Cole realized the woman could be anyone. He didn’t want a spy to trick him. How could he confirm her identity without revealing himself? “What does my name start with?” Cole asked.

“C?” the woman asked.

“You’re M?” Cole checked.

She gave a nod. “You were a Sky Raider?”

“You once rode in a flying coffin.”

The woman giggled. “You sound so different.”

“You too,” Cole said. “I sound the same to myself.”

“Me too,” Mira said. “Should we go through?”

“After you.”

Mira opened the door.

Chapter 8

RUMORS

The large room beyond the doorway contained several groupings of comfortable furniture. In one corner, a string quartet played an unfamiliar tune, their instruments expertly weaving melodies and harmonies. Two other doors led out of the room.

Cole immediately felt out of place. This looked like a party for sophisticated adults. He reminded himself that with his disguise, he didn’t look like a kid anymore. Some of the others could be young too.

Excluding the musicians, he counted eight other people in the room. Two stood talking in a corner, three sat together on a single sofa, and three others huddled around a table. Of the strangest, one looked like a living statue carved from black stone, and another wore a purple robe and had the head of a parrot.

After passing through the doorway, Mira looked like a jolly Asian woman with a tall, elaborate hairdo full of combs. Facing him, Mira covered a giggle. Wondering what he looked like, Cole approached a mirror. He had the head of a warty toad with bulging yellow eyes. His military jacket sparkled with medals.

Cole couldn’t resist a chuckle. The toad head was perfectly lifelike. It would be the best Halloween costume ever!

Mira joined the pair chatting in the corner. A bearded guy with an eye patch rose from the sofa and sauntered over to Cole. Nervous to begin the conversation, Cole reached out to shake his hand in greeting.

“No, no,” the man scolded gently. “No touching in here. You must be new.”

Cole lowered his hand uncomfortably. “Sorry. Nobody told me. First time.”

The man raised his bushy eyebrows. “Or you’re feigning inexperience.” He leaned closer and murmured something.

“I couldn’t hear you,” Cole said. “The music is a little loud.”

“It should be. Discourages eavesdropping. What song are you singing?”

Cole scrunched his eyebrows. How was he supposed to reply to such a random question? The guy was probably speaking in code. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Very well. What do you go by?”

“My name?”

“In the lounges I’m Hannibal. What do you go by?”

Cole hesitated. Should he make something up? Joe had warned him not to lie. “Nothing yet.”

Hannibal considered him for a moment, as if measuring his legitimacy. Cole found himself wondering what the man really looked like.

“Out with it, then,” Hannibal said. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m from out of town,” Cole said. “I just want news.”

Hannibal gave a chuckle. “Don’t we all? Where did you come from?”

“Sambria, most recently,” Cole said.

“I’ll believe that, since Sambria is just across the river. Where in Sambria?”

Cole paused. How could he keep the answer vague? “Lots of places. I’ve been on the move.”

“Any news from Sambria?”

Cole thought about what to share. “Four hundred legionnaires visited the Sky Raiders.”

“What were they after?” Hannibal asked.

Cole wasn’t sure how much to reveal. He wished he could have practiced this type of conversation ahead of time. “I heard they asked about a slave.”

“One slave?” Hannibal asked.

“That’s what I heard,” Cole said.

“Four hundred legionnaires?”

“Supposedly.”

“Did they find him?”

“I’m not sure,” Cole said. “I don’t think so.” The man didn’t seem particularly interested by his news. “How are things in Elloweer?”

“When was your last visit?” Hannibal asked.

“First time,” Cole said.

“Welcome,” Hannibal said. “The latest news is a disturbance up north. People are disappearing. Entire towns have been found empty.”

“Really?” Cole asked.

“It eerily matches your trouble with Carnag in Sambria,” Hannibal said. “But this only came to my attention two weeks ago.”

“Somebody took down Carnag,” Cole volunteered.

“I heard that,” Hannibal replied. “Any idea who did it?”

“I’m not sure,” Cole said. Was there anything he could share to sound less boring? “I heard some legionnaires were involved. What do people know about this new problem in Elloweer?”

“Very little,” Hannibal said. “Nobody who gets close ever returns. Our leaders are already beginning to panic. Like I said, the problem reminds everyone of Carnag. Forgive me for prying, but what brings you to Elloweer, Master Toad?”

“I’m . . . um . . . visiting,” Cole said.

“Surely you have some business here. Perhaps I can help. I have many friends.”

“I’m with people,” Cole said, trying not to give away anything. “I don’t have business of my own.”

“Your affairs are private,” Hannibal said. “I understand. Should you wish to confide in me, I spend most of my time in this chamber. I expect to remain here for the next hour.”

“Thanks,” Cole said, unsure how well he had done. Should he have given up a big secret? Should he have pressed harder for information? The bearded man returned to the sofa. Cole hadn’t noticed Mira leaving the room, but he no longer saw her. Everyone was engaged in conversation, so he decided to try his luck elsewhere.

He went through a door and entered a less formal lounge where people reclined on divans and huge pillows. Near one wall an attendant polished a counter, avoiding the food and drinks on display. In a corner, a man tapped a massive xylophone while a woman played a flute.

Once in the room, Cole could no longer detect any sound of the string quartet. Of the six other people in the room, only two were talking. One guy hovered near the food counter with a drink in his hand; an old woman napped on a divan; a plump man hunched over a circular ottoman, studying an arrangement of playing cards; and a coldly beautiful young lady sat regally in a huge armchair like an empress on her throne.