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the Grouch. I knew Mordon the Worried, and Mordon the Royally Pissed-Off. But Mordon the Swooning Father was not a thing I'd ever witnessed. I wasn't sure how to respond to it. Other than to kiss him. And I so wasn't ready to exercise yet another emotion so fast on the heels of the others. So I fell back to my standard position. Planning.
     
    “Before we go, we should give her a name.”
     
    He raised a brow.
     
    I rushed to explain. “People will be asking.”
     
    “Yes, they will. I wanted to know what you had in mind. Her mother was Josephina.”
     
    “But we've discussed saying she came from the colony, so it should be a drake name. You know those names better than I do. Maybe something that doubles as human? Denise's name is like that.”
     
    “Sebile?”
     
    “Not very human.”
     
    “I think it's Saxon, actually, but I see your point. Anna?”
     
    The baby shrieked, just the once. I put my hand on Mordon's shoulder and tried to discern a smile on the infant's face, but if anything she looked shocked that the noise had come from her own mouth.
     
    “Anna will work.”
     
    “Here, hold her.” Mordon passed her over before I could back out of the duty. “Her neck muscles aren't strong enough yet to move her head.”
     
    She settled in my hands, the position feeling strange now that I'd had a few minutes to hold my hands the way I felt comfortable holding them.
     
    Mordon continued, “Her head will flop around unless you're mindful of what you're doing. You were fine earlier, but I can't help nagging a little.”
     
    I could kill her with my ignorance. The very thought served as a switch to instant panic. “Mordon, I don't know what I'm doing. Not a clue. And she could be mine for years. I'm not ready for this. I don't know if I can do this.”
     
    “You've survived Death, killed monsters, and saved the Wildwoods, and you can't take care of a little orphan?” Mordon bent to whisper in my ear, his voice sending tremors down my spine. “You're not alone. No matter how long it takes, no matter what happens.”
     
    “But this isn't your oath to fill. You didn't agree to it. To be a parent.” The word numbed my lips.
     
    “I'm agreeing now. If need be, I'll be father and mother to her.”
     
    “It's dangerous to be around me. The shadows, the Unwrittens, how can I bring her into that?”
     
    “You didn't. You were chosen. And it's natural to be afraid, but don't let it undermine your strength. Now, come. There are people who may be able to shed some light on circumstances, but we must move, now.”
     
    I took him by the crook of the arm and molded myself against his side, letting him guide me through the portal and out into Merlyn's Market.
     

Chapter Five
     
    Flying carpets filled the air, a huge portion of them with customers kneeling on them. So many carpets were going in the same places, actually, that their steady flow followed an invisible road ducking between the holes in the floating walkways. It was like watching a video of soldier ants packing off with their cargo, except the ants were flying at thirty to fifty miles an hour.
     
    Actually, Merlyn's Market was downright terrifying today. Usually it wasn't this packed. Must be the Midsummer Festival bringing in all the crowds.
     
    I looked around our surroundings, a bit confused. The portal had dropped us off between door 58 and 823, very much out of the ordinary place next to King's Ransom Magical Antiquities. It took me some time to identify the merchants on the floating deck. It was the Produce Deck, a place which I admittedly didn't spent a huge deal of time on.
     
    Mordon gazed around, staring at the hideyholes between crates and watching as carpets folded up from forming staircases between the floating walkways.
     
    “How long are we going to have to run around for?” I asked. “Is it going to always be like this?”
     
    “Not always. But after every sighting, it would be a good idea. You do not want to let them