Poison. Part 18

"Not at the moment," Kyra said. "Though, there's another royal in the room I'd like to see dead."

"Oh, that's good. Really good! We're clearly starting off on the right path here." He sat down on a giant bolt of purple fabric. Langley had found Rosie and curled himself around her.

"Ugh," Ariana said. "He's even worse in person." She smiled innocently at him and shrugged. "Sorry 'bout that, I can't help it-Kyra gave me a truth serum!"

"Right." He smiled nervously. "I'm sorry that I lied to you, Kyra. I can't say that I wasn't out looking for the princess's a.s.sa.s.sin. I was."

"So it wasn't just coincidence that I ran into you."

"Actually, it was. I wasn't exactly aggressive in my search for the a.s.sa.s.sin." He s.h.i.+fted his weight. "More like, if I happened to run into her and captured her, that would be okay. I never expected to find the a.s.sa.s.sin crossing a stream in her underwear with a pig on top of her head."

A puff of laughter escaped Ariana.

"I never dreamed the a.s.sa.s.sin was you."

Kyra and Ariana exchanged a look.

"G.o.d's honest. The confusion potion at the witch's should have been a clue, but I was so sure I knew who you were: Kitty, the dairymaid with the pig."

Ariana interrupted. "Wait, you said you were a dairymaid?" She started cackling. "Oh, Kitty, you are the best. Why in the world would anyone believe you were a dairymaid?"

Fred pushed his hands through his rumpled hair. "I only knew for sure it was you when I saw that poison in your bag. That's the truth. Do you want to give me some of this truth serum I keep hearing so much about?"

Kyra shook her head.

"I didn't know what I was going to do, but I couldn't let you go. I had to figure something out."

"Well, you did a great job," Kyra said. "You only lost me completely for the better half of a week."

"You are a slippery kitty cat," Ariana said. "I'll give him that. A half week's not too bad, really."

"So," Fred said, "you aren't trying to kill the princess anymore?"

"Oh, I'm still trying to kill the princess, just not this one."

Kyra let Ariana explain everything to Fred, figuring she should have plenty of energy for storytelling-she hadn't been on the hunt for the past three months. Right now, several months of vacation on the floor of a tailor's shop sounded kind of nice to Kyra.

Her heart hurt.

She'd found Ariana, but she'd lost so much-her career, her friends.h.i.+p with Ned and Hal, and now Fred, who was smiling dopily at the princess as she talked. His fiancee.

Kyra's heart was breaking.

Ariana nudged her. "What do you think, Kitty? Is the impostor princess a shape-s.h.i.+fter?"

Kyra stamped down the feelings that were threatening to engulf her. "She doesn't have any of the traits of the shape-s.h.i.+fters in the books at the palace library. Maybe-"

The front door of the shop banged open, and in strode an old man.

"Oh, foo!" the old man shouted when he saw the unfrozen Ariana. "What are you-"

Recognition lit Ariana's face. "You!"

Recognition lit the old man's face too, as he saw Kyra. "You!"

And Kyra sighed and said, "You."

Because the old man was Ellie the hermit.

KYRA HAD GUESSED AS MUCH, but now she knew for sure: Ellie was the kidnapper.

It was Ellie who'd frozen Ariana in this back room, Ellie who'd stacked her up with the mannequins, Ellie who'd gotten rid of the princess's things. That's why he'd had Kyra's poison in his apartment, that's why Ariana recognized him, and that's why Rosie had first led Kyra to him. That bit of scarf had probably been in Ellie's keeping for so long that he'd stunk it up with his old-man smell before it ended up in Arlo's possession.

But why had Ellie kidnapped Ariana?

Kyra slipped a clean needle out of her holster and hid it behind her back. Taking him out with a Doze dart would stop him from escaping, but it wouldn't help her find out what she wanted to know.

"Ellie," Kyra said, "so nice of you to drop in. What brings you here at this time of night? Or anywhere, really-since you so rarely leave Newman House?"

"My own business here, isn't it?" Ellie said. "I own this place, can come around here any time I want."

Ariana and Kyra exchanged a look. Ellie the hermit owned Gabrielle's?

"You seemed awfully upset when you saw my friend Ariana here unfrozen," Kyra said "You broke into my store!" He started edging backward. "I should go to the constable right this minute."

"I don't think you want to do that." Kyra didn't have time to mess with a potion. Dropping the needle, she got into position to stop him with her body. "I think we should have a chat."

As Fred stood up, the hermit fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a fistful of potion tubes. "Don't step one foot closer! I've got weapons here that will put you all out for good! Stole them from her"-he gestured to Kyra with his chin-"so you know they're dangerous."

Kyra paused. He'd had the Peccant Pentothal in his room. Who knew what else he might have taken?

Ellie tossed two vials in the air and spun toward the door. Kyra lunged to catch them as Fred dashed after the old man. Unfortunately, Kyra dove directly in front of Fred, and they fell into a heap on the floor.

Kyra held a vial clutched tight in each hand.

Fred untangled himself and ran outside. He came back moments later. "He's gone. Old man runs fast."

Kyra opened her hands.

"Oh-one two-three-three. Gas Relief. Must be one of Ned's. Can't eat that much pie without consequences." She turned the second bottle so she could read the label. "And 01 672. Sparkling Clean Dish Solution."

She felt so stupid. She couldn't get anything right. Now Ellie was out there somewhere, and they weren't any closer to having answers.

"Wow," Ariana said, "this really sucks."

"No kidding." Kyra brushed her long hair back with her hands. "Why in the world would he have kidnapped you? What could he possibly have to gain by it? He's just a crazy old guy who lives by himself."

Ariana shook her head and put the small portrait of Fred back into the locker. "So," she said, coming back to them. "What do we do now?"

"First, we get some sleep." Kyra said, her heart lifting a little at hearing Ariana's we. "Then we make a plan."

Fred, Ariana, and Kyra wound through the night-quiet streets of Wexford. Fred and Ariana spoke in hushed voices behind Kyra, Ariana's laugh occasionally bubbling up into the dark. By the time they entered the forest on the far side of the palace, their voices had grown louder and they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

"Keep it down!" Kyra hissed. She forced herself to think about something else.

They needed to track down the fake princess, but it would help if first they knew what they were up against. What was she?

Kyra tried to open herself to her Sight, tried to focus it on the fake princess. But the only thing that flashed into her mind was the shriveled old face of the witch who had tried to kidnap them in the forest. She s.h.i.+vered; the witch had frozen her and Fred, just as Ariana had been frozen.

Was that why her image kept flas.h.i.+ng into Kyra's head?

She thought about the false princess in her vision-looking down from her parapet while the world beneath her withered and turned black. Kyra took a sharp intake of breath. What was it the witch had said she'd been touched by? An obeeka.

"What's an obeeka?" Kyra asked.

Ariana said, "Oh, you know-kid's monster story. Parasite that sucks the life out of people." She waggled her fingers. "Oooh, scary!"

Fred laughed with her.

Kyra scowled and kept her thoughts to herself. What if obeekas weren't just storybook monsters? If an obeeka could suck the life out of those around it, why not suck the life out of an entire kingdom using the Nuptial Bond?

"I think I know what the imposter princess is," Kyra said. "Fred and I ran into a witch who told us an obeeka had touched me."

Ariana squinted. "Stupid obeeka should know better than to touch our Kitty."

"I'd hate to take the word of an evil witch who tried to eat us." Fred threw a stick for Langley. "Is this one of those Seer things?"

Kyra ignored his question as the woods gave way to a small clearing. "We're here," she said.

"Good thinking, Kitty," Ariana said. "I never would have thought of this."

"Is it just me or are we looking at a completely empty meadow?" Fred asked.

"It's just you," Kyra said. She began the process of dissolving the concealments hiding the tiny secret hut where she used to hide things for her adventures with Ariana.

She put her potions back in their bag and opened the door. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Fred stepped inside the small shack and examined the dusty weapons hanging on the walls. "I'm glad we're on the same side."

"Me too," Ariana said.

Kyra walked around Fred to a trunk and pulled out some moth-eaten bedding. There was s.p.a.ce for maybe two of them to sleep on the floor, but not much more.

"I'll sleep out here with Langley," Fred said. "You girls can have the luxury of sleeping under a roof."

"No, the royals should have the luxury of a roof," Kyra said, thinking it'd be easier to sneak away in the morning.

Kyra felt a hand on her back. "Don't even think about it." Ariana's voice came from behind her.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I know you-you're looking for a way to ditch us and go after this obeeka on your own."

Kyra turned to her friend. "If you got hurt, Ariana, I'd never forgive myself."

Ariana straightened, changing from a bedraggled-looking girl into the heir to the throne. "I want to save the kingdom too, Kyra. Promise me you'll give me a chance to do it."

Kyra finally nodded. "You've got my word."

It took Kyra some time to fall asleep even with the warm pig tucked in beside her.

The memory of Fred's-Ariana's fiance's-kiss at the inn seared her. How could he do that knowing he was engaged to someone else?

The next morning, Kyra woke to the sound of birdsong, the crackle of a fire, and a lilt of two voices intertwining- Fred and Ariana.

She stretched and felt for Rosie but found her bedroll empty. Light streamed in through the cracks around the door.

Outside, Fred was smiling his sunny smile at Ariana; Rosie was draped across her lap. The smoky smell of the fire was tinged with the sweet scent of something cooking.

Mmm, food.

"Kitty!" The princess interrupted her own stream of talk to pat the ground beside her. "You're still here."

Fred looked quizzically at Kyra. "Where else would she be?"

"You never know where you'll find our slippery kitty cat. Fred's making us breakfast."

Fred drizzled honey over a pan of springberries bubbling on the fire.

Kyra s.h.i.+vered in the cool morning, settling next to Ariana. She was still wearing the white blouse, and it didn't keep her as warm as her usual black s.h.i.+rt. But the soft fabric felt nice against her skin, so she'd resisted changing back.

Rosie opened an eye, and Kyra rubbed her cheek. The little pig shut her eye, lifting her cheek a fraction to give Kyra a better angle. Langley was chasing b.u.t.terflies around the meadow.

Fred handed Kyra and Ariana warm biscuits. "So where do we start?"

Kyra took a bite and moaned happily. The springberries went perfectly with the toasty biscuits. Fred was a truly amazing cook. "I wish we knew more about what an obeeka can and can't do-if we're going to expose the fake princess, we need to be prepared." She wiped biscuit crumbs off her pants. "The only thing I really know about them is the old children's game called Face-stealer."

"We played that game!" Fred said, rocking back on his heels. "The Face-stealer is picked by drawing straws, secretly, then runs around tagging people. The idea is that no one knows who it is, see? You can't trust anyone. If the Face-stealer touches you, you fall to the ground. Last person standing wins." Fred nibbled a biscuit. "Stupid game. Our diplomats must have picked it up from Mohr."

"Or our diplomats picked it up from you." Ariana lobbed her biscuit at him.

"You know the game, princess?" Fred asked.

Ariana chuckled, bitterness showing on her face. "I wasn't allowed to play with other children."

"It's never too late." Fred smiled wickedly. "Up! I'll show you how it's done."

"It sounds like it's just running around."