Page 60 of The Filigree Key

“You can use my kettle,” Shari grumbled.

“Thanks, Shari. You’re the best.” As I poured out the kettle water back into the water bucket, I kneaded my fingers into the fur along Sawyer’s spine with my other hand. “And you’re doing awesome too, little cat. I can’t thank you enough.”

Purring, the tabby tomcat wiggled into a more comfortable position on my lap and took another massive bite from his chicken leg.

“That other tunnel probably leads to the hanging shed,” Flora mused, nodding. “That’s where I was.”

“Yes, it’s time for you to explain yourself,” Daphne agreed icily.

The honey badger stood and crunched down into the apple. “There I was, surrounded by enemies—”

“Conciseness without elaboration would be best,” Shari said. Her sewing needle, made again by one of her smaller quills, whizzed back and forth through the satin. “Meadow, I’m making this in the medieval style with the voluminous sleeves to hide potions or snacks or knives.”

Pockets for all my potions, snacks, and knives. So thoughtful.

Looking a little deflated, Flora shoved the rest of the apple into her mouth, core and all, and sat back down. “I assume Daph told you we were in Patty’s Pub getting a feel for how the rebellion was growing when the Brotherhood arrived, right? Well, after the mare made a mad dash for the back door, I stayed behind.”

“Why?” Daphne demanded.

“Because I was born with an overabundance of curiosity, that’s why!”

“An inability to mind your own business, more like,” Shari muttered.

The honey badger bared her teeth. “Well this time, it’s not so much of a character flaw as it is a virtue. So like I was saying, we were in the back, which is right next to the big corner booth reserved for the Brotherhood when they come in. Daphne scooted, which left me to do my best taxidermy impression.”

Flora demonstrated standing tall and straight, and I realized exactly why she hadn’t been seen. The ventral half of the honey badger was entirely black, perfect for blending into the dark hardwood of the pub, especially when she kept her mouth shut.

“They were already in a mood when they sat down, something about Os—”

All four of us immediately hushed her.

“Right, right,” she said, nodding sagely. “Something about the Tyrannical Twit wanting to hunt down Wystan.”

“We know,” Shari said. “Meadow told us.”

“Alec was there, spitting vinegar at a certain someone”—she pointed to me—“who had the audacity to create a flaming barrier around a certain magical tree. I got to thinking, is this the—”

“It is. And we know,” Daphne said. “Meadow told us.”

“Well what you all don’t know,” the honey badger huffed, “is that none of them were very happy about it. Any of it. Alec said he even told the Antlered Arsehole that he’d never be able to keep the populace under control without the Brotherhood’s help, that they were owed a cut of the magic. Since it was them who’d been helping Wystan kidnap all the magic folk in Redbud.”

Flora lowered her voice to a whisper. “They’re going to hide him. Give him sanctuary, whatever, so he can keep snatching folks. But instead of giving them to the Egomaniacal Eejit, he’ll give them to the Brotherhood to drain in exchange for his protection. Meadow, they’ve started their own rebellion.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

“A petulant subversion at best,” Shari corrected.

“But that’s still treason,” Daphne said.

“That’s a nail in the Brotherhood’s coffin,” I said. “Might be the only one they need.”

With a deft hand, I transferred the tonic counter-potion into three spare vials and secured them away in my foraging bag. Then I added bittersweet berries and a bolus of green magic to the hickory nuts. To the untrained eye, it looked like I was in the process of caramelizing nuts for Yule.

“And the edict is the reason for the prisoner swap Stripes witnessed,” Shari noted. “Oh, and we’re calling Meadow’s other furry friend Snack instead of Furry Lover, Flora.”

“Pity.”

I flicked the honey badger in the arm.