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voice, “Please, King Thorne, might I have the Stone to help my friend? Please, O King?”
    “Now, that’s better. See what a bit of respect and politeness can manage?”
    He threw the Stone to me. I caught it and instantly waved it over Delph’s leg, thinking good thoughts. Not only did the wound heal, the arrow slid free from his thigh and dropped to the rock without a smidge of his blood on it.
    Delph’s breathing returned to normal, though he was still deathly pale. He slowly rose from the floor.
    “ ’Tis okay, Vega Jane,” he said, but the fear was evident in his eyes. “Thanks for doing the Stone over me.”
    In a breathless voice I said, “Don’t thank me, Delph. It was my fault you got shot.”
    When I turned, Thorne was right next to me.
    “What did you have to do to cause such a cure?” he asked.
    “Don’t tell him, Vega Jane,” shouted Delph. I looked over at him. Again, I had no choice. A dozen arrows would be flying at Delph if I didn’t.
    “You wave the Stone over the wound and think good thoughts.”
    “Does it work on all living things?” he asked eagerly.
    I knew why he asked this. He would want it to heal the ekos in case any were injured during his attack on Wormwood.
    “I’ve used it on my canine.”
    “Can it bring back the dead?”
    “No,” I said emphatically. “Nor can it regrow limbs that have been lost. I tried that once and it didn’t work.”
    “Pity,” he said, snatching the Stone from me. “But still, it has its uses, I’ll grant you that. You will of course teach me how to fly with the chain.”
    I was about to scream out, The bloody Hel I will, you king of the gits , but I refrained. I might just take an arrow to the head. “It will take time,” I said evenly. “It’s not easy to train someone up to fly.”
    “Well, it’s not like you’re going anywhere. Ever again.”
    Despite the clear menace behind his words, I breathed a bit easier, though I didn’t let my features express this. At least we would be allowed to live, until we could figure out a way to escape this place.
    Thorne made sure to pocket the Stone and the ring.
    He did not, however, take the glove. When he wasn’t looking, I slipped it into my cloak. From out of the corner of my eye, I caught a gnome staring at me as I did this. It was the same bandy-legged creature that had fetched the bucket for Thorne. At first, I thought he was going to tell on me, but he just looked at me stonily before turning away to jabber with one of his mates.
    I marched along behind Thorne with Delph and Harry Two at our heels and the brigade of armed ekos bringing up the rear.
    Delph whispered, “Why’d you tell him about the bleeding Stone? And show him what Destin can do?”
    “Delph, he would have killed you if I hadn’t.”
    “So?”
    I was so stunned I stopped walking. A prod in the back from an ekos made me start up again, but I looked at Delph in astonishment.
    “You wanted to die?”
    “I want you to survive, to get through this here place.”
    “I’m not getting through it without you,” I replied heatedly.
    “I’m not that important, Vega Jane. Not really. You’re the one what needs to live. Like the female what gave you the Elemental said.”
    “Not important?” I hissed back. “You’re all I’ve got, Delph. I can’t go through the Quag without you. I won’t.”
    His face grew red and he looked away. I knew Delph so well that I understood he was searching for the right words to say back to me.
    “Well, neither will I,” he said. “Both or nothing, eh?”
    “Yes.”
    He drew closer to me. “Then what I’d do is get him up high-like with Destin and when the bloke least expects it, drop the prat.”
    I nodded slowly. This plan was certainly tempting. But if we killed the king, what might his minions do to us?
    Thorne led us back to the room where we had dined. Lit torches still lined the wall. He sat at the table, drew a knife, sliced open his finger and then waved the Stone over