The man sleeping on the other bed made a grumbling noise in his throat and the two bogans froze in place. They waited for long moments until they were sure he was still sleeping, then crept out of the room, shutting the door softly behind them so as not to wake him and attract his attention. The man had connections to Mother Crone, after all, and there’d be hell to pay if she got involved in any of this. So they were careful now. There was no point in making more of a mess than they already had.

“You okay?” Rabedy asked his companion once they were in the hall.

“Sure. I’m fine.”

But there was something new in his eyes. A resignation. A sense of loss. A sense of yearning.

“Not a word of this to anyone,” Gathen said. “You’re in as deep as I am. If we’re lucky, nothing’ll have happened to the woman. She’ll come back and no one need ever know.”

Rabedy nodded, though from the outset he’d tried to just get on with the task they’d been given. But it was too late now. He was in this the same as his companion, even if he hadn’t had anything to do with Gathen’s touching the woman. That wouldn’t matter to Big Dan.

“Let’s just get this done,” he said.

They moved farther down the hall and, happily, there was no light coming from under the door of the room the fiddler shared with the woman Luren had pushed down the stairs. The lock here opened as easily as had the one in the other room and a moment later they were inside.

“There,” Gathen said. “She’s in the bed by the window.”

The two of them moved forward, careful not to make a sound until they were each on a side of the bed. Then they threw back the covers and grabbed the woman’s arms. Before she could cry out, they had pulled her away.

Out of the world.

Into the between.

And then farther still.

They arrived at a green sward bathed in cool moonlight and surrounded by a forest of ancient beech and oak, landing in a tumble of limbs that almost brought them right up against the tall grey Doonie Stane that stood in the center of the open space. The girl had struggled the whole of the short trip, which was what made for the untidy arrival. She pushed away from them as they hit the ground and both bogans lost their grip on her. Rabedy scrambled to his feet a moment before Gathen, but the girl was already standing, her eyes wide as she tried to take in her surroundings and guard against their next move.

Gathen grinned and held up his hands in a nonthreatening manner.