He passed the glass bat to me. “Extraordinary. Next time you see your friend, please ask her to make one for me.”

I found the coins I had been searching for, and repacked my bag. Only when I had slung my pack onto my shoulders did I realize I forgot to rewrap the bat.

The Commander picked up the coins, walked to his office door and opened it. Summoning Adviser Watts, he asked him to exchange my money and to show me to the guest area.

Dismissed, I followed Watts into the throne room, holding the bat in my hand. The adviser noticed the creature when handing me the Ixian coins.

“Sitian art?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Not a bad likeness, but rather dull. I thought the Sitians had more imagination than that.”

I mulled over the Commander and Adviser Watts s comments as I followed Watts through the castle. Still unable to bend my mind around the Commander’s ability to see the glow, I had to postpone further ruminations when I entered the guest suite.

Leif peppered me with a million questions the moment I stepped through the door. The guest quarters were rather lavish by Ixian standards. The main room contained a comfortable sofa and soft chairs as well as a number of desks and tables. A faint odor of disinfectant scented the air. Four bedrooms branched off from the living area, two on each side. Sunlight streamed in through the circle of windows in the back wall, warming the empty room.

I stopped Leif’s questions with a look. “Where are the others?”

He pointed to the second door on the right. “They’re all resting. Moon Man and Marrok are in the big room next to Tauno’s.”

Double doors marked the entrance to Moon Man’s room.

“Which one is mine?”

“Second door on the left, next to me.”

I went into my room. Leif trailed along like a lost puppy. A simple layout of a bed, armoire, desk and night table all made of oak decorated the small interior. The bedding looked fresh and inviting. I stroked the soft quilt. The air smelled of pine. The lack of dust made me remember Valek’s housekeeper, Margg. She had plagued my existence when I first became the food taster, refusing to clean my room and writing nasty messages in the dust. I hoped I wouldn’t run into her during this trip.

Leif’s questions began again, and I filled him in on what had happened in the Commander’s office, neglecting to mention his ability to see the bat’s glow. I wasn’t convinced that the Commander had magic, and certainly wouldn’t try to persuade Leif or anyone else.

“Black and red really aren’t my colors. Which Military District has green? Maybe I can open my shop there,” Leif said.

Leif’s joke wasn’t as funny now. “MD-5 is green and black. General Brazell used to govern the district, but now he’s in the Commander’s dungeon.” I wonder who was promoted.

“What are we going to do next?”

“I don’t know.”

Leif pretended to be shocked. “But you’re our fearless leader. You have it all planned out. Right?”

I shrugged. “I’m going to take a long hot bath. How’s that?”

“Sounds good. Can I come?”

“As long as you promise not to spend all day in there.” I gathered some clean clothes.

“Why would I?”

“You thought the feather mattress was a luxury. Wait until you see the Commander’s baths.”

The hot water soaked my aches away.

Leif joined me in the corridor with a contented smile on his face. “I won’t have any trouble adjusting to life in Ixia. Those pools and the overhead duct, pouring water… amazing. Does every town have a similar bathhouse?”

“No. Only the Commander’s castle has such luxury. It’s a holdover from the King’s regime. The Commander usually disdains the extravagance, yet it remains.”

During my soak, I had thought long and hard about our situation and the Commander’s offer. The temptation to stay tried to overpower my logic, but I knew we needed to return to Sitia. The Sandseed clan had already been destroyed by the Vermin, and Cahil and the Fire Warper remained a problem.

How I would deal with them continued to be a mystery. Not being able to trust Moon Man, Tauno or Marrok, left Valek, Leif and me against the Daviians, the Fire Warper, Cahil and his army.

And what would happen if I revealed Cahil’s involvement with the Vermin? The Council trusted him. I would need to convince them of his deceit. I would need hard evidence to gain their trust. Evidence I lacked.

In fact, the more I thought about the whole situation, the less confident I felt about my ability to find a solution.

When Leif and I returned to the guest suite, Moon Man and Tauno waited for us in the living room.

“How’s Marrok?” I asked Moon Man.

“Better.”

“Can he talk?”

“Not yet.”

“Soon?”

“Perhaps.”

I stared at him. He answered in typical Story Weaver fashion. Refraining from shaking information out of him, I asked, “Have you learned anything while working with Marrok?”

“I have seen bits and pieces. Marrok’s feelings of betrayal are making it difficult for me to get through to him. He does not trust me.” Moon Man’s eyes met mine and I could see his unspoken words.

“Trust has to go both ways.”

“It is not a lack of trust which causes me to keep my silence. It is a lack of acceptance on your part.”

“And you’re afraid of what you might discover once you accept your role in all this, aren’t you?” Leif asked me.