Part 18 (1/2)
”Not at the moment,” Kyra said. ”Though, there's another royal in the room I'd like to see dead.”
”Oh, that's good. Really good! We're clearly starting off on the right path here.” He sat down on a giant bolt of purple fabric. Langley had found Rosie and curled himself around her.
”Ugh,” Ariana said. ”He's even worse in person.” She smiled innocently at him and shrugged. ”Sorry 'bout that, I can't help it-Kyra gave me a truth serum!”
”Right.” He smiled nervously. ”I'm sorry that I lied to you, Kyra. I can't say that I wasn't out looking for the princess's a.s.sa.s.sin. I was.”
”So it wasn't just coincidence that I ran into you.”
”Actually, it was. I wasn't exactly aggressive in my search for the a.s.sa.s.sin.” He s.h.i.+fted his weight. ”More like, if I happened to run into her and captured her, that would be okay. I never expected to find the a.s.sa.s.sin crossing a stream in her underwear with a pig on top of her head.”
A puff of laughter escaped Ariana.
”I never dreamed the a.s.sa.s.sin was you.”
Kyra and Ariana exchanged a look.
”G.o.d's honest. The confusion potion at the witch's should have been a clue, but I was so sure I knew who you were: Kitty, the dairymaid with the pig.”
Ariana interrupted. ”Wait, you said you were a dairymaid?” She started cackling. ”Oh, Kitty, you are the best. Why in the world would anyone believe you were a dairymaid?”
Fred pushed his hands through his rumpled hair. ”I only knew for sure it was you when I saw that poison in your bag. That's the truth. Do you want to give me some of this truth serum I keep hearing so much about?”
Kyra shook her head.
”I didn't know what I was going to do, but I couldn't let you go. I had to figure something out.”
”Well, you did a great job,” Kyra said. ”You only lost me completely for the better half of a week.”
”You are a slippery kitty cat,” Ariana said. ”I'll give him that. A half week's not too bad, really.”
”So,” Fred said, ”you aren't trying to kill the princess anymore?”
”Oh, I'm still trying to kill the princess, just not this one.”
Kyra let Ariana explain everything to Fred, figuring she should have plenty of energy for storytelling-she hadn't been on the hunt for the past three months. Right now, several months of vacation on the floor of a tailor's shop sounded kind of nice to Kyra.
Her heart hurt.
She'd found Ariana, but she'd lost so much-her career, her friends.h.i.+p with Ned and Hal, and now Fred, who was smiling dopily at the princess as she talked. His fiancee.
Kyra's heart was breaking.
Ariana nudged her. ”What do you think, Kitty? Is the impostor princess a shape-s.h.i.+fter?”
Kyra stamped down the feelings that were threatening to engulf her. ”She doesn't have any of the traits of the shape-s.h.i.+fters in the books at the palace library. Maybe-”
The front door of the shop banged open, and in strode an old man.
”Oh, foo!” the old man shouted when he saw the unfrozen Ariana. ”What are you-”
Recognition lit Ariana's face. ”You!”
Recognition lit the old man's face too, as he saw Kyra. ”You!”
And Kyra sighed and said, ”You.”
Because the old man was Ellie the hermit.
KYRA HAD GUESSED AS MUCH, but now she knew for sure: Ellie was the kidnapper.
It was Ellie who'd frozen Ariana in this back room, Ellie who'd stacked her up with the mannequins, Ellie who'd gotten rid of the princess's things. That's why he'd had Kyra's poison in his apartment, that's why Ariana recognized him, and that's why Rosie had first led Kyra to him. That bit of scarf had probably been in Ellie's keeping for so long that he'd stunk it up with his old-man smell before it ended up in Arlo's possession.
But why had Ellie kidnapped Ariana?
Kyra slipped a clean needle out of her holster and hid it behind her back. Taking him out with a Doze dart would stop him from escaping, but it wouldn't help her find out what she wanted to know.
”Ellie,” Kyra said, ”so nice of you to drop in. What brings you here at this time of night? Or anywhere, really-since you so rarely leave Newman House?”
”My own business here, isn't it?” Ellie said. ”I own this place, can come around here any time I want.”
Ariana and Kyra exchanged a look. Ellie the hermit owned Gabrielle's?
”You seemed awfully upset when you saw my friend Ariana here unfrozen,” Kyra said ”You broke into my store!” He started edging backward. ”I should go to the constable right this minute.”
”I don't think you want to do that.” Kyra didn't have time to mess with a potion. Dropping the needle, she got into position to stop him with her body. ”I think we should have a chat.”
As Fred stood up, the hermit fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a fistful of potion tubes. ”Don't step one foot closer! I've got weapons here that will put you all out for good! Stole them from her”-he gestured to Kyra with his chin-”so you know they're dangerous.”
Kyra paused. He'd had the Peccant Pentothal in his room. Who knew what else he might have taken?
Ellie tossed two vials in the air and spun toward the door. Kyra lunged to catch them as Fred dashed after the old man. Unfortunately, Kyra dove directly in front of Fred, and they fell into a heap on the floor.
Kyra held a vial clutched tight in each hand.
Fred untangled himself and ran outside. He came back moments later. ”He's gone. Old man runs fast.”
Kyra opened her hands.
”Oh-one two-three-three. Gas Relief. Must be one of Ned's. Can't eat that much pie without consequences.” She turned the second bottle so she could read the label. ”And 01 672. Sparkling Clean Dish Solution.”
She felt so stupid. She couldn't get anything right. Now Ellie was out there somewhere, and they weren't any closer to having answers.
”Wow,” Ariana said, ”this really sucks.”
”No kidding.” Kyra brushed her long hair back with her hands. ”Why in the world would he have kidnapped you? What could he possibly have to gain by it? He's just a crazy old guy who lives by himself.”
Ariana shook her head and put the small portrait of Fred back into the locker. ”So,” she said, coming back to them. ”What do we do now?”
”First, we get some sleep.” Kyra said, her heart lifting a little at hearing Ariana's we. ”Then we make a plan.”