Page 61

“Right,” I said, lurching to my feet. “Well, thanks. Jinjur, your job is to do what you just did. As the need arises.”

“Sure.” She gave me a sharp nod and went to see how Winifred was faring.

I shoved another handful of tea leaves into my mouth—bitter or not, I preferred them to the aftertaste of retching—and checked Nicki over for injuries. She didn’t have anything worse than a few scrapes, thank goodness.

Once we’d all more or less recovered, Lulach bid us a worried goodbye and plunged back into the sea. The rest of us shouldered our packs and staggered off into the swamp with renewed wariness. We startled at every malevolent hiss or ominous slither. There were plenty of both. Small creatures with tentacles and sharp teeth scampered away at our approach. Presumably to inform their larger, deadlier siblings that a hearty meal was available for the taking.

The usual trail of loosestrife and pickerelweed sprouted in my wake, but I noticed their colors were oddly muted. They blended in with the other plants like they’d been there all along. More innocuous, in some indefinable way, than the floral explosions I usually made. Directly behind me, Drusilla was frowning with effort.

When she caught me looking at her with my eyebrows raised, she sighed. “Thought I micht be able tae stoap the flowers. Cover the trail, ye ken? I guess it’s nae enough.”

“It was worth a shot,” I said. “Thanks for trying.”

She meant well, but it was a stark reminder of how much my life depended on Yudit’s. Over the years, I’d made dozens of different attempts to slow or stop my power by other means. None of them worked reliably. I couldn’t ride a horse at a nonstop gallop forever. If my sister died, I wouldn’t be long behind her.

The genii’s palace, fortunately, was only a few hours’ distance from the shore, and we reached the gleaming towers without further dangerous incident. Other than me tripping clumsily and bruising my nose against a tree. More than once. Between weary exhaustion and tea-induced jitters, I was shaking like a touch-me-not leaf. It didn’t do wonders for my sense of balance.

We’d come to the part of my plan I liked the absolute least. Except for Alexandra and me, everyone was going to have to camp outside until after nightfall.

“Watch out for elwetritschen,” I warned them for perhaps the twentieth time. “And if you see a bloodworm, remember that it has four poisonous jaws hidden in its—”

“We’ll be careful,” Sunbeam said firmly. “You two look out for yourselves in there, all right? Don’t worry about us.”

Winifred gave me a gentle shove. “Go. I’ll keep an eye out for the signal.”

One after another, they withdrew into the wilderness, Sunbeam nudging Stinky in the right direction. A few moments later, Drusilla worked her magic, and I couldn’t see any sign that they’d ever been there at all.

“All right,” I said to Alexandra. “Let’s do this.”

We walked up to the door, and I pounded on it as hard as I could. It only made a faint noise on the thick brass. Hopefully, it would be enough.

Then I waited.

“Are they going to feed us?” Alexandra asked. “You said they gave you and Yudit fried lamb pancreas the last time you were here. I’ve never had fried lamb pancreas.”

“I don’t know. We’re here without an express invitation this time.” Which meant there was a reasonable chance that it would be our pancreases on the menu tonight. “I’ll be happy if we survive.”

“Well, if they’re going to eat us, they’ll probably want to fatten us up a bit first,” Alexandra said optimistically.

I started to hunt around for a rock or thick branch I could use to make a louder knock when we heard the sound of the bar being removed and the door cracked open. My skin prickled as the temperature suddenly increased.

The genius’s mother poked her head out. The flames dancing on her scalp made all the shadows shift uneasily. She didn’t see us at first; she was looking for someone more on her level.

“Hi!” I shouted. “Down here!”

I prepared myself for the coming heat, but it was still uncomfortable when she crouched down and squinted her rheumy eyes at us.

“Oh,” she said. “It’s my son’s little male human friends, isn’t it?”

“Yes!” Alexandra said. “My mistress’s thighs are opposite her buns—”

I elbowed her silent.

The genius’s mother scowled. “What are you doing here?”

“We were just passing through the neighborhood,” I replied, “and thought we’d drop by to say hello.”

She didn’t appear particularly pleased that we’d come for a visit. “My son’s not here,” she said curtly. “He’s out chasing that cow-bull thing again.”