The Finisher

” Well, actually I wanted to turn her to dust, but I saw no good coming from telling her that.

“No, Vega, never,” she said again.

And before I could take another step, she was gone. I blinked and looked around in bewilderment. She had simply vanished. I looked down at Harry Two. He was whimpering with his tail between his legs. When I looked up, I saw it, slight, barely visible in the darkness. It was a trail of blue light that carried out the window. As I watched, it lifted to the sky and then vanished, just as Morrigone had.

I angrily waved my hand after this trail of mist. And the most extraordinary thing happened. My shattered window flew back together and became whole once more.

Having done this, I was thrown back against the wall by some violent force and I slumped down, my energy fully spent. I looked at my hands, then at the repaired glass and wood. How had that happened? How could I possibly have done what I just did? I reached in my pocket and pulled out the Adder Stone. I rubbed it over my body and thought happy thoughts. My aches from hitting the wall ceased and my energy returned.

308 Eon had said that the spirit of a sorceress had been embedded in the Stone, giving it its power. Had it somehow given me some of her power by its being in my pocket? Well, if it had, I also had no real ability to control it.

I sat there thinking thoughts that were both terrifying and exhilarating.

309 T R I G I N T A Q U I N Q U E The Battle Begins All wugs were required to attend the opening of this Duelum. I thought that a bit interesting since we were supposedly surrounded by bloodthirsty Outliers want- ing to feast on our organs. The pitch was nearly encircled by a rim of trees that had evaded inclusion on the Wall, at least for now. After eating a bit, I showed up at first section of light. I had tried to sleep the night before but couldn’t. So I decided I would get down here early and see what I could see.

The pitch site was called the Peckwater Quadrangle after Ronald Peckwater, a long-ago mighty Duelum champion of Wormwood. The inside of the pitch was uneven and dented in innumerable places from large male bodies colliding vio- lently with the dirt over the course of many previous Duelums.

A wooden platform had been erected in the center of the pitch. Here would sit the VIWs, or Very Important Wugs.

Behind the platform was a large board with all the names of the competitors, where the progress in the Duelum would be chronicled for all to see. There were also betting circles set up on the pitch’s perimeter, where wagers would be placed. The ever enterprising Roman Picus ran a right successful betting pool through which he had relieved many Wugs of their coin over the sessions.

I had left Destin back at my digs under the floorboards. I was terrified that during the course of the fighting, I would unconsciously take flight and my secret would be exposed.

The air was fresh and warm and the sky clear. As the time to fight drew closer, the fairies in my stomach seemed to mul- tiply. In my mind I went over and over what Delph had taught me. I felt stronger, more nimble and tougher because of his training. I had beaten Cletus up before, but not in a Duelum.

And he had grown this past session to where he was far big- ger than me. Still, he was a git and I simply refused to lose to a git.

The crowds started assembling near the end of the first section of light. Some Wugs smiled and gave me encouraging words. However, others shunned me. If I were to take a poll, it seemed that Wormwood would be split right down the middle on my guilt or innocence. It wasn’t that the Wugs against me really thought me bad. It was just that many Wugs accepted whatever Council told them. And, in all hon- esty, I had enemies here, even before I had been plunked in Valhall.

Many Wugs proceeded on to the small betting area, probably to wager coin on Cletus Loon bashing in my brains.

Delph showed up with his father in time to see Bogle and the carriage arrive. Morrigone, Thansius and John alighted and took their places on the platform along with other mem- bers of Council. Julius Domitar sat in the back of this group, along with Wugs I did not normally associate with because I was apparently not good enough.

Delph patted me on the shoulder and said, “How do you feel, Vega Jane?” 311 “I feel great,” I lied. “I can’t wait for it to start.

” Now, that wasn’t a lie. I wanted it to start before my head exploded. I just kept telling myself that it would be terribly bad form to vomit on Cletus Loon before the fight bell had even rung.

Though it would be enormously satisfying to see my sick on his shirt.

For expediency, there would be multiple bouts carried on at the same time in the quadrants of the pitch. There was no time limit on a bout. Wugs kept fighting until one no longer could. That was a stark rule and one that any sane Wug might have questioned. However, sanity seemed to be in limited supply these lights and nights in Wormwood.

I eyed the other females who would be fighting. They both looked sicker and paler than I probably did. I was not in the first set of bouts, so I sat on a small knoll overlooking the pitch and awaited Delph, who was in a first bout pitted against Digby. I was sure that most bettors had wagered on Delph, and when I looked over at the betting board, I could see that he was a heavy favorite.

Digby was in the process of removing his great, filthy shirt. I had always imagined him to be flabby and hideously dirty without clothes on. Thus, I was surprised to see him so muscular. Though I had been quite correct about the hid- eously dirty part.

Digby went through a series of stretches and then started running in place. His muscles rippled as he did so. Then he started to do a bit of practice pugilism, weaving and bobbing and punching. He seemed quite adept at it, very fast and very accurate. I glanced worriedly over at Delph. He had not 312 removed his shirt and he was not stretching or pretend- boxing. He was just standing there with his gaze squarely on Ran Digby. And in his look I began to see a Delph with whom no one would want to tangle. His strong hands curled to fists and he kept looking at Digby with such fierce concentration that he reminded me of the jabbits after me at Stacks. I wanted to tell Delph good luck but I was afraid of breaking whatever trance he was putting himself in.

Thansius rose and addressed us. “Welcome to the Duelum,” he said in a booming voice. “And what a fine light for it. I want to wish luck to all fighters. We all want clean bouts and I have confidence in our referees to ensure that that will indeed be the case.

” I was really only half listening. My gaze flitted over to John and then away again several times. Finally, our gazes caught each other. I saw him actually smile at me encourag- ingly before Morrigone drew his attention away.

I caught her once looking at me. Her expression was unreadable, and all I could think about was her vanishing in a mist of blue. She could banish Wugs’ memories and, in the case of Delph, damage their minds. She was an extraordinary Wug, I had to give her that. But she was also dangerous. Any- one with such powers was. And it was only an instant later that I realized I might have to include myself in that group.

Of the bouts to take place now, I cared about only one. Delph and Ran Digby entered their quadrant. Delph had taken off his shirt and I marveled at his lean, chiseled physique. There was not a smidgen of fat on him. He still looked only at Digby, who stared back at his opponent as he 313 flexed his massive arms and worked kinks out of his creta- thick neck.

Right at the strike of the second section of light, the competition bell rang. I had to blink because I would not have thought it possible that two males that large could move that fast. They collided in the very center of the quadrant, and the sound of bone and muscles crashing together made me light- headed. It was like two cretas ramming together.


Digby got a headlock on Delph and looked like he was trying to rip his head from his torso. Delph strained to free himself with his hands and this exposed his body. Digby took advantage of this by delivering thunderous knee kicks to Delph’s stomach and sides.

I cringed with each blow. I was stunned that Delph was still upright. But then with a mighty effort, he broke Digby’s hold on him and the two huge Wugs faced off. Digby was breathing heavy. Delph looked calm and in control. I mar- veled at his composure after nearly having his head ripped off and his body wickedly slammed with blows from Digby’s bony knees.

But it was over more quickly than I could have imagined.

After they each threw a few punches that careened off their hardened torsos, and Digby missed with a kick, Delph got a chokehold on Digby. He lifted him full off the ground, spun around and delivered his opponent face-first into the hard dirt. There was a crunching sound and Digby lay still.

Delph let go of Digby’s neck and rose. The referee checked Digby’s status and then waved over the Mendens, who hurried in with their bulky bags. While they were resus- citating Digby, the referee raised Delph’s hand to the sky and 314 declared him the winner. I cheered louder than anyone. When Delph came back over, he was the old Delph again, the steely, disquieting look gone and replaced with a lopsided grin.

I gave him a hug and when I drew my hand back, it was covered with blood. I looked up in horror at him.

“ ’Tis Digby’s, not mine, Vega Jane.

” I glanced over at Digby, who was slowly sitting up, his face covered by a veil of blood and his nose cleanly broken. I had to put a hand on my stomach to keep my first meal where it should remain.

Ten slivers later the first set of bouts was over. The female had been soundly beaten by her male opponent although he had “gallantly” refrained from smashing in her brain. Yet the Mendens had still been called and she ended up being carried off the pitch on a stretcher with her mum sobbing next to her.

The bell for the next bouts rang immediately after the fighters had gathered on their respective quadrants. Twenty hard-fought slivers later, more fighters were out of the Duelum, including the only other female. She had collapsed backward after being charged by her opponent, a seventeen-session-old Dactyl who worked at Stacks. I don’t believe he actually touched her. I think she simply fainted.

Part of me wished for such an option. But after my dustup with Morrigone, if I tried anything like that, I truly believed my head would soon disappear from my shoulders.

Eventually, the final set of bouts was called. I took a long breath while Delph gripped my shoulder and gave me encour- aging words.

“He’s a soft Wug, he is,” he told me. “Loon won’t know what hit him.

” 315 I smiled weakly and nodded. “We can celebrate this night,” I said.

But on the inside I was scared. There was no other way to describe it. I had a plan. I really did. Cletus had taken off his shirt. He was not as flabby as he used to be, with his body growing as much as it had. I of course kept my shirt on. He was two sessions older than me, a full-grown Wug, actually.

And while it was true I had bested him in the past, it had been the far past — except when I had kicked him in the belly the light I’d been confronted by the Carbineers and he’d nicked my egg. I’m sure Cletus had been training hard for this bout, no doubt learning dirty tricks from the likes of Ran Digby and Non. And I had to face that he was male and thus stron- ger than me.

But he was not tougher than me.

Loon grinned maliciously and puffed out his chest and flexed his arms while I stood rock-still. Our referee appeared and told us the rules, of which there were precious few. One that did surprise me was that if you were forced out of your quadrant by your opponent, he was given a free blow to any part of your body. Why Delph had failed to mention that one, I had no idea. It was no wonder all the Wugs charged each other on the bell.

The referee stepped back. Right before the bell was to ring, Cletus said, “If you pretend to faint, I’ll go easy on you.

You’ll be able to see out of your eyes and chew your meal this night.

” “Funny, I was just about to make you the same offer.

” His grin disappeared and was replaced with a 316 determination I had seldom seen on his features. So much for my bravado.

I glanced over his shoulder and was not surprised to see Delph gazing anxiously at me. But I was surprised to see that my brother was staring just as anxiously from the platform.

To my left stood Cletus’s parents. Cacus Loon looked very confident. Hestia looked like she might be sick.

My heart was beating so fast I was afraid it might break a rib. I had no saliva left in my mouth. I felt like I had forgotten how to breathe. Before I realized it, the bell had rung and Cletus came charging at me. I managed to block most of his first blow, but my arm instantly started swelling. I fell back, giving up precious ground of which Cletus took full advantage.

He swung a kick at my midsection that I just barely man- aged to avoid. But I was near the edge of the quadrant and if Cletus got a free shot on me, I seriously doubted I could with- stand it. At the last instant I ducked under his blow, whipsawed around him and stood back up on the other side of him. He whirled and came at me.

“What’s the matter, Vega, afraid to fight?” I would have said something clever back, only my mouth was so dry all that came out was “Aaaghmllff-prat.

” We danced around for a bit, each probing the other’s defenses. I threw a few awkward punches, which he easily blocked. His confidence was growing by the sliver, I could tell. I swung a kick that he derisively flicked way. He laughed.

But I had my plan and I bided my time. And then it came. He feinted with his right hand. I kept the grin from 317 showing on my face as I pretended to block this blow. When he threw his left, I had already struck. I slammed the top of my head into his face, a move that Wugs quaintly termed a Wormwood kiss. As Cletus had done when I tricked him into revealing his fighting maneuvers, he brought up his knee, aiming for my belly. However, my blow to his head having staggered him, Cletus drifted to the left, allowing me time to hook his leg with my arm. With all my strength I ripped upward on this limb. He flipped over backward and landed on his head.

That was all I needed. I pounced and was on him like the black shuck on an escaped prisoner from Valhall. Scissoring my long legs around his torso and pinning his arms to his sides, I pounded away with my fists until Cletus, teary and wailing like a hungry baby Wug, screamed out that he was surrendering.

The referee quickly stepped in. When he tried to help Cletus up, he pushed him away, nearly causing the referee to fall. The referee lifted my hand in victory at the same time that Cletus punched me full in the face. I fell backward and carried the referee down with me.

Cries of “Foul!” and “Valhall for him!” came from the crowd of Wugs.

Caucus Loon grabbed his enraged son by the arm and dragged him off the pitch while Delph raced over and lifted me off the ground.

“Are you okay, Vega Jane?” he asked anxiously. He aimed a glare at Cletus and yelled, “You shameless pillock!” I rubbed the blood off my mouth and nose and checked to make sure my teeth were all still there. They were, but I 318 felt my eye swelling already. Despite all that, the biggest grin spread across my face.


She opened the door, pushed me through, slammed the por- tal shut, and I could hear her heels clickety-clacking back down the marble floor.

A bit breathless, I turned and took in the large room filled with innumerable objects. Then my gaze fixed on the large Wug sitting behind a desk that seemed too small by half for him or this room. Thansius rose and smiled at me.

“Vega, please come and sit.

” I came forward with as much confidence as I could muster, and I had to delve awfully deep to find any. I sat in a 394 fragile-looking chair opposite his desk. I heard it creak when I placed my full weight on it and I was terrified it would col- lapse. But it held firm and I relaxed.

Thansius had resumed his seat and was staring at me expectantly. His desk was littered with letters, rolled scrolls, reports and Wall plans, along with blank official parchment of Council. Before I could speak, he said, “I don’t remember you breaking your nose in the Duelum.

” “Stacks,” I said casually. “Bit careless. It’s healing. Just takes time.

” I self-consciously rubbed at the black eye the break had given me. My other eye was still swollen, though it too had turned black.

“I see,” he replied, in a way that told me he knew I was telling an untruth.

I cleared my throat and said, “I won my bout this light.

” He held up a sheet of parchment from the piles on his desk. “I know you did. The report came a sliver after you so quickly subdued Mr. Dodgson. That is quite an achieve- ment. He’s strong and has good technique. But if he has a weakness —” “He’s too conceited to admit he has weaknesses on which he should improve.

” Thansius nodded thoughtfully. “Precisely.

” “Well, maybe it’s harder for near-perfect Wugs to acknowledge they have problems. Me, I have so many short- comings, I try to work on them all the time.

” Thansius smiled. “I think that would be a good lesson for us all, perfect or not.

” “I bet on myself to win,” I said, rattling the coins in my pocket.

395 “The Laws of Council forbid my wagering on any Duelum. However, if I were to have a flutter, I would have fluttered on you, Vega.

” “Why?” I asked, suddenly very interested in his answer.

“Dodgson was a formidable and experienced opponent.

” His eyes narrowed, but his smile remained. “There is strength here,” he replied as he held up a massive arm and flexed. I saw a muscle pull hard against the confines of his robes. “And there is strength here,” he continued, touching his chest. “You have a great deal of strength, I think, here, which is where true power resides.

” I said nothing but continued to stare at him curiously.

He added, “One more victory and you battle for the right to be champion.

” “And a thousand coins,” I added.

He waved his hand dismissively. “What does coin really have to do with it? I fought in many Duelums and never was coin part of the prize. I think —” Here he broke off and I think I know why. His gaze was taking in how thin I was. How dirty my cloak was. How old my brogans were. And how filthy was my skin.

He looked down for a moment. “As I was saying, I think that a prize of coins is a good thing actually. It can help Wugs . . . and their families.

” “Yes, it can,” I said. “But I come to you on another matter.

” “Oh?” he said expectantly, seeming delighted with the change in topic.

“Duf Delphia?” 396 He nodded. “I know his status. I saw him at hospital last night before he was moved to the Care. It is quite tragic.

” I was surprised that he had visited. Delph hadn’t said. But then again, Delph had a lot to think about now.

“Morrigone said that Duf would be taken care of by Council.

” “That is quite correct. He was struck down while on Council work on the Wall. He will receive life wages and timbertoes at our cost.

” “That is very generous,” I said. “But what of his occupation?” “You mean as a beast trainer? I have never seen a finer one in all my sessions, but now, with no legs? You can well see the difficulty.

” “I can. But if he is paired with another Wug who has an interest in beast training? Duf could teach him, for Wormwood will need another one, of course. The Wug could act as Duf’s legs while he is properly trained up.

” Thansius added, “And that way Mr. Delphia could have not just coin with which to live on, but a proper purpose for his remaining sessions?” “Yes,” I replied.

I saw his eyes crinkle and his mouth widen into a smile. “I think it a sound idea. I will make preparations for doing just as you advise. Did you have anyone in mind?” I gave him the name of a Wug who I thought would be a fine beast trainer. He turned to take up his pen and put on his specs to write the name down. As he did so, my hand shot out and scooped up a blank piece of parchment with Thansius’s 397 name and the official seal of Council on top of the page. By the time Thansius turned back around, the parchment was safely in my pocket.

I watched closely as he wrote the name in a particularly stiff hand, so unlike the flourish with which I had seen Morrigone write and with none of the curlicues of which Domitar was fond. I thanked Thansius and hustled out.

I passed the prim Wug on the way out. “Oh, thank the Steeples you’ve come out in one piece, luv,” she said with obvious great relief.

I looked at her in surprise. “What, did you expect Thansius to do me harm?” She looked horrified at the thought. “O’course not. I just thought you might, well, that you might simply combust from the honor of being in his exalted presence.

” “Well, I didn’t. Har!” I said crossly and made my way out.

Going down the steps, I patted my pocket where the official parchment sat. I had seized an opportunity that had presented itself. I smiled because I knew exactly what I was going to do with it.

I was going to write a letter.

This light was a very special one for me. I was going to make the most of it.

398 Q U A D R A G I N T A Q U A T T O U R Vega Down Under I walked directly back to my digs, where Harry Two was waiting not so patiently for me. The plan had more fully come together in my mind as I was traveling here.

I pulled the chair over to my table, took out my ink stick, filled it and then set to my task with the parchment. I had to see out of one eye, but I knew what I wanted to write.

I had seen Morrigone write on the report that a Wug working on the Wall had given her. Thus, I’d had a good gan- der at her handwriting. I knew now that all the parchment at Stacks that had constituted my instructions in building the pretty things for two long sessions had been written in her hand. I did not think my fury at the female could have increased, but it had. She had me work my fingers to the bone for low wages and all the pretty things had ended up in a hole.

Yet it was not Morrigone’s handwriting that I would be replicating this light. It was Thansius’s. And I had seen several examples of Thansius’s penmanship on his desk at the Council building. The letter was composed slowly as I took great pains to make the recipient believe that the missive had come from the Chief of Council, using words that I had heard him employ many times.

I set the parchment aside after it was completed. My stomach was rumbling and I looked in my larder, which, unfortunately, I found to be empty. As I stared at the barren space, I put my hand in my pocket and found the coins that I had won from Litches McGee. I had never done this before but I decided now was as good a time as any. I started to head out, but then I looked down at myself. I was battered, bloody and filthy.


I went to the back of my digs with a bit of suds and spent ten slivers rubbing the dirt off with water from the pipes. I had taken off every stitch of clothes I had on, right down to my skin only. I dried off and went back inside. My hair was wet but clean and I could stand the smell of myself for once in a great while. I again looked at the coins in my hand and an idea occurred to me.

It was an impossibly silly idea, but I thought: Why not? I found a too-short pair of trousers and a too-small sweater my mum had knitted for me sessions ago, from the stack in the corner that I had failed to finish sorting through.

I squeezed my long feet into too-tight shoes from three ses- sions ago. At least these things were clean, or anyway, far cleaner than my usual clothes.

There was a shop on the High Street called Fancy Frocks that sold female clothing. I had passed it often with never a thought to going inside. When I opened the door, a bell tin- kled and a shop’s assistant, a plump female about forty sessions old, quite nattily attired, came out from the back. She looked at me with a severe eye.

“Can I help you?” she asked in a way that told me she believed me beyond assistance.

400 I was suddenly tongue-tied and my confidence, shaky at best in situations like this, dropped through my feet and directly onto the floor. I mumbled, “I was hoping for some new things.

” “What was that?” she said in a loud voice.

“Some new things,” I said halfheartedly. I had about made up my mind to turn and walk back out. Wugs like me just didn’t do things like this. Our clothes came as hand-me- downs when they came at all.

“Well, why didn’t you say so, dear?” she said. “I suppose you’ve got coin?” she added inquisitively. I held out a palm full for her to see. Her face brightened. “More than enough.

” She put on a pair of thick specs. “Now let me look at you.

” Her eyes behind the glasses widened. “Why, you’re that lass in the Duelum. Vega Jane.

” “Yes, I am.

” She looked me up and down. “You’re tall and slender and you’ve nice wide shoulders and long legs. Clothes will hang well on you, my dear.

” “They will?” I said in a perplexed tone. Clothes hanging well was something I knew nothing about.

“Now let me just nip some things out and we’ll see what we’ll see, shan’t we?” Many slivers later and many garments tried on, some dis- carded and others settled upon, she had packaged my new clothes while I now wore the one she had fitted me with because, well, I fancied it the best. The clothes I had come in with went directly into the dustbin.

Now I wore a blue frock, white stockings and shoes that had heels on them and made me even taller.

401 She gazed in admiration at her handiwork. “Well, I’ll be.

I knew there was something under there, dear. We just had to dig for it, didn’t we?” “I guess so,” I said in a half whisper.

“Now what about your hair, luv?” said the kindly if exu- berant Wug who had long before introduced herself as Darla Gunn. There was a looking glass mounted on the wall. I stared at myself in it.

“What about my hair?” I asked.

Darla eyed it with what I thought was a professional appraisal. “Well, it needs a bit of sorting out. Tidying up, like. Maybe a cut or two or three, if you know what I mean.

Nothing too drastic, well, maybe just a wee bit drastic.

” She sighed and added in an apologetic tone, “It does need some work, dear.

” I gave a few stabs at it with my hand and it settled back down just as unruly as before. “How?” I asked.

“Oh, there are many ways. And seeing as how you’ve surely spent a good many coin this light, I’ll throw the tidying-up in for free.

” “Will it hurt?” Gunn laughed. “Crikey! And you being in the Duelum and all.

” I smiled and touched my battered face.

She said, “Saw you best Non, Vega. Cheered like a mad female, I did. Just didn’t want to go on about it when I recog- nized you. You’re like, well, a celebrity now, aren’t you?” I flushed at these words.

“But your poor face. Your eyes, that nose. Well, I’ll 402 see what I can do to tidy them up till they heal good and proper.

” She was as true as her word. The things she did to my hair and how she doctored my face were totally foreign to me. When she was done and had laced a white ribbon with a bow through my newly done tresses, I looked in the glass and caught my breath. It seemed that I had disappeared and been replaced by another female.

She took out a little bottle with a tiny hose attached to it and a round inflated part at one end. She squeezed on the inflated part and some liquid misted on my neck and cheek. I flinched and she just laughed.

“Take a wee sniff, Vega,” she said.

I did so and the most wonderful aroma entered my nos- trils. “Lavender,” I said.

“With just a touch of honeysuckle. Made it myself.

” Darla gazed at me, and her face crinkled into a smile. “Very nice, Vega. Very nice indeed. Now, once your face heals up proper- like, what a stunner you’ll be, luv.

” A stunner? Part of me was certain this would be a dream from which I would awake and have to deal once more with filthy duds and grubby hair. I paid over my coin and took my packages and walked out of the shop, feeling things I had never felt before.

Two Wugs whom I knew were passing by as I came out.

One was a young Tiller named Rufus, the other was Newton Tilt, the Cutter at Stacks who I always thought was so slithy.

Rufus gaped and ran into a post supporting the roof over the walkway and knocked himself to the cobblestones. Newton 403 simply stood there looking me up and down with a silly grin on his face.

“Vega, is that really you down under?” said Newton.

I hurried on, my face reddening. Down under? I had one more shop to go to and one more item to pur- chase. I paid my coin and had it wrapped in pretty paper and then hurried on. I had shopped more this light than I ever had before. Which wasn’t saying much because I had never really shopped before.

I got back to my digs and threw Harry Two for a loop. It seemed that at first my canine didn’t know me, and his hack- les rose and he bared his teeth. But after he sniffed around me for a bit, he seemed satisfied I was actually his owner after all.

I found a scrap of looking glass that had once belonged to my mother. I managed to angle it so that I could see my face and hair. I again shook my head in disbelief. But my eyes were still swollen and the skin blackened, my nose broken and my cheek bruised and swollen as well. It sort of ruined everything.

I sighed and then a wistful desire crept into my head.

I found my hand going into the pocket of my frock and pulling out the Adder Stone. I held it in front of my face and thought good thoughts and the blemishes instantly van- ished. My eyes were normal, the swelling was gone and I could feel my nose reset and mend immediately. I slowly put the Stone away and then set off.

I checked the falling sun and believed the time to be right. I walked quickly, for my energy had returned with my physical transformation.

404 The trip to Morrigone’s went quickly and I was able to sneak up to the front door and push the parchment through the slit there. I knew that Morrigone would not be home yet, nor would John. But I was certain the ever-faithful William would ensure that Madame Morrigone would receive it.