He’s mindful to keep low, toward the bottom, in case Kennedy set any traps this far down the river. He hears more gunshots in the distance but sees no bullets hurtling by.

Truth be told, he’s torn between going back and helping Reed or pressing on. But what can I do against a gun? And how would I get Reed free of the chains? I could hardly help myself when I was tied to a chair.

No, if he’s going to go back, he needs help.

And he needs to find Emma.

39

TYRDEN PEEKS out the window shade. “Looks like the streets have died down a bit. Everyone who’s not looking for Reed is at home enjoying their dinner. Probably waiting by the phone for news.” He turns back to me, rubbing the back of his neck. “This little town runs like clockwork. Day in and day out. Everything shuts down by five thirty.”

Beside his foot, Frank stirs, moving one leg and groaning. The other leg is bent at an odd angle probably broken from his plunge down the stairs. Tyrden nudges that one with his boot and Frank whimpers.

“Stop hurting him,” I say, closing my eyes. I sound braver than I am. I still don’t know what Tyrden wants from me. Why is he keeping me here? I keep hoping and praying someone will come check on us, that they’ll come through the door and see what he’s done.

Then again, he’d probably shoot them on the spot.

“It’s almost time to go.” He walks back toward the couch.

“Go where?”

“I have a special place for you, princess. I dug it this morning.”

He’s going to kill me. I swallow the vomit and terror as it rises from deep within me. “Why?” My voice is shaky now. In fact, my whole body seems to quiver from the inside out. “Why are you doing this?”

He gives me a pouty face. “Oh, Emma, how naive can you be? Don’t you remember the story I just told you?”

Is he worried that he’ll be punished for his role in the conspiracy? I wish he hadn’t told me about it. Now I’m a liability to him. Now he feels he has to eliminate me. “No one else knows about that. If you let me go, I won’t tell anyone, I swear.” But that isn’t true. Jagen and Paca know about the conspiracy and about Neptune, and they haven’t told anyone, despite their sentence to the Ice Caverns.

Why is that?

“Jagen and Paca kept the secret. I will, too.”

Tyrden sneers. “You think I actually trust Jagen and Paca?”

“Don’t you?”

He clinks the barrel of the gun to his head. “Think, Emma. Why would they hide anything now that they’ve been caught? Why would they continue to keep the secret?”

He’s getting frustrated with me, I can tell. There’s a turbulence in his eyes that hints at unpredictability. His behavior is all over the place, too. Calm then agitated. Mild then excitable. I have to at least guess at the answer, if it’ll make him happy—for the moment. “Because you’re their friend and they wouldn’t betray you?”

He laughs pityingly, crossing his arms. “I don’t believe I’ve ever met someone so obtuse.”

Insult me, fine. But keep pointing that gun everywhere but at me.

Tyrden shakes his head. “Jagen still has an interest on land, Emma. A Half-Breed son. His name is Asten. Lives two towns over with his mother. I check in on them every once in a while. He’s getting big. Almost two years old now.”

The realization of what he’s saying slaps me in the face. “You threatened to kill his son if he told.”

He tilts his head, giving me an off-balance smile. “You see, I have to make sure my secrets are safe.”

“If you let me go, I promise I won’t tell. I’ll keep your secret, too.” But we both know it’s a lie. As soon as I was in the clear, I’d go straight to Reder and tell him about Asten, that his life is in danger. I’d make sure the baby was safe, that Tyrden couldn’t do him any harm.

“Of course, our situation is different, Emma. You and I have already reached an impasse.”

“I still don’t understand.”

“You remember the part of my story where Jagen and Paca had the Royals right where they wanted them?” He takes several slow steps toward me. I nod, eyeing the end of the barrel now pointed at me again. “Then of course you recall who showed up with a wall of fish and ruined everything.”

40

GALEN PRESSES himself against the wall, listening for any movements or noise coming from Reder’s house. There are no lights on, and like the entire town of Neptune, it seems deserted—which Galen couldn’t be more thankful for, considering he’s naked.

He creeps up the steps to the front porch and jiggles the doorknob as quietly as he can. Peering in the window, he finds no one in the living room or dining room. He decides to make an entrance in the back of the house; if he has to break a window to get in, he doesn’t want to be seen by any passersby from the road.

He tiptoes around the side of the house, using the moonlight as his guide, and nearly trips on the coiled-up water hose lying close to the back porch. Opening the screen door, he cringes when it gives off a boisterous creak, which reminds him a little of the way Toraf belches after he’s had too much to eat.

To Galen’s surprise—and relief—the back door is unlocked. Thank Triton for small neighborly towns. He inches through the house, checking each corner and room for signs of life and finding none. Deciding clothes would make this whole break-in less stressful, he makes his way up the stairs to find Reder’s closet. Reder’s build is more like Galen’s than Reed’s is.