“From a dependable source close to the matter, I hear that the Rogue Knight has challenged none other than Rustin Sage, champion of Merriston.”

“Where is that?” Cole asked.

She chuckled as if he were kidding. “Don’t pretend ignorance of our capital. Do you wish me to believe you are a stranger or a fool?”

“I really am a stranger,” Cole said. “When is the fight?”

“Postponed indefinitely,” Vixen said, her voice low and excited. “Rustin refuses to acknowledge the Rogue Knight’s right to challenge him, and he has the full backing of the governor. Naturally, this is all being kept quiet. No champion wants to seem afraid to fight.”

“Is he afraid?” Cole asked.

“The Rogue Knight has slain too many proven champions, including Gart the Headsman, who everyone thought would rule Cirestra unchallenged until he died or stepped down. Can you imagine if the capital’s taxes were completely dispersed among the common folk? It would cripple the government. Anarchy would result. Chaos. The cities the Rogue Knight has taken have either plunged into confusion or else have quietly ignored his edicts. I have it on good authority that the capital will use all necessary means to deny the Rogue Knight his duel.”

“Interesting,” Cole said, still unsure whether the knowledge was relevant to his problems.

Vixen whispered for the first time. Cole could barely hear her over the music. “If you’re as new as you act, be careful where you repeat those tidings. For example, Stumbler over there is one of Henrick’s knights. He would not appreciate such tales being spread. When they’re not killing one another, champions tend to stick together, especially on the matter of the Rogue Knight.”

“That guy’s a knight?” Cole asked.

“He’s much younger and stronger than he looks,” she assured him.

“I guess anything is possible in here,” Cole said. “He could even be a girl.”

“Not so,” Vixen corrected him. “They keep the seemings at Shady Lane true to your gender. House rules.”

A bony old woman shuffled over to them. Cole had not seen her enter the room. One of her eyes was notably larger than the other. “We should talk, sir,” she offered.

“And who might you be?” Vixen challenged.

“Nobody to worry about,” the old woman said. “Anyone here who lives on Upton Street should mind her own business.”

Eyes darting to Cole, Vixen looked shocked. She forced a smile.

The old woman stepped close to Cole. “Seriously, follow me.”

Cole wasn’t sure what to do. The old woman seemed intrusive and probably dangerous. “Why me?”

She brought her dry lips to his ear. “I’m from Arizona too.”

Chapter 9

JILL

So excited and curious that he could hardly keep his mouth shut, Cole followed the old woman. She led him to a side of the room away from either of the doors and stepped through the wall. The dark wooden panels looked completely solid. Extending a hand through the illusion, Cole experienced a faint sensation similar to penetrating cobwebs, and then went through.

He entered a cozy space with framed art on the walls. A round table and four chairs served as the only furnishings. The old woman sat down in one of the chairs, and Cole sat next to her.

“Okay, we can actually talk now,” she said. “This is one of the secret unmonitored rooms.”

“You’re really from Arizona?” Cole asked, desperate for an explanation. “Who are you?”

“I’m from Mesa,” she said. “I got kidnapped with you, Cole! This is crazy! I can’t believe you’re here! I’m Jill Davis.”

“I know you!” Cole exclaimed. “You’re a seventh grader!” He had seen her in the halls at school last year. She had sung in the talent show. He’d finally found one of the kids from his slave caravan! He tried to picture how she really looked under the illusion. It wasn’t easy to overrule his eyes. “Your brother is in my grade.”

“Jeff,” Jill said. “We used to trick-or-treat together. He was off with his own friends this Halloween. I’m so relieved he isn’t stuck here, but I keep wondering what would have happened if he’d been with me—maybe I wouldn’t have ended up here, either. Don’t you have a brother too?”

“Sister,” Cole corrected. “Chelsea—she’s a pain, but I miss her, anyway.”

“I know the feeling.”

Cole blinked, still trying to put Jill Davis’s face onto this old woman’s. “How’d you recognize me?” he asked, feeling off-balance.

“I was helping the enchanter who prepped you when you first came in,” she said. “We can see into almost all the rooms here, even the changing rooms. Not to watch people take off their clothes or anything. They just remove their masks, then we change how they look. I couldn’t believe it when I saw you!”

“What are you doing here?” Cole asked.

“I was going to ask you the same thing!” Her excited tone and posture didn’t match her aged features. “The slavers sold you first, before we got to Five Roads. The buyer took you somewhere in Sambria. Sky something, I think. Ansel made it sound really scary.”

“That’s right,” Cole said, unsure how much he should reveal. She’d already said the other rooms were watched. How could she be sure this one wasn’t? “I went to Skyport and joined the Sky Raiders. But I earned my freedom.”

“Really?” Jill replied. “So quickly? Did somebody buy you and free you?”

“Sort of,” Cole said. “It’s a long story. What about you?”

“I went to Junction City,” she said. “They took the kids with shaping talent. Nineteen of us. We all met the High King. He was . . . well, it was pretty scary. They gave us tests, then sent us off to different kingdoms based on our abilities. Your friend Dalton came with me to Elloweer.”

“He’s here?” Cole asked, thunderstruck.

“Not in Carthage,” Jill clarified. “They sent him to train at a confidence lounge in Merriston.”

“The capital?”

“I guess it’s a big deal for them to send someone there,” she said. “He’s really great at illusions.”

Cole could hardly believe the precious information he was getting. Dalton was in the capital of Elloweer? He could make seemings? The task of finding his friends had started to seem hopeless. “What about Jenna?”