Dry now, I got into the fresh shift and gown he had laid on my bed.

“You dressed?” asked Grim after a while.

“Fully enough for even a monk not to be shocked. You can take away the screen.” Something occurred to me. “Grim.”

“What?” He folded the screen and set it against the wall.

“The little folk should all be free now. Not bound to serve the requirements of the curse anymore. Free to talk.”

“That’s the way it was in the tale. Not that he told us the whole tale, the lying bastard.”

“So if we asked them for a favor, they might say yes?”

“Don’t know about that. You know that whistle they gave me? That was a favor. And I used it. Used it to get through the thorns. When I blew it, the little prickly fellow popped out and made a path for me. Strangest thing I ever saw. One of the strangest. Wonder if he was the king.” He gives me a crooked smile. “Why? What were you thinking?”

“I have to ask you something first. If we found Flannan, what would you want to do?”

“What do you think?”

“Kill him, no questions asked. Right?”

“Why would you bother with questions? He’s only going to give you more lies. Don’t tell me you think he’s a fine man underneath and we should say, Just be good from now on and all’s forgiven. I know the fellow’s your old friend, but—”

“I’m not stupid! Right now there’s nothing I’d like to do more than pick up that ax and bring it down on his poxy lying head. But . . . in the morning I might think differently. And so might you.”

He stares at me. “You mean you think this could have a happy ending, like in a tale?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You and him. Your childhood friend. Always off having your private chats. Thought you might have . . . well, feelings for each other.” Grim was blushing; it was a strange sight.

I was glad I couldn’t see my own expression; it must have been laughable. “Me and Flannan? Settling down in domestic bliss? You must be crazy.” How could he ever have imagined such a thing? “I’m never going to settle, Grim. Not like that, with a family. Losing Cass and Brennan . . . Once was enough for a lifetime.” I sat down by the fire, suddenly cold despite the bath. “How soon is supper?”

“Whenever you want.” He sat down opposite, elbows on knees, very serious. “So what do we do when we find Flannan, if we’re not stringing him up from the nearest tree? And how do we find him, seeing it’s just you and me going back?”

“What do we do? I don’t know. But he should be given a chance to explain himself. He should face up to us. We could make him tell us how much Mathuin knows. As for how we find him, I thought we could ask the little folk to look out for him.”