Dorcas smiled and shook her head. “Oh, no, dear boy. I wasn’t coveting your ring. I was admiring it. As I told you, we don’t see white gems here.” She picked up a ten and the two ones, pinching the ends and letting them hang from her fingers. “This money will do fine.” After putting the bills away, she pulled a suit of clothes from a cubbyhole in the counter and handed it to Billy, nodding toward a corridor in the back. “Dressing rooms. The lady to the left. You to the right. You’ll also find washbasins back there. When you’re finished, come out, and I’ll see how they fit. Bring your old clothes too, and I’ll have them laundered.”
After several trials, with tedious pinnings and alterations in between, Billy and Bonnie sported sharp new clothes. Billy stretched his arms to test the fit of his pressed long sleeves and button-down vest. Bonnie wore a simple prairie dress and pinafore that swept just above the floor. With her matching blue eyes, her shining blond-streaked hair, and her barely visible halo, she radiated heavenly beauty.
“Now you look like a fine young gentleman,” Dorcas said, straightening Billy’s cuff. “This Oxford shirt is perfect for . . .” Her voice drifted away.
“Something wrong?” Billy asked.
Dorcas shook her head, blinking her eyes as if warding off a mist. “Oh, nothing.” She paused for a moment, then sighed and pulled the hem of Billy’s vest down to his waistline. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this, but have you ever heard a word that struck you as though it is very important somehow, yet you cannot quite grasp why?”
“I think so.” Billy tapped a finger against his temple. “Sort of like a tune in your head, and you can’t remember the words.”
Dorcas pulled a loose thread from the vest. “Maybe like a tune, but I think it might be more like an echo. When I hear the word
Oxford,
it echoes in my mind over and over. It seems that it has become my favorite shirt just so I can say its name. I have no idea why.” A tear came to her eye, and she wiped it away. “Aren’t I a silly old biddy? Look at me, crying over a shirt!”
Bonnie reached out and held the lady’s hands. “You’re not silly at all. You just miss your husband.”
“Husband? I have no husband. I’m just a foolish old spinster who has already talked far too much.”
Bonnie kept holding her hands, caressing her bare ring fingers with her thumbs. “You don’t belong in this town, do you?”
Dorcas squinted at Bonnie. “What makes you say that, child?”
“You said everyone in town wears a ring, but you don’t.”
Dorcas pulled her hands back and thrust them into her smock’s pouch. “I must have lost it.” Her eyes darted to the window and then back to Billy, her smile now fragile. “I don’t remember ever having a gem.”
A change in the light prompted Billy to turn around. The constable opened the door, making the bell jingle, and poked his head inside. “Are these two vagrants bothering you, Dorcas?”
Dorcas waved her hand. “Not at all, Marlon. They’re buying clothes.”
A tall woman peeked in the window next to the door. With high cheekbones and a puckered face, she was the epitome of the tight-haired schoolmarm. Dorcas glanced at her, then back at Marlon, but her gaze kept darting to the window.
The constable pulled his pants up an inch. “So they’re trading goods? Well, that’s a surprise.”
“Yes, they are.” She waved her hand again, this time as a good-bye. “Thank you for checking on me, Marlon. I’ll be fine.”
The constable tipped his hat. “You’re welcome”—he forked his fingers at Billy and Bonnie—“but I’m keeping my eye on these two.” He closed the door. The bell sang once again. On the walk outside, the woman shook her finger at the constable, her jaw moving as fast as a nibbling rodent’s.
As they hustled away, Dorcas swallowed and nodded sharply toward the door. “I think you should leave now.”
“Is that woman trouble?” Billy asked.
“That’s Jasmine,” Dorcas said. “She’s the mayor and fancies herself a prophetess. She’s been warning the town against strangers for as long as I’ve been here, spouting her silly songs and poems. Doom and destruction. Poverty and pestilence. That’s all she knows.” She wrung her hands together. “But it would be best if you stayed away from her.”
Billy gestured with his head. “C’mon, Bonnie.”
Bonnie leaned forward, urgency reddening her face. “But, Dorcas, you have to remember your husband. You—”
Dorcas raised her voice, her hands trembling. “I don’t have a husband!”
Billy pulled Bonnie back and led her toward the door, making the bell jingle again as he heaved it open. “We’d better get to the theatre.”
Once outside, Bonnie shook his hand away. “I know who she is!”
Billy peered down the street. The constable was nowhere in sight. “Yeah, but she was getting really upset.” He reached up and straightened a sign hanging over the door, “Stitches in Time.” “You think she’s Merlin’s wife? Did she change from scroll-bearer to seamstress?”
“No.” She pulled Billy close and whispered, “She’s Professor Hamilton’s wife!”
Chapter 10
Karen pointed toward the line of trees. “Someone’s coming. I heard a phone ringing.”
Carl Foley emerged from the forest, his cell phone at his ear. “Got an update, Larry?” He rejoined the other campers near the fire, his skin ashen. Karen edged close and laid a hand on his arm.
“So where do you think they’re going?” Carl patted his pockets as if looking for something. “I don’t have a pen. Can you text message me? . . . Good. Send the info when you have it. . . . Fine. We’ll pick it up.” He kept the phone flap open and watched the screen, sweat beading on his forehead. “Okay, here’s the scoop. Ashley and Walter are in the airplane, and it’s being carried by one of the Watchers. The handheld computer isn’t functioning, but Larry can hear Ashley through her tooth transmitter, so she’s giving clues to where she is.”
Karen tried to peek at the phone’s screen. “Did Larry come up with where she might be?”
Carl angled the phone toward her. “He’s calculating the possibilities based on the speed and direction they were traveling when the computer died. And the Watcher told her there are glassmakers nearby, so Larry’s going to send a list of manufacturers. That should help narrow it down.” He glanced around the camp. “I never caught up with the knights. Are they still out in the woods?”
Hartanna rose to her haunches and beat her wings. “I will call off the search party.” With three mighty flaps, she launched into the air, then made a low circle as she climbed into the misty sky, trumpeting a shrill note as she ascended.
Carl drew the phone closer to his face. “Here it comes.” His eyes darted from left to right several times. “Okay. Cumberland, Maryland, has glassmakers, and Ashley’s giving more clues. She saw a long, skinny lake from the airplane. Larry’s sending a list of nearby bodies of water that fit the profile. He says the most likely is Deep Creek Lake.”
Professor Hamilton pulled a driving cap from his coat pocket and slipped it over his scattered white hair. “I have seen pictures of that lake while studying the region. I believe it is easily accessible, but I am not sure of which roads to take.”
“So we need to get a map.” Carl fished his keys from his pocket. “I’ll drive my car. Larry wants me to pick up Ashley’s laptop so we can communicate better.”
“Her laptop has a mapping program,” Karen said, hooking her arm with Carl’s. “Let me come with you. I know old silicon brain better than anyone here, and I’ll bet Ashley’s already given him more information by now.”
Carl covered Karen’s hand with his own. “Fine with me.”
The professor tipped his cap toward Mrs. Bannister. “Marilyn, will you accompany me? I think we make a good team.”
Marilyn copied Karen’s move, sliding her hand around the professor’s elbow. “With pleasure.” She pressed the pendant against her heart. “And Billy and Bonnie are coming, too.”
The professor straightened his cap and nodded toward Sir Patrick. “Do you have any counsel, my friend?”
Carl closed his phone and slid it into his pocket. “Sorry. I got so worked up, I forgot to ask the most informed guy here.”
Sir Patrick retuned the professor’s nod. “I do have counsel. I think—”
The thunder of running footsteps broke through the mist. Sirs Edmund and Newman sprinted back into the clearing, followed by the other four knights. A sweating Sir Barlow trailed the others, clutching a hefty branch. “We heard the news,” Barlow puffed as he strode toward Patrick. “Is the word given to embark on a new quest?”
Sir Patrick slapped him on the back. “The word is given, good knight. We are organizing a new search strategy now.”
The moon cast a moving blanket of shadows over the circle, and eight dragons settled to the grass, gusts of wing-whipped winds buffeting the humans. Shimmering in the cold light, the dragons formed a line in front of Thigocia.
Sir Patrick paced before the reptilian squad. “Since you dragons are the only enemy the Watchers fear, you will be the attack force. Thigocia, will you be able to sense Ashley’s presence?”
“Yes. Now that I have met her, I am sure of it. But from how far away, I cannot tell.”
“We’ll leave it to Ashley to guide us.” Patrick gripped Sir Barlow’s forearm. “Will the dragons and knights join together in battle as in the days of old?”
Sir Barlow laughed. “I have ridden a dragon only once and that by accident. But I accept the challenge and relish the opportunity to fight for the life of a fair maiden.”
Thigocia flipped her tail toward the end of the line of dragons. “Two of my group have neither fought nor flown with riders, but we have enough experienced fighters to carry these valiant knights.”
“Excellent.” Sir Patrick folded his hands behind him. “The world already knows that there are dragons in their midst, but you had better fly low and try to stay out of sight as best you can. We will all rendezvous at a remote point near the lake and rest for the remainder of the night. I can only pray that Morgan will allow Ashley to rest until morning as well.”
He stopped in front of Thigocia. “Your main objective, once we find the captives, is to draw Morgan and the Watchers away from Ashley. Engage them in battle if you must, but keep them occupied. Professor Hamilton and Carl will escort Marilyn, Shiloh, and Karen as close as possible to the hideout. From there, the ladies can infiltrate the facility under the protection of the king’s cap.”
Karen linked arms with Shiloh. “Yeah! Girl power!”
Marilyn tapped Karen’s shoulder. “Don’t get cocky, Red.” She grinned. “Sneaky, yes. Cocky, no. Remember, Morgan might still be able to see us.”
Sir Patrick leaned down and placed both hands on Shiloh’s shoulders. “I will ride with the dragons, dearest one. They need someone who is familiar with Morgan’s tactics. I promise not to ride in the battle itself. Do you mind?”
Shiloh’s nose wrinkled. “A little. But we both have to do what we have to do. I’ll just hang with Karen and sneak past a few dangerous demons.”
He pushed a wisp of hair out of her eyes. “Are you up to the challenge?”
Shiloh raised four fingers. “After four decades in the circles, I think I should pay Morgan a visit and thank her for her hospitality, don’t you?”
Carl wagged his finger, half smiling, but concern radiated through his reddening face. “Don’t forget. That’s my daughter she’s possessing. We have to take her alive somehow and figure out how to get Morgan to leave.”
Sir Patrick straightened, his face solemn. “That will be Excalibur’s job. Only it can divide soul and spirit, but what it might do to Shelly’s body, I cannot tell.”
Marilyn picked up
Fama Regis
and folded her arms across it, pressing it against her chest. She let the pendant dangle over the leather cover. “I’ll see if the rubellite will translate more of the book, but I can probably do that on the way to the lake.”
The professor buttoned his trench coat. “Let us hope the flood hasn’t washed out the roads.” With a long stride, he headed down a narrow trail, Excalibur’s hilt protruding from his back scabbard. “Step lively, men and ladies. The new quest has begun!”
Billy watched the seamstress through her shop’s window. “Prof’s wife! What makes you think that?”
Bonnie pinched the cuff of Billy’s sleeve. “You heard what she said about Oxford. Couldn’t she be remembering that her husband was a professor there?”
Billy furrowed his brow. “That’s kind of a stretch, isn’t it?”
“By itself, maybe, but the professor told me his wife was a seamstress, and he said something about Peter not being around to raise Dorcas from the dead.”
“And the seamstress is also named Dorcas.” Billy pressed his lips together, nodding. “Okay, that’s too many coincidences to ignore, and Morgan said something about going after her enemies by killing their wives.”
Bonnie set her hands on her hips. “The professor would be one of her enemies; that’s for sure.”
Bat strolled by, tipping his bowler hat once again. This time Billy took note of his pulsing ring as he lowered his hand from the brim.
“So we add Dorcas to the list.” Billy stepped off the raised planks and onto the street. “Now we have to find Dad and Merlin’s wife and rescue all three.” The crowd had thinned. Horses stood idle, harnessed to carriages or tied to posts. Apparently, the morning “rush hour” was almost over.
Billy scanned the stores lining both sides of the street. “But would my father even be at the theatre? Maybe if we find him, he can sort it all out.”
Bonnie folded her hands over her waist, copying the pose of many of the women in town, and walked slowly on the planks before hopping down to the cobblestones. “Let’s see. He liked to fly, but I don’t think they have airplanes here. What else did he like to do?”
“He loved to read and study. Any bookstores around? Or maybe a library?”
“I think I saw a bookstore when I was here.” Bonnie stroked her chin. “Let me think a minute.”
Billy shoved his hands into his pockets. “Well, if we see it on the way to the theatre, we can stop in and check it out.”
Bonnie’s eyebrows lifted. “Frankie!”
“Frankie?” Billy repeated.
Bonnie pointed across the street. “The guy with the flowers, over by the fertilizer store.”
“You know him?”
“Sort of.” Bonnie waved for Billy to follow. “Come on.”
The teenager, dressed in a newsboy cap, baggy white shirt, knickers, and black suspenders, paused in front of the store, digging in his pocket for something.
Bonnie ran up to him, Billy following close behind. “Young man!” Bonnie yelled. “Wait!”
He swung toward Bonnie and flashed a big smile. Cradling fresh flowers in his other arm, he pulled his hand out of his pocket and tipped his cap, a sweet Irish accent spilling from his lips. “Do I know you, Miss?” He tipped his cap at Billy, his smile fading. Billy returned a tight-lipped nod.
Bonnie dipped into a quick curtsy. “Bonnie Silver, and, no, you don’t know me. We’re from . . . out of town.”
“Brogan’s the name.” He straightened his cap and repositioned the flowers. “Why did you call me?”
Bonnie propped up a drooping carnation that protruded from his bundle, but it flopped back down. “I just wanted to ask you a question.”
Brogan pulled out a long-stemmed daisy and handed it to her. “By all means.”
Bonnie twirled the stem. “Is there a library or a bookstore in this town?”
“Indeed we have both.” Brogan pointed down the road, his palm closed around something. “Go to the city square. You’ll find them between the constabulary and Town Hall. The library is inside the bookstore. You can’t miss it. Just follow the bell tower on top of Town Hall.”
Bonnie followed the line of his arm, then turned back to Brogan. “I have another question, a personal one, if you don’t mind.”
Brogan shifted his head back a bit, a quizzical look on his face. “If it’s not too personal, I’ll have a go.”
“That silver dollar in your hand,” Bonnie said, pointing at Brogan’s tight fist. “What are you going to buy with it?”
Brogan’s smile returned. “These flowers are for my mum, and I’m going to buy some marbles for my sister for the Founder’s Day picnic. Marvin stocks them in his fertilizer shop for decorating gardens.”
Bonnie fingered the beads on her necklace. “Marbles?”
“Yes. I don’t know why I decided on marbles. I guess an angel must have whispered in my ear.” He gazed at his hand, slowly unwrapping his fingers from around the coin. “By the by, how did you know I was holding a silver dollar?”
“I think the same angel whispered in my ear.” Bonnie stared at Brogan’s soiled palm. “I never noticed your ring.”
Brogan closed his fist again and turned his knuckles toward her. “Haven’t you seen a dragon’s eye?”
“A dragon’s eye? Why is it called that?”
“Folks say it can see into other worlds.” Brogan blew on the gem and polished it on his shirt. “It’s superstition, of course, but we all wear them, just the same. Sort of a village trademark, you might say.”
“Everyone in town?”
Brogan nodded toward the seamstress shop. “Well, I noticed Miss Dorcas doesn’t wear one, but seeing that she works with her hands all the time, it might get in the way. Oh, and I think the new librarian also, but he’s a bit of a crackpot, if you know what I mean. Proper folks always wear their rings.” He tipped his cap. “Nice talking with you. I work at the florist’s. If you want more daisies or some nice carnations, come and see me.” He smiled again and vaulted up the steps to the fertilizer store.
Billy took Bonnie’s hand. “C’mon. If we try to find the bookstore first, maybe we can—”
“Wait.” She pulled her hand away. “Wasn’t that a rubellite in his ring?”
“Pretty sure it was.” He glanced down at his own ring. “It looked just like mine used to.”
“The dragon’s eye,” Bonnie said, twisting the ring on her finger. “What do you think it means?”
“I’m not sure.” Billy took her hand again. “But we’d better get going before Brogan comes out again.”
Bonnie pulled him back. “Why? Is your sense of danger working after all?”
Prickles crawled along Billy’s neck. He wasn’t sure he should say what he was thinking. “No, it’s just that . . .” He gave a sigh of resignation. “Well, he was kind of flirting with you.”
“Flirting?” A slight blush tinged Bonnie’s cheeks. “He was just being friendly.”
Billy mocked Brogan’s accent. “I work at the florist’s. If you want more daisies or some nice carnations, come and see me.”
Bonnie bent the daisy’s stem. “Okay, I get the point.”
Billy waved it off. “You’re a pretty girl. Who can blame him?”
Bonnie’s cheeks turned pomegranate red. “Okay, Mr. Smooth Talker, now who’s flirting?”
Billy’s new suit suddenly felt hot and tight. “Uh . . . I . . . uh . . .”
Bonnie dropped the daisy and took his hand. “Never mind. Let’s find the bookstore.”
They hustled to the center of town, always peeking up at the cone-shaped top of a belfry that towered above the other buildings. A familiar gong chimed loud and clear, ten base tones that echoed through the streets. Each one reminded Billy of the gong in his dreams and the weird sensation of time slipping backwards. Was the sound a warning? Could it be tolling for a reason beyond the telling of time? He shuddered. The eerie vibrations seemed to portend something dark and sinister.