“How did you find your way here?” Queen asked,after dragging the naughty scullers back into the storage for a beating. “Did you take the passage? Where’s Heron? Loon?”

  Ori told the tale, watching his Queen’s eyes flash through worry, then grief, and finally acceptance. The barkeep shredded the towel she was worrying in her hand, even though the boy had the good sense to not speak of ghosts or kissing in the chambers beneath the tavern. Queen gave him a hug, sweeping Crane into her other arm. They stood there for some moments, gathering breath as they held in their private thoughts and fears.

  “I’m sorry to hear Heron may be caught. We’ll spring him, sure as any. Jailers can be bought, we’ll get him out and you two can take off to the Capital or out to the coast towns. You’ll love the coast, been that way a few times myself in a bind.” she smiled, ruffling the girl’s hair. “And Ori. I sent a messenger to Sparrow when I heard but I didn’t know where you were. Not sure why the other runner didn’t make it to Heron and Crane.”

  “When will we be safe to leave?” Ori asked, sitting himself on top of a barrel marked as pickled eggs. “I want to see Sparrow and Owl, make sure everyone is alright.”

  “Of course you do. But now’s not the time for children on the streets. I agree with Heron. We’ll get you to the Crypts tonight, have Sparrow come and we’ll figure it out from there.” Sable smiled, even as Ori turned from her. “I get it. You don’t wanna sit around and wait. A wanted man’s a liability, Oriole, and we’ll get you all out and off to safety while we figure it out. It’s going to be a fight, best not to turn it to a massacre where half of us are hanging by the rope.”

  Ori refused to respond, and so the barkeep returned to her business. Crane came to the moping boy and slapped him across the face. He felt his head swim, then she came into focus.

  “Sable works the books for the Kings. Keeps the tallies and the businesses running. She used to fight but now she traded knives for quills.”

  “What good will we do?”

  “We’ll be alive. Safe. Able to come back and get ourselves back together again. I’ve always wanted to see those places Sable talked about, and you and Sparrow could come with me.”

  Her smile made his heart race, and Ori reached out to her. He pursed his lips and went in, only to feel the cold of her hand between them.

  “That was for luck, boy. I don’t even know if I can deal with you another night, much less a lifetime. Keep it in your breeches and we’ll do fine. Now, if we’re going to wait you should sleep. You’re still hurt, and I don’t want to drag you for the next day.” She looked around the room, pointing to some sacks on a pallet. “Sleep may be precious, so go dream. Maybe you’ll see me there.”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  He tucked himself in as she sang a sweet little song, something that had no words but a melody that said all would be well. Wells are for water, his father had told him, and Ori slowly let go of himself as he plunged into the cold water of sleep.

  The world was bright, though he knew it was dark in the basement. The air had the taste of flowers and the tang of lightning struck sky, motes of light floating through it and burning as they touched his skin.

  I’ve been looking for you.

  Why? Who are you?

  There was a fountain in front of the boy, and her face was there. White and smooth, braids as dark as the night sky. The air seemed to play through the reflection, the lights intertwined in her hair. She looked at him like a mother, a lover, someone who wanted to protect him and stand by him

  I am a prisoner. I am the unknown. I am the night’s companion, a bird’s prize. I have known a thousand heroes, but never known a boy like you.

  He saw her rise from the water, coming towards him. She seemed to be dry, her body covered in the strange fireflies that seemed to whirl around her.

  One I knew saw you, but it was so hard to find you. Your dreams, sometimes, though you were so young. Now you grow, becoming a man, and I can find you as you sleep in this strange dark place.

  It’s a cellar. A basement.

  You lie in a grave?

  I used to, for a time.

  They control the grave. They crawl and spin and scheme in their tower. They want to find you, find me, and use us.

  Use? Me?

  You are the shadow to their fire. An absence. It is why I call you to me, and you call to me. Find me?

  How will I? Where are you?

  Her face changed, and she opened her eyes. They were white, smooth as her skin, glowing with a light stronger and stranger than the light that surrounded her.

  Where will he find you? That is a grand question, isn’t it?

  RUN!

  The lights began to wink out, and he saw her body stiffen. When she opened her eyes again they were cold and grey, and her fingers stretched out towards him as claws.

  Stay with me, lovely boy. You belong here. Come find me, and we will have such a good time together. Dance beneath me and drink my wine, fall into dreamless sleep. Tell me your name, and all of this can be yours.

  He ran then. Away from the fountain and across the water. In his dream the water was solid as ice, though he could see… things in the water. Crooked things, broken, tendrils reaching out of the ice. One thrust to grab his leg, trying to hold him.

  YOUR NAME. TELL ME YOUR NAME, YOU FOOLISH CHILD. SHOW ME WHERE SHE IS.

  He tore himself away, feeling the flesh of his ankle bleeding on the ice. Each drop burned with scarlet light, and he left a path across the ice as he ran.

  There was a door. A simple door. Made of bone, he saw his name written on it. It was not his name, but His Name, a symbol so perfect to describe him, and so he ran harder. The ice cracked as he leapt off of it, the snowy plane where the door stood crinkling under his feet.

  THE SNOW IS THEIR BONES. ALL WHO CAME BEFORE YOU. DO YOU WANT TO SERVE HER, YOU CHILD OF NOTHING, YOU FILTH OF FLESH?

  The creatures could not cross the snow. They beat against some strange barrier. The Thing that was once Her stood at the line where ice turned to snow. It scratched against the barrier, drawing symbols.

  THEY WILL FIND YOU. THEY WILL RETURN HER TO ME, AND I FEEL FEED ON YOUR FLESH.

  You’ll find me quite tough.

  Ori screamed as he came back, a face hovering above him. It was Crane, sweaty and covered in grime.

  “Something’s happened. We need to go. You’re not safe here.”