Morrigone was the only female member of the Council. In Wormwood she was the female. Taller than I was, slender, but not frail, for there was strength in her shoulders and arms. Her hair was blood-red, redder than Thansius’s cloak. She strode over to where Delph and I stood.
She was dressed all in white, and against the white of her cloak, her blood-red hair was a dazzling sight.
Wugmorts greatly respected Thansius.
Wugmorts dearly loved Morrigone.
I could hardly believe she was here. I glanced at Delph, who looked like he had swallowed the creta whole. I looked at Duf. He still held the rope but appeared to have forgotten about the young slep tied to the other end of it. The young beast whinnied as it caught sight of the mature sleps, along with its own future, I imagined.
I did the only thing I could do. I turned to Morrigone and waited for her to speak. Was she here to see Delph? Duf? Or me?
I studied her face. If there was perfection in all of Wormwood, I was looking at it. I felt my face flush under the dirt on it.
Morrigone smiled at Duf, who had now dropped the rope and walked towards her with hesitant steps. Delph had not moved. His feet could be in the hole he was digging. As big as he was, he looked small.
‘Good light, Mr Delphia,’ said Morrigone in a mellifluous tone. ‘That slep appears to be a splendid specimen. I look forward to seeing another fine example of your peerless skill once he’s in harness.’
She next walked over to Delph and put her hand on his shoulder. ‘Daniel, I hear only good reports from your labours at the Mill. We appreciate your prodigious strength so very much. And if it’s possible, I think you’ve grown a bit since I last saw you. I am sure your competitors in the next Duelum will shudder to hear that.’
She handed Delph three coins as I looked on in surprise.
‘For the work you recently did at my home, Daniel. I believe I forgot to pay you.’
Delph nodded dumbly, and his big fingers closed around the coins and they disappeared into his pocket. Then he just stood there like a great lump of iron, looking mightily uncomfortable.
Morrigone turned and walked over to me. In her look I knew that I was the reason she was here. And that meant I had been followed here. My mind swirled with possibilities and pitfalls. I think she read all this on my face. I looked up at her and tried to smile. But my mouth felt lopsided.
‘Vega, what a pleasant surprise to find you here,’ she said. The remark was innocuous enough, yet the questioning tone implied the desire for an answer for my presence here.
‘I wanted to see Delph about something,’ I managed to say.
‘Really – what was that?’ asked Morrigone. Her words were unhurried, but I sensed urgency behind them.
I knew if I hesitated, she would know I was lying. But while Morrigone may have been one of the elites of Wormwood and someone I deeply respected, there were few Wugs who could lie as well as I could. The real skill was to weave in something true with a lie. It just sounded better that way.
‘I gave Delph my first meal last light. He promised to give me his this light.’
I looked over at Delph. Morrigone did the same.
Delph gripped the spade like it was the only thing tethering him to the ground. I braced myself for him to say something stupid and ruin my perfectly good lie.
‘G-g-got no food for Vega Jane this li-li-light,’ Delph stammered.
I turned back to Morrigone. ‘It’s OK. I have something to eat before Stacks.’
Morrigone smiled. ‘You have a reputation for making such fine things. As good as Quentin Herms, I’m told.’
Morrigone disappointed me with this tactic. It was a little obvious. As I looked closer at her, I saw a slight wrinkle at the left corner of her mouth. Not a smile line; it was going the other way. This calmed me for some reason.
I said, ‘Quentin Herms has gone. No one in all of Wormwood knows where he is. At least that’s what I was told.’
‘You were at your tree last night,’ said Morrigone.
My suspicions of being followed were just confirmed.
I said, ‘I often go there to think.’
Morrigone drew a bit closer to me. ‘Do you “think” about Quentin Herms? Are you sorry he has left us?’
‘He taught me how to be a Finisher. So, yes, I am sorry. I also don’t understand where he could have gone.’
‘Do you perhaps have a notion?’
‘Where is there to go other than Wormwood?’ I said, using the same tactic I had employed with Thansius. However, Morrigone’s next words took me by surprise.
‘There’s the Quag of course,’ she said.
Duf snatched a breath and exclaimed, ‘Quentin Herms ain’t no fool. Why in the name of all of Wormwood would he go in the Quag? Load-a rubbish, if you ask me.’
Duf shot an anxious glance at Morrigone and his face sagged. He tugged off his old, stained bowler, revealing a thick spread of dirty, greying hair, and looked thoroughly embarrassed. ‘Beggin’ pardon at me language, uh . . . ma’am,’ he finished awkwardly.
Morrigone continued to stare at me, apparently awaiting my response to her comment.
I said, ‘Going into the Quag means death.’
‘So, you have never ventured near the Quag?’ she asked.
I said nothing at first, because while I had no problem with lying, I also didn’t like to use the skill unnecessarily. It had nothing to do with morals and everything to do with not getting caught.
‘Never close enough to be attacked by a beast that lurks there.’
Morrigone said, ‘But my colleague Jurik Krone informed me that you were down by the edge of the Quag when Quentin Herms disappeared.’
‘I heard screams and saw the attack canines and Council members. I followed them out of curiosity and also to see if I could help with what they were doing. Before I realized it, we were near the Quag.’
‘And yet you told Krone you saw nothing?’
‘Because I didn’t,’ I lied. ‘I know now that it was Quentin they were after, but I still don’t understand why.’ I wanted Morrigone to keep talking. I might learn something important, so I said, ‘Why were they chasing him in the first place?’
‘Good question, Vega. Unfortunately, I cannot answer it.’
‘Can’t or won’t?’ I said, before I realized I had said it.
Duf and Delph each caught breaths, and I thought I heard Delph hiss a warning at me. Morrigone did not answer me. Instead, she motioned with her hand. I heard the creak of carriage wheels. Bogle guided the sleps and carriage back into view.
Morrigone didn’t board right away. Her gaze flitted over me.
‘Thank you, Vega Jane,’ she said, using my full name, like Delph did routinely.
‘I’m sorry I wasn’t much help.’
‘You were more help than you know.’
A bittersweet smile accompanied this comment, which for some reason caused my spirits to sink.
She disappeared inside the carriage, and then it was gone.
‘Har,’ gasped Duf, which was a term Wugs used when we were truly gobsmacked.
I couldn’t have agreed more.