But as Petronio looked around, the number began to shoot up. He was surrounded by lights and levers lining the wall of some huge, metallic cocoon. There were too many straight lines for his liking. His first instinct was to rip all the wiring away and get out, quick. There was a window, and the glow of infernal machinery lit up the nighttime forest beyond. That was what he knew. Safe. Familiar. Maybe he could kick the glass out, squeeze through the frame? But his arms felt heavy and his legs wouldn’t do what they were told.

“Calm yourself, young Grasp. You are protected here.” Fenestra’s usually cold eyes filled with concern. “If your own so-called doctors had experimented on you with their primitive bloodsucking leeches, you’d be dead meat. Our technology saved your life.”

Petronio gasped. “Flypod, bullit … tek … no-log-y?” Every word sounded strange on his lips. But if he was alive and bandaged, then maybe Fenestra was speaking the truth. He hadn’t been sucked into the belly of an alien beast but was convalescing in a cave of wonders. He took a deep breath, willing his stupid heart to follow orders and slow down. Next came curiosity, the part of Petronio that had gotten him into trouble in the first place. He was suddenly greedy for the meaning behind these strange words. All in good time. A sudden wave of sickness passed through his system. “Thank you,” he finally muttered, before sinking back on the pillows.

“It was partly my fault,” mused Fenestra. “You had done your duty, and done it well, convincing the Commander with a bag of somewhat valuable coins. But then I dismissed you. The way you found my trail was” — she paused briefly, looking at the pale boy on the bed — “enterprising. My men are highly trained. It is not easy to creep up on them, let alone take two of them down without a weapon in sight. Naturally, there are consequences to this. They have been demoted as punishment for letting a mere boy show them up.”

“Wanted to know …,” Petronio whispered in his desperation to impress her with his initiative. “Found the plans and —” The drilling started up again in his chest. He felt the urge to scream, but clamped the agony down tight. “Had to see where you … were hiding.”

“And you succeeded. We chose a part of the woods that was unlikely to be found, well away from the city. You are our first visitor, aside from a few curious goats. By the way, this is yours, I think.” She handed him a long thin shard that resembled an icicle.

“What’s this?”

“Your lucky charm. Shot from one of my men’s g-guns at a thousand meters a second with the aim of slicing open your heart. My personal surgeon dug it out of you. You wanted to know what a bullet was. Here. You’ve earned it.”