sick. I had to look away.
“He’s... been experimenting on them,” Delph said.
“Someone’s coming,” I said in a hushed voice. I looked down at the ring. The blasted ring. If I was found with it? And the book!
I gazed around, searching for a hiding place. But there was really nowhere. Then something nudged my hand. It was Harry Two. I looked at my canine and he looked back at me. I took the ring off and he opened his mouth. I placed the ring inside and he closed his snout. I slid the book of experiments under him and Harry Two lay right down, his big body covering it completely. I blew out the candle, and the chamber was plunged into darkness. Delph and I quickly lay down and pretended to be asleep.
A few moments later, Thorne stalked in, followed by a number of ekos. They were carrying torches and mortas. Luc was one of them. I sat up, stretched and let out a yawn.
“What is it?” I asked sleepily. “What’s all the fuss now?”
Thorne came to stand over me. He looked first at me, then at Delph. His gaze swept over but did not linger on Harry Two, who lay there on the floor with his snout between his front paws.
“What’s all the fuss now?” said Thorne. “What do you mean by that?” he added suspiciously.
“Well, there was this commotion before. Screams. Morta shots. Then it quieted down. And then it started up again. But then it quieted down again. Until you blokes showed up.”