Once inside the house, Ian led them through the rooms. There was little furniture and almost no decoration. It seemed that Valona didn’t allow competition from a painting or a pretty cabinet. The only glory allowed was Valona.
The bedroom was at the back of the house and the door opened easily. It was an austere room, just a narrow bed and a table. No pictures were on the walls. There weren’t even any windows.
Ian flew to the far wall. Hanging there was the only other furniture. It was a small cabinet with a locked door. It looked so insignificant that no one would guess it was of any importance.
Ian landed on top of it and Mekos nodded to him.Yes, open it, he was silently saying.
The little man flew down and looked in the keyhole, then pulled back. He held up six fingers to show that there were six tumblers in the lock. He waved his hand toward the door.Was anyone there?
In spite of how he looked to others, when Mekos pulled his hair back, his pointed ears moved in a circle as he listened. He shook his head. They were alone.
Ian quickly moved two tumblers, but the third one gave him trouble. It was an old lock and hard to turn. When it finally moved, he backed out. There was blood on his hands from all the pulling and pushing. He took a few deep breaths, wiped his hands on his bloodstained trousers, then went back in.
When the fourth tumbler moved, he felt Mekos’s fingertip on his remaining foot. He backed out.
Mekos pointed toward the doorway and put his finger to his lips. Someone was coming.
Arit was looking at Aradella as she yawned for the third time. Mekos had told her to keep the princess quiet while he and Ian... Annoyingly, they’d refused to say where they were going or what they planned to do. But she knew where and that it was dangerous. “Dumb, dumb, dumb,” she muttered.
“What?” Aradella murmured. “Where’s Mekos?”
“Practicing his bow and arrow,” Arit said quickly.
Aradella smiled sleepily. “For the Reaver. He’s very good with a bow and he’s beautiful in his black costume. Don’t you think he’s beautiful?”
“He’s a poor copy of his father,” Arit said. “But he’s all right. Why don’t you sleep and I’ll look for them?”
“Good idea,” Aradella said. “Then the Reaver will come and I’ll kiss him again. One more kiss before I die.”
Arit rolled her eyes skyward, then back. She was glad she wasn’t a princess!
Aradella went to sleep as soon as she closed her eyes, and Arit flew out the door. She had no doubt where the two stupid men had gone, alone and unprotected. She didn’t know Ian very well, but she’d known Mekos all his life. He’d always believed he could doanything. She’d seen Tanek pull his son out of a well, release him from a trap, and twice he’d caught him as he fell out of a tree. One time, Tanek ran into a building on fire. He came out carrying his limp five-year-old son over his arm.
So now, Mekos was no doubt yet again in a mess. She was tempted to tell Tanek what was going on, but she didn’t want to see him up against a nasty creature like Valona either. Tanek could handle any weapon, but magic was something different.
Arit got to the big house just as the old maid was entering it. Since her shopping basket was empty, she’d probably forgotten something and had returned for it. Arit was sure the menwere inside, so she needed to distract the woman. The maid was just inside the door when Arit began buzzing around her head. Round and round and as loud as she could make herself vibrate.
The old woman swatted at her, but Arit easily avoided her. The maid kept walking—and Arit heard a clunk sound. She knew it was Ian slithering inside some lock to find... She didn’t know what.
The maid kept walking toward the room at the back.
Arit knew how to annoy humans. She’d learned how when Tanek was a boy and she wanted his attention. Buzzing loudly, she flew past the woman’s eyes, her feet grazing her lashes.
The woman shook her head to get away from the pest.
Arit went to her ear and let her wings flutter against it. The woman hit at her, almost striking Arit. She encircled the woman’s head, entangling her feet in her hair.
With a screech, the woman ran back up the hall, away from where the men were. But the second Arit quit buzzing, the maid started back down the hall.
“What the fark?” Arit muttered. She knew what she had to do.
With a sigh of resignation, Arit got in front of the woman’s face and let herself be seen.
“You!” the maid gasped. “You dirty little creature. Valona needs you.”
When Arit flew backward, the woman followed her out of the hallway.
“I’ll get you!” the maid said.
