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coming, or at least the elders did, because they talk to each other. And it's time for my testing, so they sent me here so I could take the next step."
    "Next step?"
    "Going with you to get back the—"
    The councilor burst out with a lot of words, some of them in the trade tongue, none of them in English, but Gan caught the gist, which was shut up , Gan looked at him. "I'm supposed to help you, but you are not in charge of me. I can tell them that part if I want to, and I do… if I get my chocolate."
    Cynna handed her the candy bar. Gan grinned and ripped off the paper. She stuffed half of it in her mouth, closing her eyes to savor the experience, and spoke through the thick pleasure. "They lost something. They want you to Find it."
    "Some reason you didn't want her to tell us that?" Lily Yu asked the councilor.
    "No, no," he assured her. "Is that the loss is secret—as the Gan knows."
    The chocolate was almost gone, melting away inside her mouth. Gan swallowed and opened her eyes. The councilor wasn't smiling now. She shrugged. "Not a secret from these two, is it?"
    "Is for speaking only when is shielded. No shield here."
    "Excuse me," Cynna Weaver said, "but do you mean 'shield' or 'wards'? Because we can do wards, but… well, when we speak of wards we're talking about spells to repulse specific intruders—fleas, demons, whatever. Usually they'll send a warning if something does get through, as well. But a shield spell would create a true barrier, one that keeps out everything, including the mental stuff."
    The Harazeed bobbed his head. "Is meaning that kind, yes. Shield for everything’s keeping out."
    "Sorry. We can't do those."
    "Is needing shield! Wards is not closing off the farseeing, farhearing, the elementals, the… wards is not being enough!"
    Lily Yu spoke. "Can you make a shield?"
    The councilor talked to the others in upset murmurs. They used trade tongue, but spoke so fast and low Gan didn't catch all of it. When the gnome turned back to Lily Yu and shook his head, though, the negative matched what she'd heard. "This one is not able. Others not able. I is having knowledge of spell for shield, but is not having…" He waved his hands. "English is not having word for this. My magic wrong for making shield."
    "But you know how to make one?"
    "I know spell."
    "Cynna?" Lily Yu's face was all shut down so Gan couldn't see what she was thinking.
    "I don't know," the inky woman said. "An unknown spell… ee-way ant-cay oh-nay ut-whay it-way eally-ray uz-day."
    "Hey!" Gan said, "What language is that?"
    "Pig Latin."
    Pig Latin? Gan had heard of Latin, but she didn't think pigs spoke it. Or any other language. She frowned and took another bite of candy, smaller this time, wanting to save some for later… a couple minutes later, anyway.
    Lily Yu reached across Gan to pat Cynna Weaver's knee. "You can do spells, but for something like this… an unknown spell and all… well. Better call in the expert." She looked back at the councilor. "I know someone who can probably work that spell of yours."
    The councilor looked relieved. Cynna Weaver didn't. She looked… what was the word? Oh, yes. Appalled.
    Wouldn't it be interesting to find out why?
    Gan popped the last of the chocolate in her mouth and wiggled with pleasure. She was having so much fun. Even without the windows.

CHAPTER FOUR
    Cullen could walk without crutches now, if he had to. It had been nearly five weeks since a giant flying monster from hell had chowed down on his foot and related bits. He didn't heal as fast as some lupi—his talents lay in other directions—but he'd finished regrowing the lower leg and his ankle now ended in a foot bulb, a knobby projection with everything a foot might need. It was curled up in an unfootlike shape, but the parts were all there.
    But it hurt like hell to walk on the blasted thing. Tarsal and metatarsal bones, itty-bitty phalanges, and all those tendons were curled around one another, the bones still soft, nothing