Every entry was formatted the same. Capital ‘E’ marking them as official settlements.
Then her finger stopped.
One entry. Different from all the others.
Dyssara est Civitas
Lowercase ‘e’. DeC
“Why lowercase?” I asked, still trying to wrap my mind around the name of the city. It just couldn’t be. But it was all we had to go on.
“Because whoever made this registry was trying to hide it in plain sight,” Lucy said. “Make it look like a clerical error. Something no one would notice unless they were really looking.”
“Dyssara?” Mrs. Deliana’s voice came from behind us. “But that’s a name from old stories. A fictional city created by Cecilia Wren ages ago. Before the last Burning. All written accounts of the story were burned, but surely you’ve still heard of it.”
“It’s from The Tales of Scales,” Pip said. “My mama used to tell it. The lost city where the Silver Queen ruled before the dragons came.”
“It’s fiction,” I said, siding with Mrs. Deliana. “A children’s story.”
“Then why is it in a four-hundred-year-old city registry?” Lucy’s voice was tight.
Mrs. Deliana moved closer, peering at the page. “And why isn’t it marked on any map I’ve ever seen, despite being listed here?”
Lucy flipped to the accompanying map. We scanned it together, looking for Dyssara.
Nothing
“It was erased,” Lucy breathed. “Listed in the index but removed from the maps. Someone wanted to make people forget it existed while leaving just enough evidence that the right person might find it again.”
Pip made a small sound of alarm, swooping back toward the window. “Um, friends? The hunters aren’t just watching anymore. They’re surrounding the building.”
My heart kicked into overdrive. Poor Mrs. Deliana. “How many?”
“Six. Maybe more.”
Mrs. Deliana moved quite fast for someone her age, practically running to a particular shelf in the corner. She pulled down a book, leather-bound and ancient, yet covered in runes that seemed to shift subtly when I looked at them directly. I recognized none of them, which was saying something.
She carried the book to an open space on the floor, laying it carefully. Then she pulled something from her pocket, a small rune carved from what looked like bone.
Heavy fists pounded on the door. “The Venatori are summoned for questioning regarding the Magistrate’s disappearance. Open up!”
Shock completely stopped everyone in the room.
“What did he just say?” Pip squeaked.
Mrs. Deliana pressed the rune to the book’s cover and whispered a word I didn’t catch. The pages began to glow with soft, silver light.
“Jump,” she said. “Through the pages. Now.”
“You’ll be implicated,” Lucy said, her eyes wide. “If we do anything but walk out of here willingly, they’ll bring this place to the ground. You must know that.”
“I have another book. Now do as you’re told. There’s no time.”
“Jump into a book?” Pip’s voice went high with panic. “That’s insane!”
“So is dying in my shop.” Mrs. Deliana’s eyes were fierce. “Jump, or don’t. But decide now.”
The door shuddered under another impact. Wood cracked.
