The little spirit nodded. He disappeared and reappeared with a small phial of milky, white liquid.
‘Three drops,’ said the witch, throwing the phial at Lio, who caught it and grimaced. Nevertheless, he unstoppered it and let the drops fall against his tongue. Lio’s brown eyes shone suddenly with sparkling golden light.
‘What is that?’ whispered Dot.
‘Truth potion,’ said Rupert, too stunned to keep up his usual air of disdain. ‘I’ve never seen her use it on anyone before.’
‘I swear,’ said Lio truthfully, ‘I did not know they had my blood.’
‘And yet you tampered with my wards.’
Lio sat up a little straighter. He said, imploringly, ‘I had a reason.’
‘Whatreasoncould have persuaded you to help Cate? After what she did?’
‘It wasn’t Cate.’
‘Then who?’
‘Opal.’
Theodora halted. She stared at him as horror flickered over her face, then fury, then calm. Belchamber glanced curiously at his mistress. It was Dot, however, who blurted from her place against the mantle, ‘Who is that?’
The witch did not take her eyes from Lio as she answered, ‘For a dead person, one would usually use the word “was”.’
‘She isn’t dead,’ said Lio, standing. He held fiercely to the couch. ‘The Lunaria can attest to that.’
‘Only to your belief of it,’ said Belchamber. ‘Mistress Theodora, could Master Lio be correct?’
‘No,’ said Theodora. ‘The girl you loved is dead, Lio.’
‘She isn’t.’
‘Sheis,’ said Theodora. ‘Oh, I could not despise you any more than I do at this very moment. You foul, stupidtoad, Lio. How could you be so blithely gullible?How did “Opal” contact you, hm?’
Lio reached into the breast pocket of his pyjamas. He withdrew a folded piece of paper, shrunken, the pages stuck together. Theodora snatched it from him. She read the letter and let out a laugh.
‘This is an obvious forgery.’
‘It can’t be,’ said Lio. He snatched it back.
‘I watched her mother murder her,’ said Theodora. ‘It is not something I would invent.’
‘I’m not saying you did.’
‘What did you think would happen when you took down the wards?’ asked Theodora.
‘I only cared about Opal,’ said Lio. ‘I didn’t think.’
‘Clearly,’ said Theodora. ‘Cate has played you for a fool. She wanted to break into the shop. You almost gave her that success.’
Theodora came to Rupert and helped him over to the sofa. Then she turned the nearest armchair right side up and magicked away the shattered glass. She sat.
‘What happened to you, Liutprand?’ said Theodora, rubbing her eyes. ‘You were never this naivewhen I knew you.’
Lio shook his head.
‘Go on,’ said Theodora, ‘while the Lunaria’s fresh. Absolve yourself. Tell us exactly how you came to be such a fool.’
