He spoke to me in a rough and raspy voice. “You will not see your brother. You will not rescue him. You will not take him home. He is lost to you and your parents.”

  “Please, please,” I begged, “have mercy. Thomas is ours—​you stole him from us.”

  “You ask a wolf for mercy?” He opened his mouth wide and grinned, showing me his teeth again. “Thomas is ours, not yours. You should not have come to this land. I am here to see that you never leave it.”

  Using my heels to push against the earth, I tried to stand, but I was too weak.

  He grinned, and on his breath, I smelled places not known to me. I could not imagine what he’d seen, what he’d done.

  “What do you have to say, girl?”

  Even if I’d had something to say, my mouth was too dry with fear to speak.

  But perhaps there was something else I could do. As he leaned over me, poised to attack, I pulled out the locket and pressed it as hard as I could against one of his eyes. With a savage howl, he leapt backwards, one eye gone, nothing left of it but a smoking hole and the stench of burned flesh.

  I had no idea which way to go, but I ran away from the wolf. Behind me, he continued to howl, but he didn’t come after me. Maybe he was in too much pain. Maybe he was calling his brothers. All I knew to do was to keep running.

  When I couldn’t take another step, I collapsed under a tree. Gripping the locket, I waited for my heart to slow. I gasped for breath. My side ached, and my legs shook. The Kinde Folke had tricked me again. They knew I’d not turn down a chance to rescue Thomas and carry him home to Mam.

  I looked at the bite mark on my arm. It had stopped bleeding, but blood stained my dress all the way down to its hem.

  Wearily I got to my feet and began to search for the path again. Once more voices called to me from the shadows; once more I stumbled and fell and wandered through bogs and heather, wolves howling somewhere behind me.

  When I’d all but given up, I stumbled onto the path and saw Guest running toward me, his skinny legs pumping hard.

  “Where you been? I wake up and you was gone. Why did you leave? Madog said—​”

  “I know what Madog said, but I heard Thomas crying, and I went to find him. I picked him up, but I couldn’t find the path. Then Thomas turned into a wolf. I put out his eye with the locket and ran away. I ran and I ran and I ran.”

  He patted my arm to comfort me and saw the bite mark and the blood. “Mollie, you bleed, you hurt.”

  “The wolf bit me. I need to clean it.”

  Guest led me to the stream, and I washed the bite as best I could. It began to bleed again, but I found a weed I’d seen Mam use for healing. I mashed the stem and smeared it on the wound. Then I tore off part of my skirt and washed the cloth in the stream. Guest tied it around my arm.

  We walked until night fell and camped in a cave by a stream. Guest caught a couple of fish, more bone than anything else. After we ate them, we sat by the fire together, fearing every sound we heard. In the distance, a wolf howled, then another. I shivered and threw more wood on the fire.

  In the dark spaces between the trees, a twig snapped, and Guest drew closer to me. “Something there.”

  “It’s them again with a new trick.” I stared into the dark, weary beyond weary. What would they do this time? Did I have the strength to face them again?

  Another twig snapped, nearer to us. I pulled the locket out of my dress and held it up so the silver caught the firelight. “Who’s there?”

  “Who wants to know?”

  Brandishing the locket, I said, “I want to know.”

  A boy stepped into the firelight. His face was dirty, his hair a black tangle of knots and snarls, and his clothes were as faded and ragged as mine. “You must be Mollie.”

  “Who are you, and how do you know my name?” Curling my fingers tightly around the locket, I dared him to come closer. “And don’t tell me any of your fine lies, for I know the ways of your people.”

  “You know nothing of me nor the ways of my people. Indeed, I know more of you than you know of me. A simpleton you are, Mollie Cloverall.”

  Whoever this boy was, he had no right to speak so rudely. “I don’t know who’s been spreading lies about me, but I’m no simpleton. This locket I hold—​”

  “I’ve already been told about the locket. The silver hides the iron underneath. Don’t threaten me with it.”

  I studied him in the firelight. He wasn’t more than a year or two older than myself and not even an inch taller. Though he didn’t look dangerous, I didn’t trust him. “Tell the truth,” I said. “Why are you here?”

  “Someone sent me with a message for you.”

  “Oh, no, I’ll not fall for that trick again.” I thrust the locket toward him. “Go back to the Kinde Folke and tell them Mollie Cloverall has come to fetch her brother home.”

  The boy stepped back and held out his hands, palms toward me as if to fend me off. “Keep that bauble away from me,” he said. “I’m not one of them, but my people have dealings with those ones from time to time. Cheats and thieves, they are. Wicked, too. Bargains made and bargains broken. Truth told at midnight turns to lies before sunrise.”

  A thought came to me. Maybe it was the way the boy spoke or the way he held his head. “Who are you? Did Madog send you?”

  “I’m Aidan, Madog’s son. He made me come.”

  “Madog never spoke of having a son. How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

  Aidan shrugged and spread his hands just as I’d seen Madog do. “You’ll have to take my word for it, won’t you?”

  Still suspicious, I eyed him closely. Sure enough he looked like Madog. “Why didn’t Madog himself come?”

  “Oh, he has important business,” Aiden said. “And I, of course, have nothing to do except obey his orders, even when they are daft.”

  I dropped the locket inside my dress. This boy was ill-natured but not a threat. “Truth to tell,” I said, “I wish Madog had come and left you at home.”

  “And so do I.” Aidan dropped his bag and stretched. He looked at Guest, who had said not a word but stood staring at Aidan.

  “I’ve never seen one of his sort before,” Aidan said. “If they’re all as ugly as he is, it’s no wonder folks leave them to starve at crossroads.”

  The boy had a vexing way about him, and I disliked him more with every word he spoke. “Don’t speak of him as if he can’t understand what you say.”

  “Madog told me you brought the changeling with you all the way from Lower Hexham. You have some idea the Kinde Folke will trade him for your brother.”

  “No, not anymore.”

  “What will you do with him, then?”

  I looked at Guest. He’d gathered sticks and stones and was sorting them by size and shape. What was I going to do with him?

  “I’d leave him here,” Aidan said. “And be glad to see the end of him.”

  Guest had begun building a stone tower. He didn’t speak or look up, but I knew he was listening.

  “I can’t just leave him in this awful place,” I said. “I guess I’ll take him home with Thomas and me.”

  “Oh, your parents will love that.”

  “Maybe not right away,” I said, “but in the end they’ll take him in.”

  “In the end?” Aidan laughed. “Not ever, I say.”

  Guest looked at Aidan and began to speak in the language he and Madog shared.

  Aidan made a short reply in the same language.

  Guest whimpered and drew closer to me.

  In anger, I turned to Aidan. “What did you say to him?”

  Aidan folded his arms across his chest. “Why should it matter to you?”

  I couldn’t say when or why, but I had begun to care about Guest. I couldn’t bear to see Aidan treat him as if he had no feelings. “You had no cause to be mean to him,” I said. “He was only being friendly.”

  “I told him the truth, that’s all. I’ll never be a friend to a changeling.” Aidan spit on the ground at my feet. “I hate the creatures.”

  “What has a changeling ever done to you? You just said you’d never even seen one before.”

  “I have a mind to leave you here and go home to my mam’s cottage.”

  “Well, why don’t you? Guest and I have no need of you.”

  “You need this, I wager.” Aidan opened his pack and dumped out cheese and bread and apples. “It’s from Madog, not me. You and the changeling can starve for all I care.”

  My stomach was too empty to spurn the food. Instead of leaving, Aidan set about making a fire. I toasted the bread on a stick and melted the cheese on top.

  Aidan ate with us, but he cast a cloud over the meal. No one spoke. We simply filled our bellies.

  Guest sat close to me. Every now and then, I caught him looking at Aidan, his face fearful.

  “Don’t mind him,” I whispered. “He’s rude and dirty, but he’s Madog’s son. He can’t be all bad.”

  Guest looked at me with mournful eyes. “You won’t leave me here?”

  “You heard what I told Aidan. You and Thomas will go home with me. I promise.”

  “But them at your house want Thomas, not me. They won’t let me stay.”

  “When Mam and Dadoe see how much you’ve changed, they’ll be glad to keep you.”

  Guest plainly doubted Mam and Dadoe would treat him kindly. Much as I hated to admit, I wasn’t so sure myself.

  Aidan spoke up from his side of the fire. “Go to sleep. We’ve a hard walk ahead of us.”

  Guest fell asleep almost at once, but I watched Aidan through half-closed eyes. I believed he was watching me, too. I didn’t trust him, and he didn’t trust me. If only Madog was sleeping on the other side of the fire and Aidan was far away.

  * * *

  The next day passed in the usual way—​perilous climbs up and down rocky hills, rain in our eyes, wind buffeting us, midges biting us. It was a weary business, and my legs burned with the effort to keep up with Aidan. Guest clung to my hand and slowed me down. Every now and then, Aidan stopped and waited for us, clearly impatient.

  A fierce wind gave voices to the trees around us. Tossing and swaying, limbs creaking and groaning, they seemed to say, Turn back. Leave this land. You don’t belong here. You aren’t wanted.

  With Aidan in the lead, I struggled up a steep hill, dragging Guest behind me.

  “Bad place,” he muttered over and over again.

  “Hush, you’re scaring me,” I told him.

  He looked at me, shook his head, and said no more. But his lips moved, and I suspected he was still telling himself we were in a bad place.

  Near the top of the hill, I stopped behind Aidan. Above us, a ring of tall stones thrust up from the earth. Their tops vanished into a heavy mist. In their center lay a massive slab of rock like a stage or an altar. Strong magic hung heavy in the air. I breathed it in and felt it burn my lungs. It crawled across my skin and prickled my scalp. I wanted to run back down the hill, but fear rooted me to the earth.

  Guest squeezed my hand so hard, I felt my bones shift. He breathed fast, his bony chest rising and falling as fast as a baby bird’s.

  “I thought their home was miles away,” Aidan said, “yet here it is. Madog should be with us. He—​”

  As he spoke, green flames raced across the ground toward us. My skin tingled and my hair crackled. Guest and Aidan glowed as if they were burning from within.

  The flames vanished as quickly as they’d come, and a terrible silence fell. It was as if the green light had swallowed up every sound and nothing would ever be heard again. Not a bird, not a human voice.

  In that silence, a woman in a long green cape stepped into the center of the stone circle. Head thrown back, she stood with her arms lifted to the sky as if she were calling lightning down on all of us. She shone with a light so dazzling, I couldn’t look at her.

  Aidan fell to his knees. Guest and I did the same. We all bowed our heads and waited for her to speak.

  “Two children and a changeling,” the lady said at last. “How pitiful.” She paused a moment. “Stand up, come closer, let me see the miserable creatures I’ve trapped in my circle.”

  With fear and hesitation, I got slowly to my feet and pulled Guest up with me. He shook so hard, he almost fell at the lady’s feet. Pale-faced, Aidan stood a few feet away. He looked past the lady’s shoulder, into the gloom behind her. I did the same, thinking it must be the proper thing to do.

  Guest pressed his head against my side and didn’t look at anything. He clutched my dress so tightly, I feared he’d tear it.

  “Boy,” she said to Aidan. “Come to me.”

  Aidan stumbled forward. “Your Majesty,” he whispered, but before he spoke another word, the lady struck his face with her open hand. Aidan’s head snapped back, and he raised an arm to protect himself from a second blow.

  “Do not speak to the queen until she tells you to.” Her voice was so calm, I scarcely believed she’d just struck Aidan hard enough to make him stagger.

  “I know who you are and why you are here,” she went on in that same level voice. “If I allow you to live, and I’m not yet certain I will, tell Madog not to send a boy when a man is needed. Tell him I am angry that he has helped your contemptible companions to come this far into my land. He cannot protect them from my wrath.”

  She paused a moment. I felt rather than saw the queen direct her gaze from Aidan to Guest and me.

  “Impertinent, foolish girl,” she said, “do you truly believe I will return your brother?”

  Was I expected to answer the question, or would I, too, receive a slap?

  The air stirred before I felt the blow. Stumbling backwards, I almost knocked Guest down. He whimpered and held my skirt tightly.

  “Answer the queen when she asks a question,” she said sweetly.

  “Your Majesty.” I looked directly at the queen, but in the bright light shining from her, I couldn’t make out her features. “My mother is wasting away with grief, and my father has left us. I have come a long way to beg you to be as kind as you are beautiful and allow me to take Thomas home.”

  The queen laughed. “Such a pretty speech. How amusing you are.” Turning to the crowd gathered behind her, she said, “Bring the boy forth. Let him decide whether to go or stay.”

  I could scarcely believe how easily I’d won. All smiles and laughter, Thomas would stretch out his arms to me. Once again I’d hold him and smell the sweet baby scent of him. I’d bring him home and see Mam smile. I took a deep breath and searched for my brother in the crowd behind the queen.

  The Kinde Folke nudged one another and hid laughter behind their hands. In the rear, hidden from sight, a child protested angrily. People stepped aside to clear a space for a young Kinde One, a girl about my age. She dragged a boy seven or eight years of age behind her. His face was pale as if he seldom saw the sun, and he wore a blue velvet suit trimmed with lace and fastened with gold buttons.

  “Why have you brought me here?” he asked the girl. “Let me go now, or I’ll give you a kick you won’t soon forget.”

  The girl stepped back, but she didn’t release him. “It’s the queen’s order,” she told him. “You must stand still and answer a question.”

  He saw the queen then and smiled. “Of course, Your Majesty. I will do as you bid.”

  Despite his blond curls and pretty face, I disliked him on sight. He was ill-tempered and rude.

  “I present Prince Tiarnach,” the queen said. “Curtsy to him, Mollie.”

  While the boy smiled scornfully, I bent my knees clumsily. “Where is Thomas? You said—​”

  The queen took the sulky boy’s hand and smiled at me. “Why, Mollie my dear, do you not recognize your brother, the one you’ve come so far to find?”

  I looked at the boy. Although he resembled Thomas somewhat, he was a boy, not a baby. It was another Kinde Folke trick, another lie.

  “You seem puzzled, dear,” the queen said. “Is this not your brother?”

  “Of course not. Thomas is a baby.”

  The queen laughed and the others joined in, but the boy scowled.

  “I assure you, this is the brother you seek. Shame on you not to recognize him.”

  “You’re playing a trick on me.”

  “Don’t try my patience, Mollie. If you do not believe this boy is your brother, leave my land and do not return.”

  Still filled with doubt, I looked at the boy. His blond curls, his blue eyes. Time ran differently here. Maybe it was indeed my brother standing before me.

  I hesitated. “Thomas, don’t you remember me?”

  The boy drew himself up as straight and tall as he was able. “My name is Tiarnach, not Thomas. I have no sister. Take my advice and leave our land.”

  Bewildered, I said, “You are my brother. My mother is your mother, and my father is your father. Come home with me, and you’ll see how much we love you.”

  I stepped toward him, but he backed away as if I carried the plague.

  “This land is my home,” he said. “I know no other land. I do not know you.” Scorn frosted his eyes, and his voice was as cold as the queen’s. “Leave here at once, and tell me no more lies.”

  “Your home is on the farm with Mam and Dadoe and me. Not here. These are not your people. They are—​” I clapped my hand over her mouth to avoid saying the Kinde Folke’s true name. “They have cast a spell on you!”

  The queen swept toward me. The hem of her long silken gown hissed behind her. At last, I saw her face. Skin as white as foam at the foot of a moonlit waterfall, hair as dark as a cavern so deep the sun never shines there, eyes as green as priceless jewels, features as delicate as if she’d been carved from ivory by a sculptor of rare skill.

  But behind that perfect face was something dark and inhuman. I backed away, not so much from fear as from caution. The people of this land were even more dangerous than I could have imagined. And this one, the queen standing before me, was the most dangerous of all.