Carrie turned, contemplated Stillwater’s small, gleaming army of
machines.
She went to work.
She took the pot with her when she finished.
24
Pierce was sitting at the Kingfisher bar late in the evening, alone and
waiting for Friday or Carrie, whichever came first, when he became aware of a
stirring in the air beside him, a shift of the empty barstool. Fingers gripped
his arm. He turned, looked into a white, thin face with the wolf’s pale,
luminous eyes. Carrie, he realized with a start; still he did not entirely
recognize her.
“You’re a knight,” she said, getting to the point without bothering to say
hello. “At least you look like one. And you know something about magic. You
knew which knife to steal.”
He flushed. “I’m giving it back, I swear—”
“I meant that you saw the magic in it. The mystery. I need help. Isn’t that
what questing knights are for?”
“I suppose. I didn’t really listen to the instructions. Of course I’ll
help, whatever it is. Can I buy you that beer?”
She nodded, raising a finger at Tye, who lifted an empty glass in greeting and
slid it under a tap. Pierce, studying her hollow, resolute face, wondered at
the changes in it.
He said abruptly, “It’s Stillwater. Isn’t it?”
“Don’t say that name,” she breathed. “Not in here. He’s got a history,
here.”
“Carrie,” Tye said, setting her beer down. “Haven’t seen much of you these
days. Working too hard?”
“Thanks, Tye,” she said, giving him a smile that he didn’t return. His
eyes, behind his glasses, seemed opaque, his thoughts withdrawn to some
distant place. He didn’t look at Pierce until Pierce spoke.
“Tye. About the knife—”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll settle up later. You okay for now?”
“For now, thanks,” Pierce answered, and Tye moved away, swatting at a
cruising fly with his bar towel. Above him, the mobile of hanging Fools’
heads swayed and turned as someone else came in. Pierce was silent until a
couple settled at the other end of the bar, and Tye went to greet them. Then
he said softly, “They know. Don’t they? That you’re working for him?”
Carrie gave a brief nod, huddling over her beer, dropping words into it as
though they would dissolve with the beer bubbles. “He destroyed this place,”
she whispered, “and left them all spellbound. Not even my father could drive
him out of Chimera Bay. He couldn’t enchant my father, though. My father saw
clearly enough what was going on. Like you do, even though you’ve never even
met—never—” She paused, asked bewilderedly, “How on earth did you find
your way to that restaurant? I thought you’d left town.”
“I blew a tire and hit a tree. I stayed downtown while my car was being
fixed. Skulked, more like it, so that I wouldn’t run into anyone here. I don
’t know why I wanted that knife. I just did. So I took it. Then I wandered by
that restaurant and saw something else I wanted.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you just naturally drawn to trouble, or do you go
looking for it?”
“How would I know? I’ve never left home before.”
“Well.” Her voice went thin again, almost inaudible. “She could use your
help. We both could. Very much. You saw what he wanted you to see. The way he
wanted you to see her. He did that to me, too. To everyone in this place. He
shows you a face to fall in love with, then he starves you. You can never have
it, and you can’t live without it.”
“Sage,” he breathed, suddenly cold. “Is she—”
“Not like him. No. She could use some rescuing.” She linked her fingers
around her glass but didn’t lift it; she hadn’t taken a single sip. “She’s
trapped. So am I. But at least I know now what I’m looking at.”
“What can I do?”
She drew a breath. “Come for lunch tomorrow. Anytime after one—he should be
open by then. I might need someone to fight for me.”
“What are you planning?” he asked, startled.
“I made some changes. I’m not sure about anything I did, or can do. But
maybe, while you’re there, you’ll think of something. If nothing I did
works.”
His eyes narrowed. “Does Merle know you’re doing this?”
Her taut face warmed unexpectedly at the name; she almost smiled. Again,
Pierce glimpsed the wolf in her eyes. “I haven’t told him. But he’ll know.
”