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the spot.
    â€˜I didn’t mean to cause trouble,’ Tia said. ‘I only spoke to Master Zeno because...’
    â€˜You wanted to ask him about your father,’ Bryndissaid. ‘I came back for you and heard everything. When he called for the guards I ran away.’
    To Tia’s astonishment, Bryndis hugged her. ‘I would do the same to find my mother.’
    â€˜Me too,’ Ingvar said gruffly. ‘Though I’d trust the rest of you enough to tell you what I was going to do.’
    Sindri reached shyly for Tia’s hand as though he was trying to decide if she was real or not.
    â€˜We’ve got some food in the cellar,’ Bryndis said. ‘Come and have that and then sleep while we work. You can tell us all about what happened when we come back in the morning.’
    â€˜And we’ll bring more food,’ Ingvar promised.
    Tia wearily climbed into the cellar. She ate the pastries the children gave her then lay down. Once she was settled, her friends left for the castle. Tia was so tired she only just managed to turn down the oil lamp before she fell fast asleep.

Chapter Nine

Battle with the trolls
    Tia was in a muddle. Ingvar had said they ought to trust each other, and she did trust him, and Bryndis. She even trusted little Sindri though he was too young to be told everything. Of course, she had trusted Zeno, and see where that had got her. But her friends had looked after her and shared their hiding place with her.
    All the same, Tia knew she couldn’t tell them about her life with the dragons or her mission to recover their jewels. And she certainly couldn’t reveal the fact that she had witch powers. No, she had to accept that she couldn’t share her secrets with anyone.
    Once her mind was made up, Tia felt better and when the children returned from the castle with lots more food, she forgot her problems as she ate.When she’d finished her friends listened eagerly as she told them about being ‘taken’ by Skadi.
    â€˜What did it feel like?’ Sindri asked.
    â€˜Horrible! It makes you go wobbly and sick.’
    â€˜Do you think our mother might’ve been taken to the same place?’ Bryndis wanted to know.
    Tia shook her head. ‘There was no sign,’ she said. She wasn’t going to mention the bones.
    â€˜Skadi does take people to faraway places like farms and mills,’ Ingvar said. ‘She makes them work for her and locks them up at night. Maybe Mother will come back one day, like you have.’
    Tia knew that when she’d stolen the sapphire her friends would be free to talk to their Aunt Tinna and she could help them look for their mother. ‘If Skadi didn’t have the sapphire, the people in Iserborg could take the town back and keep her in the castle where she can’t do any harm. They’ve done it to the High Witches in Drangur, Kulafoss and Stoplar.’
    â€˜How do you know that?’ Bryndis asked. ‘Is it because you really are the jewel thief?’
    Tia held out her hands, palms up. ‘Have you seen me with any jewels?’
    The three children shook their heads.
    â€˜I’m sure if I had the topaz and the opal you’d see me using them.’ She was glad Finn had persuadedher to let him look after those gems. She had used them and found it difficult to stop. She didn’t mention the emerald, which she was sitting on at that moment.
    â€˜I suppose that’s true,’ Ingvar admitted.
    â€˜I heard about what happened to the witches when I was travelling. The jewels always seemed to be stolen when I was there.’ That was true.
    Bryndis laughed. ‘As you’re here now, do you think the sapphire will be stolen too?’
    Tia grinned. ‘I expect so.’
    â€˜Then you can move on to look for your father. Where will you try next?’ Ingvar asked.
    â€˜Askarlend – then Holmurholt.’ Tia tried not to think about Holmurholt. It was where