“My compatriots are most ill-mannered,” the turtle said. “But if you let me out, I promise I will do nothing but sing your praises. All the right turtles will hear how generous you are.”

“The opinion of turtle society is not terribly important to me,” Alice said, and yawned theatrically. “As it happens, I’m in a bit of a hurry. Good luck with your predicament.”

“Wait!” the turtle said. “Please. There must be something a superior creature such as myself can offer you.”

“Well.” Alice made a show of considering the turtle. “Could you pull a boat?”

“Of course I can pull a boat.” The turtle slapped a flipper against the ward, eliciting a crackle of magic. “Get me out of here and I’ll pull you wherever you like.”

“How do I know you won’t just swim off?”

“I am a turtle of my word,” it said. “If I break a promise, even to a human, the whole river will know that Estevius Forthright Nichol-Flatley is no trustworthy turtle.”

“Did you hear that?” Alice shouted at another turtle cruising upstream.

“I did!” it called back. “And he’s almost as stupid as you are, but you’re a sight uglier!”

“All right,” Alice said to Estevius. “As it happens, I’m a bit of a magician. One moment.”

She made a few meaningless gestures and muttered some arcane-sounding gibberish under her breath, then released the ward. Without her energy feeding it, the spell decayed, and the walls of the ward thinned and vanished.

“Oh, thank you!” Estevius said, swimming around in circles. “For a human, you are a surprisingly considerate creature. Practically demi-chelonian.”

“Don’t forget your promise,” Alice said.

The turtle bobbed its head. “Fetch your boat, and I will tow it for you. But quickly, now! I have a salon to attend, and if I’m late, the others will be most sarcastic at me.”

Even a trustworthy turtle, Alice decided, was not exactly pleasant company.

“And he doesn’t wonder about where the trap came from?” Flicker said.

“Turtles are jerks,” Alice said, “but I don’t think they’re very smart.”

She and Flicker watched the ice boat grow outward from the sphere Erdrodr had dropped in the water. Alice had crossed the river to retrieve her ward, folding it carefully back into her pack along with the others. She’d dressed in her now-dry garments and made sure the silver watch still worked after its dunking.

“Are you going to be all right?” Alice said.

“Fine,” Flicker said, staring at the boat. “I’ll be fine.”

“If you . . . get wet,” Alice said carefully, “what would happen? Would it hurt you?”

“Not . . . hurt.” Flicker looked pained. “It’s hard to explain. Can you imagine the most disgusting liquid you can think of?”

Alice nodded, picturing something suitably vile.

“Now think about falling into a whole river of it.”

“Urgh.”

“Yeah.” Flicker looked down at the boat again. “I’ll be fine.”