Back To The Divide by Elizabeth Kay Page B

didn't know you were working on anything."
    Felix laughed. "It's just an otherworld expression. I've found out where we have to go for both a royalty-location spell and a countercharm to the marble thing."
    "Where?"
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    "West. We need a riddle-paw."
    "A riddle-paw?" Thornbeak looked surprised. "I didn't think there were any left in this part of the world."
    "Her name's Leona," said Felix. "Socrates told me about her."
    "Riddle-paws are dangerous," said Thornbeak. "They won't even enter into a conversation until you've solved one of their puzzles."
    "What happens if you get it wrong?" asked Betony.
    "They eat you."
    Ironclaw laughed. "I've yet to find someone who can give me a puzzle I can't solve."
    "Excellent," said Felix. "You'll take us there, then?"
    Ironclaw looked from Felix to Thornbeak and back again. He'd been so excited about getting back to his dirt-board he'd forgotten all about the need to find the king and queen, and he certainly hadn't bargained for this.
    "I think you asked for that, Ironclaw," chuckled Thornbeak. "Yes, Felix, of course we'll take you."
    "We've packed our backpacks already," said Betony.
    "No one knows exactly what lies to the west," complained Ironclaw. "There's forest on the slope of Tromm Fell, but beyond that there's desert. And beyond that ..."
    "Sheer adventure," said Betony, her green eyes sparkling with anticipation.
    "Hmph," said Ironclaw.
    ***
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    It took them a little while to get organized, since Thornbeak insisted on Ironclaw taking some of his gold with him. Eventually both brazzles strapped on bulging leg-pouches, and they were off. The flight wasn't terribly arduous, as they were gliding downhill most of the time, but before long the sun turned crimson and sank beneath the horizon. They would have to camp in the forest for the first night; the following day they would be flying across the desert.
    They found a glade carpeted with dusk-flowers that nodded their heads in time to the evening bird chorus. The trills and warbles were rather unusual -- Felix could swear that one bird was singing a definite tune and another was practicing arpeggios. Moonbeam moths were performing synchronized aerobatics as Betony lit a fire and started to toast some bread and cheese. Ironclaw and Thornbeak went off to hunt before it got too dark, and Felix and Betony settled themselves comfortably against their backpacks and had supper.
    "How did you feel when your parents were turned to stone?" asked Felix.
    "Fed up," said Betony. "Tansy's a lousy cook, and Ramson's useless at housework."
    "Didn't you miss them?"
    "Not really," said Betony, poking the fire with a stick. "They always seemed to be busy in the dispensary, mixing potions and stuff."
    Felix looked shocked.
    Betony glanced sideways at him. "Well, maybe a bit.
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    Tansy was the favorite, you see, because she was so interested in all that. I was the naughty one. And after all, they'll come back to life in what -- sixteen years' time. I'll be a famous historian by then, if the library's open again. I shall astound them." She poked the fire once more, causing a tiny fountain of sparks. "No one else in my family has ever done anything interesting. What about yours?"
    "I had an uncle who climbed mountains."
    "Why?"
    Felix laughed. "Because they were there, I suppose. He died before I was born. My parents may not be as exciting as he must have been, but I think I prefer them that way."
    Betony's expression suggested she thought otherwise. "It's a pity your parents were too heavy to bring with you," she said. "You need a specific countercharm really, otherwise you'll have to try lots of different broad-based ones. Ramson turned Socrates into a sickle when he was little and then tried to reverse it. Poor old Socrates changed into a toadstool and then a stink tree before my father intervened. Ramson nearly managed it, you see -- all vegetation, but not precise enough. Your parents could turn into humungallies or river-fatties before you hit on