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she walked as fast as she was able along the snowbound alleys of the City, her mood did not improve. But now as she turned into the Square of Adam and Sophia, something softened in her. Though her route did not take her that way, she knew she was only a street or two away from the Reach, where she and Boy had been together just over a week before. It was enough to trigger a flood of memories of the fraught time they had spent trying to save Valerian’s life, only to have him try to take Boy’s in return. Maybe they had been wrong about Valerian, but she couldn’t be wrong about Boy; there was no way to fake what had passed between them, and she began to worry again. Something must have happened to him.
    When she got to Kepler’s front door, it flew open almost the moment she pulled the bell handle.
    “Oh, it’s you. Where is he?”
    Kepler seemed distracted, even a little angry, but Willow could see that he too was worried.
    “Where is he?” Kepler asked again.
    “Can I come in?” Willow said. “Please. I’m freezing.”
    Kepler blinked.
    “Yes . . . ,” he said, standing aside.
    He pushed the door closed behind her and ushered her into the study.
    “Well?” Kepler asked, as Willow moved to stand in front of the fire. “Have you seen him?”
    Willow shook her head. She suddenly felt incredibly numb. Her teeth chattered and she started to shake.
    Kepler pulled a chair up by the fireplace for her, muttering as he did so. He fished around in his desk, and pulled out a small bottle that Willow recognized.
    It was the drug that Valerian had taken so much of in the days before he died. She shook her head, afraid of what it might do to her, but Kepler ignored her protests.
    He poured a capful of the green liquid into her mouth, and waited. Warmth and strength began to wash over Willow in a delightful way, and she immediately felt herself begin to recover. She felt light-headed, even felt like laughing.
    Kepler pulled another chair up by the fire and sat down.
    “Well, Willow?” he asked again.
    Willow shook her head. “I came here to find him. We were supposed to meet. . . .”
    She stopped, realizing she shouldn’t have told Kepler that, but he seemed too preoccupied to notice or to care, staring down into the fire.
    “I sent him out earlier, he was supposed to come straight back. . . .”
    “Where?” asked Willow.
    Kepler looked up at her.
    “What?”
    “Where did you send him?”
    “To Valerian’s.”
    “You sent him there!” cried Willow. “You shouldn’t have sent him there, anything might have—”
    “What?” Kepler snapped. “What might have happened to him? It’s an empty house. There’s nothing dangerous there. Not now. Not now Valerian’s gone.”
    “You still shouldn’t have made him go there. . . . It’s a bad place for him.”
    Kepler shrugged. “I don’t want him hurt any more than you do.”
    “Really?” said Willow sharply. “Why is that?”
    “I assure you I want the best for him. You could not understand.”
    “Well, if you did you wouldn’t have sent him there.”
    Kepler opened his mouth to bite back at Willow, but then shut it again. He thought briefly, frowning. “What matters is this. Where is he? There’s nowhere else for him to go, except back on the streets, and this is the coldest winter in memory.”
    Willow nodded.
    “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m just worried that . . .”
    “The Yellow House. That’s the only place to look. You can stay here and get warm, I’ll be—”
    “No,” Willow said firmly, getting to her feet. “I’m coming too.”
    “Nonsense,” said Kepler. “You aren’t fit to go anywhere. I look after the boy now. You can stay here until—”
    “No!” shouted Willow. “I’m coming with you. You have no right to tell me what to do. If you care anything for how I feel, then you’ll give me another drink of that stuff and help me find Boy!”
    With that Kepler thrust the bottle at Willow and went off to find a