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Trenyth tugged at the collar of his robe. "Trillian was the only one Queen Asteria could trust for this mission, and you'll understand why when I tell you."
"We'd better." My hand moved toward the silver dagger at my side.
He flashed me a cold look. "Your father was due in Elqaneve a few days ago. He was going to join our intelligence operations."
"Father! What do you know about our father? We haven't heard from him since he ran from the Guard." I tensed. Delilah and Menolly did the same.
"Your father sent word he was coming. We needed him. He has secret information about the armies of the Court and Crown. But along the way, he vanished."
"Shit. Not good. Not good at all. Any idea what happened to him?" Menolly kicked a rock out of the way as Delilah glumly dropped into a squat. I watched her carefully for a moment, but she didn't transform.
"We found out through an informant—you know Rozurial—that your father's soul statue is still intact. But we need the information he was carrying. We have to find out where he's disappeared, and why. Trillian was the only one we could trust in this matter. He knows your father. He knows the whole story."
"Oh Great Mother," I said, leaning against Smoky as he helped keep me onto my feet. "Then the goblins—"
"Once they realize he's a spy, they'll torture and kill him, unless he can escape." Trenyth's voice dropped. "I'm so sorry. We still don't know what happened. There were no reports of goblin activity in the area we sent Trillian into. We have no idea how they showed up there so fast."
"The portals." Menolly snapped her fingers. "That's how! They're using the rogue portals. And want to make a bet that a few must have escaped back to Guilyoton with information about us after today's fight."
"Fight? What are you talking about?" Trenyth looked confused.
We filled him in on the battle that morning.
"Oh crap, and don't forget the goblin and Sawberry Fae!" Delilah jumped up and dusted off the butt of her jeans. "Want to make a bet they not only fed what they know to the demons but to their compatriots at home? Goblins are sneaky little bastards, and they never stick to their word."
"If that's so, they've probably been spying on us since before they ever came to the shop after Feddrah-Dahns," I said, as numb as if I'd been pumped full of Novocain. "Want to bet Karvanak has been watching us for awhile? If he's been in Seattle since before Bad Ass Luke came through, then maybe he's been keeping tabs on us all along. Who knows how much the demons know? Or Queen Lethesanar?"
My concerns about Trillian and my father took on entirely new and unwelcome dimensions. "You don't suppose Lethesanar might actually be in cahoots with the demons?" The thought was bone-chilling. If so, then she was turning traitor on two entire worlds.
Trenyth frowned. "I doubt it, but I'll be certain to discuss it with Queen Asteria. There's not much else I can tell you."
"What now?" I said, still feeling faint. Inside, I just kept repeating, He's not dead yet… he's not dead yet… hold onto that glimmer of hope. "We have to rescue Trillian. I know he's trained for this situation, but goblins are merciless, and they'll tear him apart before he willingly gives them information."
"There's nothing you can do," Trenyth said softly. "We'll do everything we can, but there's only so much…" He reached out to rest a hand on my shoulder. Smoky reached out and pushed Trenyth's hand away. Trenyth hung his head. "You don't know how much I regret having to bear this news to you, Camille. I know what Trillian means to you."
"Yeah, right," I said softly. "Is there anything else?"
He shook his head.
"Then maybe you'd better go and talk to Queen Asteria about all of this." I turned away before he could speak again.
"Child, don't punish the messenger." Grandmother Coyote's voice echoed in the still night, and I whirled around, ready to argue, but she shook her head, and I fell silent. "He could have kept silent. He didn't have to come here."
I inhaled a deep, shuddering breath. "You're right. Trenyth, thank you for telling me yourself. I guess we'd better get moving. If there's nothing more you have to say?"
They turned in silence and walked away. As I watched them go, my heart dropped like a lodestone, heavy and dragging me down. I walked toward Morio's SUV. Everyone followed me, and their unspoken questions weighed on me like a suffocating rock.
I glanced at them. "There's nothing you can do to make it better, so don't even try. Trillian's doomed, and our father's missing. This is the nature of war. Unless they allow us to return to Otherworld, to undertake the rescue ourselves, then what the fuck is there for anybody to say? And even if we could go, there would be a thousand places to search."
Morio unlocked the car. As the others clambered in, leaving the front seats empty, Smoky and Morio flanked my sides. I stared mutely at Morio. The molten topaz of his eyes melted my heart, and I felt a sob jog in my chest. Morio slid his arms around my waist. Smoky came up behind me and draped his arms around my shoulders. His hair rose up to stroke my arms, my forehead, along the length of my leg.
"Camille, you must do something," Smoky said. "Trillian… there is a chance to save him. This is not some dragon trick meant to bind your will."
"What can I do? How can I find him?" My voice was faint as I vied for control of my emotions. I wanted to cry, to weep, to fall apart and let them pick up the pieces. But as always, I forced myself to stand rock-solid.
When Mother had died, I'd been the glue to hold together the family. And never once had I let them down, even though I was screaming inside.
When the other children had taunted Delilah into transforming, I'd been the one to beat the crap out of them in order to rescue her, and got myself beaten up in return. But I hadn't cried. I didn't dare show my own vulnerability, because they might pick on her even worse.
