“Wanted to get far away from the deadies, I did.” Mothball shivered. “The battleground where all those people died is downright spooky if ya ask me. Thought it best to be away a bit before we set up camp.”

“So what do we do all night?” Paul asked as he leaned over Mothball’s shoulder, not bothering to hide his interest in whatever she planned on cooking.

“Eat up, we will. Rutger prepared some right tasty dinners. Rest a bit, get some sleep. We’ll be meetin’ Annika just as the sun comes up, down by where the river that flows through Mistress Jane’s fortress comes out and hits the Forest of Plague.”

“How do we know for sure she’ll be there?” Sato asked, still sitting on his Windbike. “Maybe she’s turned on you.”

“She’ll be there, Mister Sato, no worries.” Mothball ripped open a silvery pack of goop and poured it into a pot on her small stove. “One of our finest, Annika is.”

“What if she’s been captured?” Sato persisted.

“Then ya better be prayin’ Master George survived his little battle and brings us back.”

Tick sat down on a fallen log, unhappy that they had hurried to get here only to sit and wait for tomorrow. It was going to be a long night.

~

“Here you are, Mistress.”

Frazier handed over the cylindrical pack of wires, nanochips, and instruments that made up the Chi’karda Drive, the heart and soul of her Barrier Wand.

Jane took the odd-looking package through her open bedroom door, examining it as though she suspected it wasn’t the real thing. “You put the Wand back where it always rests for the night?”

“Yes, I did. The trap is set.”

“I can’t wait to find out why Annika has betrayed me,” Jane said with a nasty smile. “How fun it will be to remind her why it’s best to be on my side of things.”

“Loads,” Frazier muttered, almost forgetting himself. “The fangen are ready, Mistress, and are already moving into their hiding positions.”

“That should be an interesting sight to watch—them sniffing along, bumping into things.” Jane pointed a finger through the crack of the door. “Remember, we need the Realitants alive. This is the perfect opportunity for me to learn what that weasel George is planning.”

“Yes, Mistress Jane,” Frazier said. “The fangen will be very . . . eager, but I’ll do my best to restrain them.”

~

The night was dark and cool, and Tick slept surprisingly well until Mothball shook him awake a couple of hours before dawn. He jumped at first, but his senses came back to him quickly.

“Time to be movin’, it is,” she whispered, then moved on to the next person.