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“The other night, I got tired of dancing. It’s just the same thing over and over, you know? And the singing—kill me now.” She shook her head, as if perplexed by these thoughts. “So I wandered around, but that was boring too. I started looking through the tribute wagon, just for something to do and…”
She trailed off and I finished for her. “And you found something you liked and played with it for a while.” So were juvenile delinquents made—restless energy plus curiosity and a dollop of bored rebellion.
“I wasn’t going to keep it!” She threw the words at me defiantly.
I shrugged. Most of that stuff held such abstract value to me that I didn’t really care. Still, I imagined stealing from a noble carried a pretty serious penalty. “So how did Larch find out?”
She grimaced. “I was an idiot. The first time that thing—and it was just a glass apple, you have twenty-two of them—reached out and showed me where it came from, well…I screamed.”
I snorted out a laugh, more at how much she hated admitting her stereotypical dragonfly girl behavior than anything else. “Can’t say as how I blame you. That must have been startling as all hell.”
She looked pissed, a funny expression on her lovely face. “Yes. Larch gave me a set-down and told me I could stay if I put it back. I really thought he’d never tell you.”
“He only did because I asked him who could tell me where some of the stuff comes from. And because he knew I’d be more interested in your help than in punishing you. I need an inventory. Do you know what I mean?”
Pushing the tumbling ringlets back with impatience, she thought about it. “Like, list out everything that’s there.”
“Yes. Can you do that? Look at each thing and say who gave it to me.”
She shrugged and started counting off on her fingers. “One gray wolf hide, Lord Bristleberry. Twenty-two glass apples, Lord Ming. One monster harness, Lady Strawberry. Fourteen…”
“Wait,” I interrupted. “You already identified and memorized everything?”
“No. Just some.”
“I thought you said it frightened you when the glass apple told you where it came from.”
She flushed, the pink a pretty contrast to her hair. “I wanted to practice. Seems stupid to be able to do something and not, you know, figure it out.”
“Good thinking. You think you can remember everything?”
“I don’t know. I never remembered things before, but now I do. It’s kind of creepy.”
I considered telling her the truth. Normally I’d said that I’d want to know, but the worry that something had changed in my own mind ate at me. I might have been happier not knowing after all. I could always tell her later. The magical ability must have come sideways from one of us too. Or we had awakened something dormant in her. Since her unexpected gift just happened to fit exactly what I needed, it was likely my fault.
“I don’t remember everything so I’m going to write down what you tell me.”
Right on cue, Starling ambled up and put the grimoire in my lap. Thumbelina watched with fascination as I pulled a pen from my pocket, flipped to a few pages from the end and titled it “Inventory.” I filled in the items she had recited. “…wolf hide…” I muttered to myself.
“Gray wolf,” Thumbelina corrected. I frowned at her. “Do you want it to be right or not?” She asked in a sweet tone that didn’t fool me for a second.
“Fine, fine,” I addedgraywith a caret between1andwolf. “Glass apples…guess I get to decide how to spell people’s names—not like anyone is going to correct me. Is a monster harness what I think it is? To hitch up the monsters I don’t have?” I blinked at them in sudden alarm. “Tell me I don’t have any pet monsters!”
Thumbelina snickered and Starling gave me one of her mother’s exasperated looks. “A monster would never fit in a wagon. And who takes monsters on a sailing journey?”
“Who takes wagonloads of glass apples and gray wolf hides everywhere they go?”
Starling sighed and rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how you were planning to buy a ship—they’re expensive, you know.”
I didn’t point out that this had never been my plan at all. Rogue had set it all up and I’d cruised along for the ride. Now my sugar daddy had left me high and dry. “I’m buying a whole ship? We can’t just…hitch a ride?”
“No. And it’s time to go.”
“Ride with us, Thumbelina? That way I can get down what you’ve seen so far.”
She sprang to her feet with a little hip swing and a cocky attitude. “Want me to carry the thing?”
“Lady Sorceress.” Starling reminded her.
