Yes. That was a better word. Polite. Moving just enough to ensure that the tent’s owner couldn’t possibly be hiding a person and moving on.

The smells of fear started to fade and it took him half the walk to realize why.

It was annoying.

The search was becoming faster, now that the Circus folk realized that they weren’t being intimidated. It made him fume to see the unnatural’s people begin to help Diana’s enforcers. Moving things for them and cooperating with questions.

He’d hoped to make this a spectacle. That would have been more fun.

But, no. Diana did not do spectacles. And she didn’t allow it with her people. Not if she could help it.

Oh, she wasn’t above intimidation. He just struggled to understand when and why she chose to use it.

Anyway. He’d let his mind stray too much.

No one dared stop him as he entered the Inner Complex. The human enforcers were nowhere near searching this part of the camp yet and he was certain, dead certain, that he’d find what he wanted here.

And he wasn’t about to let them have time to cover up anything.

His presence caused spikes of fear from the few humans still working this part of the camp. They stopped what they were doing in surprise. Then backed away with bows as they hastily retreated from him.

As it should be. Rats. All of them. Cower to their holes!

He impatiently pushed aside tent flaps. Displeased that these tents seemed even barer and more organized than the family tents in the Outer Complex. He’d leave crates and trunks to Diana’s people.

He was really only interested in finding one tent.

It was close to the outer wall of the complex. The smell of the demon who inhabited it was old. He hadn’t been there in days. Aridon scowled and stepped inside.

The whole thing was a mess.

How can anyone live in a mess like this?! The disorganized explosion caused a pang of panic in Aridon’s chest and he had to take a second to calm down.

Things were left in randomness everywhere. As though the creature had never organized a thing in his life.

Seeing it caused a niggling at the back of his mind. Doubts struggling to surface.

If someone could live like this…? How could they…?

He dismissed the questions without letting them fully form. Taiken Vaughn had relations to one of the most brilliant clansmen in history. There was simply no way the idiot hadn’t picked up something from that man.

The demon had no doubt that Taiken Vaughn was perfectly capable of intrigue and careful planning.

He had to be for Aridon to be right.

The demon started searching.

Dirty clothes that had not a scrap of a suspicious smell.

Contracts that were exclusively with his Circus members. And most of which were disgustingly biased toward the humans.

Knick knacks. Lots and lots of knick knacks.

What in all the voids was he doing with children’s toys? Parchments that looked like beginning readers’ exercises? And bits of rope and polished, colored stones that seemed to have no purpose whatever?

Then he found a stash of moldy apples. Stuffed under a pile of randomly discarded clothes. That was when he finally growled his frustration and sat back to scowl around the tent.

Honestly, even with his flinging things around, it looked no different to him than before. Still a mess.

Only his smell could possibly alert the owner that it had been disturbed at all.

“Where’s your true identity, Taiken Vaughn?” he growled under his breath. “I know it’s you, you slimy weasel.”

He paused, eyes sliding to the back door. Pursing his lips thoughtfully, he stood up and strolled out. Immediately finding the stairs to the upper balconies.

When he got to the first balcony he was disappointed.

Empty.

Except for a couple of chairs.

He even tried removing walls. Only to find that the rock either just kept going or would open up to the outside. No hidden cubbies.

At first he was excited to discover the second staircase. But the balcony it led to was just as barren. Nothing to find.

In frustration he slammed a fist into the wall. Cracking it under furry and overgrown knuckles.

Where?!

“You are the enemy of all demon, Taiken Vaughn! Where are you hiding the evidence I need to have you executed?

There was no answer to his maddened questions.

Back down with Diana, Sheldon silently watched her question his people. He’d been trying to figure out some way to find out more. Find out what exactly had happened that had caused this mess.

He’d been distracted.

Diana had only used that… thing on him. After that she didn’t seem to think it was needed. He rubbed the spot where it had rested against his skin and shivered.

He’d seen such a thing before. Had known what it was.

Hadn’t even attempted to fight it as he felt the magic surging from it. Binding into his tongue and skin.

“It’s an abomination of the Velkarian barbarians. Nothing should’ve been made to force a person’s will.”

Yes, that’s what the prisoner had said.

“I’m sorry about this.”

With a jolt, he looked at the Captain. Lloyd was silently staring at Mistress Diana as she questioned the humans. He’d been doing it only a moment before when she’d impatiently pushed him aside to do it herself.

“You’re just doing your job, Captain.”

The Captain slid him a look. Even when they were boys Sheldon hadn’t been able to read the man. No one had. Not until Trish.

“I meant about your sister. It must be a blow to you.”

Sheldon took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “What can you tell me about what happened?”

“You know I can’t tell you anything.”

“I never knew why the rest of my family was killed.” He stared straight ahead, pleading inwardly that Lloyd would give. “If I lose Lita-”

But, no. Lloyd would not give. He did have the decency to sound regretful.

“You’ll have to be content knowing she’d been caught spying. I’m sorry. If I could tell you more, I would.”

“Captain Lloyd, sir.” One of the enforcers interrupted and saluted the man. “We’ve searched both Complexes and the amphitheater. There are three men searching the storeroom now. Is there anything else you’d like us to do?”

The storeroom.

Inwardly Sheldon winced but didn’t say anything as he listened to the exchange. After all. Even if they found it, it wasn’t all that strange to have an entrance to more caves from a cave.

“Have you questioned everyone?”

“I believe so.” The enforcer, one of the few women in the division, glanced sideways at Diana Veran. “Not as thoroughly as the Mistress but we thought it was sufficient.”

Lloyd nodded. “Very well. Finish searching the storeroom and then gather back outside. We’ve disturbed the camp enough.”

The woman bowed and went off to spread the orders.

“If you’ll excuse me, Sheldon.”

“Give my love to your girls.”

Lloyd nodded to him and joined Diana Veran. Murmuring the report to her as quietly as he could.

The storeroom.

That gave him an idea and he sighed to himself as he rubbed a hand over his face. Fine. He’d do it. Since it was the only other thing he could think of.

He needed to find out more about what happened.

***

The morning sound of birds was faint. Somewhere nearby but somehow muffled.

She was so warm. Cocooned in a blanket and her hand wrapped around a heating stone.

When she opened her eyes she was expecting to find herself in the tent she shared with several other girls. Sharing with the girls had the result that she usually stayed up too late and that was probably why she still felt oddly weakened and tired.

But this wasn’t the Circus.

And she wasn’t in a tent.

For an instant she stared blankly at the walls of a cave. Walls that were neither all stone nor all dirt. Then she sat up as she recognized it and the last five years came back with jolt through her body.

This is…

She looked for the entrance in the unwavering mage lights hung on the low ceiling. And was unhappy to see that it had been reduced to half of its original size. Which had already been almost too small for her.

Big enough for airflow but way too small for her to get through.

That meant… she remembered sobbing into someone’s shoulder. Clutching at him like a child.

The memory hadn’t been one of her fevered dreams and she flushed. Confused and embarrassed by her show of weakness. By the emotions, the relief, she’d felt at being held by him.

“Ugh!”

Stupid, stupid, Lita!

She looked around, clutching the heating stone harder. Nervous.

She saw another blanket and a bag against the wall a few feet from her. Next to her own bag, which was cleaner than she last remembered seeing it. Taiken wasn’t hiding in the shadows anywhere.

Still, she couldn’t relax. He’d be back.

And the black dork! Where was it? She’d left here. Just over there… Didn’t she?

She looked frantically around, getting to her knees as though it would help her see more in the small space.

There was no sign of it.

Her memory was so muddled she wasn’t entirely certain she was remembering correctly. Glancing at her hand she bit her both lips. There was no cut. Yet, she thought she remembered… she’d made a cut to give herself ink. Hadn’t she?

What happened to the dork?

“Voids!”

What was she to do now?

She crawled to her bag and pulled it open. Frantically looking for the dork.

It wasn’t there. Neither was her shawl.

Taiken’s bag? She glanced at it. Maybe…

She pulled what was left of her no-smell out of her bag, dabbed the last drops onto her wrists and prayed it was enough. Then opened the bag. Seeing and smelling the packages of food made her stomach roar and her head pound with urgent desire.

But there was no dork.

No weapon of any kind, actually. Maybe he was carrying whatever he brought.

In fact, where was her knife?

She swayed on her knees as sudden dizziness struck. With a sigh she forced herself to close the bag and crawled back to her blanket. Then she rearranged the blanket so she could sit against the wall.

What else could she do?

She waited.

With several unhappy glances at the entrance every few minutes.

Did he think I’d run away? Probably. He was right, but that’s still, urgh! What if I needed to answer nature? Making me wait like a caged bird for him to come back?

She was fuming with the injustice and her yelling stomach by the time the entrance began to enlarge. Taiken bowed through, carrying a dead and already skinned hare. He paused, just an instant, when he met her angry expression.

Then casually he put a hand on the wall and made the entrance small again.

“Good morning. How’re you feeling?”

“I didn’t ask for your help!”

The demon sighed and rolled his eyes. “And she’s back to hating me.”

He was too tall for the cave and had to walk bent over. After a few steps he plopped down on his folded blanket.

“Hungry?” He held up the skinned rabbit and waved it at her.

“Not like that.” Actually, just seeing the thing made her stomach clench hard enough to make her nauseous and her mouth begin to water. She wasn’t so certain she wouldn’t eat it raw.

“Of course not. Here, hold it for a heartbeat.”

She was surprised by how heavy the thing was. Her arm trembled with weakness.

“How long was I asleep?”

Taiken didn’t look up, digging through the bag and making odd sounds under his breath. It almost sounded like broken humming. She’d never heard him hum before so she dismissed the idea.

“Since-?”

“Since you found me.”

“Ah. A full day and a night.”

She frowned. “I expected longer. I was so sick…” Her eyes widened. “You took my sickness!”

“And it was miserable. You better say thank you.”