sauntered down the wagon bed to the gate, followed by Leo.
"Not as easily as I can smell the rats along the riverbed, but it's clear that there are far more than there should be in any one place. Birds are supposed to be prey to us, not predators. If there are that many, Ven's right, and Trudy should know. Besides, if Leo or I die being pecked to death by birds, we'll never live it down."
"Thank you," said Ven. "You should probably keep low in the grass on the way back, so they don't notice and go after you, like they did with the keekee."
"Ven," said Murphy as Leo jumped out of the wagon and onto the road, "don't tell us how to do our job. I think you have enough to worry about. Good luck to you all." He rubbed up against Amariel's legs on the way out of the gate. "Especially you."
"Nice," murmured Clem in disgust as Murphy jumped from the wagon. "I've fed you every morning for the last two years. And you're wishing her luck. Thanks a lot."
"You can have that luck if you want it," Amariel said.
" Now what are we gonna do?" Char asked as the cats slunk into the highgrass heading west and disappeared.
"It would be suicide to try and cross that bridge now," said the forester. "I don't even want to go a step nearer to it. Right now they don't see us, but ravens have better eyesight than humans do. Fortunately, I'm not human, and Ven owns that tool." He nodded at the jack-rule. "Had either of those things not been the case, we would be covered by them by now. That many ravens can kill a small army."
"So what do we do?" Ven asked. "Can we go upriver, to the mill towns? We've been there once before—remember, Char? That's where we saw the windmill."
"Right—it's where we came out of the tunnel after we escaped from the Gated City ," said Clemency pointedly. "If Felonia is mad enough, and looking hard enough, she might have found that exit—and maybe has someone waiting for us there, too."
"There is another mill town," Tuck said, rubbing his chin. "But it's south on the river, not north. And it's a strange place—a very strange place. I'm not sure which way is safer. If we go north, we may fall into the hands of the Thief Queen. But if we go south, we may end up in the clutches of the King of the River."
"The King of the River?" asked both boys at once.
Tuck nodded. "His name is Regis, and in his own way, he is every bit as much a thief as Felonia. At least the Lirin of the Enchanted Forest think so. It is said that he is no friend to Felonia. But we must decide what we are going to do quickly. The birds are perched there for now, but they won't roost long before sending out a scout."
"So what will it be?" Ven asked. "North or south?"
Saeli coughed, stood up, smoothed her rumpled hair, and pointed south. The keekee poked its head out of the hair at the base of her neck and pointed its tiny finger downriver as well.
"I don't think we want ta be headin' north, no matter what," said Char. "I say we take our chances with the River King. Felonia may want you and Ida back, Ven, but when we were in her cages, she kept tellin' her guards to shoot me first. It might be nice for someone else ta have that honor for a while."
"South it is," Ven said.
Tuck said nothing, but clicked to the horses. The wagon rumbled off, leaving the roadway and heading slowly over the southern fields as the sun began to climb down the sky toward nightfall.
9
Heading East by Way of
the South
In our family, there's an old expression: "He's had one too many turns at the forge." It refers to someone who hears something and takes it in the wrong way, or finds meaning that no one else does in it. This is because the forge is a loud, hot part of the factory where ore is melted and shaped into steel on an anvil, usually by being banged on with hammers. When you've been working the forge for a while, your ears ring so much that you can barely hear what is said to you, and often you just hear pieces of it. So it's easy to misinterpret what people
"Not as easily as I can smell the rats along the riverbed, but it's clear that there are far more than there should be in any one place. Birds are supposed to be prey to us, not predators. If there are that many, Ven's right, and Trudy should know. Besides, if Leo or I die being pecked to death by birds, we'll never live it down."
"Thank you," said Ven. "You should probably keep low in the grass on the way back, so they don't notice and go after you, like they did with the keekee."
"Ven," said Murphy as Leo jumped out of the wagon and onto the road, "don't tell us how to do our job. I think you have enough to worry about. Good luck to you all." He rubbed up against Amariel's legs on the way out of the gate. "Especially you."
"Nice," murmured Clem in disgust as Murphy jumped from the wagon. "I've fed you every morning for the last two years. And you're wishing her luck. Thanks a lot."
"You can have that luck if you want it," Amariel said.
" Now what are we gonna do?" Char asked as the cats slunk into the highgrass heading west and disappeared.
"It would be suicide to try and cross that bridge now," said the forester. "I don't even want to go a step nearer to it. Right now they don't see us, but ravens have better eyesight than humans do. Fortunately, I'm not human, and Ven owns that tool." He nodded at the jack-rule. "Had either of those things not been the case, we would be covered by them by now. That many ravens can kill a small army."
"So what do we do?" Ven asked. "Can we go upriver, to the mill towns? We've been there once before—remember, Char? That's where we saw the windmill."
"Right—it's where we came out of the tunnel after we escaped from the Gated City ," said Clemency pointedly. "If Felonia is mad enough, and looking hard enough, she might have found that exit—and maybe has someone waiting for us there, too."
"There is another mill town," Tuck said, rubbing his chin. "But it's south on the river, not north. And it's a strange place—a very strange place. I'm not sure which way is safer. If we go north, we may fall into the hands of the Thief Queen. But if we go south, we may end up in the clutches of the King of the River."
"The King of the River?" asked both boys at once.
Tuck nodded. "His name is Regis, and in his own way, he is every bit as much a thief as Felonia. At least the Lirin of the Enchanted Forest think so. It is said that he is no friend to Felonia. But we must decide what we are going to do quickly. The birds are perched there for now, but they won't roost long before sending out a scout."
"So what will it be?" Ven asked. "North or south?"
Saeli coughed, stood up, smoothed her rumpled hair, and pointed south. The keekee poked its head out of the hair at the base of her neck and pointed its tiny finger downriver as well.
"I don't think we want ta be headin' north, no matter what," said Char. "I say we take our chances with the River King. Felonia may want you and Ida back, Ven, but when we were in her cages, she kept tellin' her guards to shoot me first. It might be nice for someone else ta have that honor for a while."
"South it is," Ven said.
Tuck said nothing, but clicked to the horses. The wagon rumbled off, leaving the roadway and heading slowly over the southern fields as the sun began to climb down the sky toward nightfall.
9
Heading East by Way of
the South
In our family, there's an old expression: "He's had one too many turns at the forge." It refers to someone who hears something and takes it in the wrong way, or finds meaning that no one else does in it. This is because the forge is a loud, hot part of the factory where ore is melted and shaped into steel on an anvil, usually by being banged on with hammers. When you've been working the forge for a while, your ears ring so much that you can barely hear what is said to you, and often you just hear pieces of it. So it's easy to misinterpret what people
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