“So we get backup,” I said. “I know a lot of the fairies in your court enjoy a good tussle. If we make enough of a show of force, they’ll probably cave in without anyone having to raise a hand.”

Galfreya shook her head. “We can’t go to war over this. We have to find another way to track your friends.”

“Who’s talking about war?” I said. “We’re just dealing with some bogans and one native spirit who—I shouldn’t have to remind you—started all of this in the first place.”

“You don’t understand,” Galfreya said. “The lives we fairies live are forever in an uneasy balance with those who rule the wild and the green. A simple skirmish such as you propose has the potential to escalate to such a point where it would be years before we could find peace again—even as uneasy a peace as we have at the moment.”

“So it’s all politics.”

“We’re not unique in this. Unfortunately, you have only to look at the trouble spots in your world to see how common this sort of a situation is.”

“So what do you plan to do?” I asked.

“Talk to the Queen. I’ll ask her to intercede for us.”

“Okay.”

“Wait a minute,” Siobhan said. “We can’t just—”

I turned to her, shaking my head.

“We’re out of our depth here,” I said. “Trust me on this.”

“But Lizzie could be—”

“I know. Jilly’s out there, too. But we need to let Mother Crone handle this her way.”

“Which we’ll see to immediately,” Galfreya said.

She beckoned to Hazel and Edgan, then the three of them stepped away into the between. All that remained of their visit was a porcelain soup bowl on the floor, filled with river water.

“I can’t believe we’re just leaving it at that,” Siobhan said, once she and Andy got over the surprise of the fairies’ sudden disappearance.

I understood. It’s not easy to get used to.

“We’re not,” I told her. “But there was no point in arguing—fairies don’t ever see themselves as wrong. We’d never have convinced her not to deal with this the way she felt she needed to.”

“But what are we going to do?” Andy said. “She seemed to think we wouldn’t have a chance against the bogans.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” I said. “That’s why I’m going to call in the big guns—someone who’s got power, but will also have a personal stake in all of this.”

“So long as you know what you’re doing,” Siobhan said.

“I don’t. But Joe will.”

I took out my cell phone again, this time punching in the number of Joe Crazy Dog.

“Who’s he?” Andy asked.

“A friend of Jilly’s that I don’t think anybody wants to get on the wrong side of.”