She waited an instant for her eyes to adjust to the dimmer light.
A little louder: “Caz? Meep?”
Why aren’t they answering?She felt fear creep up from her stomach and clutch her throat. She crept deeper into the cave. The air was cool and damp on her skin, and she tasted salt with every breath. Water lapped at the walls, echoing, and as her eyes adjusted, she saw the painted flowers flickering above.
The library boat was here, a shadow in the water. But where was—
She heard a muffled shout.
Hitching up her skirt, Kiela ran through the shallows toward the sound. Ahead, she saw a figure thrashing on the rocks in the far corner of the cave. Shadows flailed on the wall.
And she heard Caz: “Hold her down! Almost got it—Meep, don’t poke her!”
On the ground, wrapped in line from the boat, was the imperial investigator. Her red hair stuck out at all angles, and a wad of cloth—it looked like a ripped piece of sail—was shoved in her mouth.
“What did you do!” Kiela cried.
“Kiela! You’re here! Help us!”
They couldn’t tie up an imperial investigator! This was a terrible, terrible idea. “I’m so sorry.” Kiela dropped to her knees and yanked the bit of sail out of Radane’s mouth.
“Did the mermaid find you?” Caz asked at the same time as Radane shouted, “Release me this instant, or you’ll face the full force of imperial wrath!”
Meep stabbed the cloth with their prickles to pick it up, and then they shoved it back in Radane’s mouth. Her shouts became muffled.
“We can explain,” Caz said to Kiela.
“Meep,” Meep agreed.
He repeated his question: “Did the mermaid find you?”
“She didn’t,” Kiela said. “I came to check on you.”
“I sent her to—Never mind. You’re here now. We caught Radane”—he gestured to the bound woman with his leaves—“sneaking into the cave. She said that nasty man, Fenerer, had seen us in the boat. We must have sailed right past his house, and he saw us and told her that we were acting suspicious and where we went, so she came here and—”
Kiela shook her head. “Please tell me you didn’t attack an imperial investigator.”
“We didn’t attack an imperial investigator,” Caz said, and held up his tendrils as if swearing an oath of truth.
“Then why—”
“Because Radane isnotan imperial investigator.”
Water lapped at the walls of the cave. Kiela stared at Caz, then at Radane. But . . . She’d said she was. She’d acted like one. Granted, there was no proof, but she had been in a shipwreck and lost all her belongings, so how could she have proof? “How do you know?”
“She wasn’t trying to confiscate the spellbooks; she was trying to steal them.”
“Meep,” the cactus agreed.
Radane thrashed and mumbled through the gag.
Again, Kiela asked, “How do you know?” If Radane sneaked into the cave and was poking around the boat . . . wasn’t that the action of an investigator? What made him think she was trying to steal them rather than—
“She tried to do a spell,” Caz said.
Oh.
Kiela looked at Radane. Yeah, that wasn’t something an investigator would do. Certainly not an honest one. She removed the gag. “Would you like to explain yourself?” she asked politely.
