Moria lunged. "Do not--"
A hand caught her by the shoulder. Ashyn hadn't even seen anyone standing there--she was too focused on her sister. She glimpsed the young man's face, curtained by braids as he leaned over, whispering to Moria.
Gavril.
Ashyn braced for her sister to throw him off, too, and march after the departing guards. But she only grumbled and Daigo snorted, both of them glowering toward the guards. Then Moria did pull from Gavril's grasp, but only to march back to Ashyn.
"You're all right?" she asked again.
Ashyn nodded.
"And Tova?"
"He's fine."
Moria's gaze flicked to Ronan. She didn't ask if he was injured, but he seemed to understand the implied question and said he was fine, too.
"What happened?" Moria said. "And what's going on here?"
They sat to talk. Moria said she'd found Ashyn's letter, so she knew how they'd left and why. Ashyn skimmed over their journey through the Wastes, except to say that Beatrix, Gregor, and Quintin were dead. She did not tell them how the first two perished. Stories of death worms could wait. Finally she explained about Wenda.
"Spirit possession?" Moria said. "Yet she was not dead? Not possessed by a shadow stalker?"
Ronan answered. "Not unless they can keep a corpse fresh for six days."
He didn't mean it seriously, but Moria considered before saying, "No, the stories say possessed corpses rot slowly, but you would have noticed. It sounds more like . . ."
As she trailed off, she glanced at Gavril. Did he look uncomfortable? Or simply annoyed with the diversion? With Gavril, it was impossible to tell.
Ashyn went on to tell them about the children and the men who had control of Fairview.
Moria took a moment to digest it. "So it appears as if mercenaries were responsible for what happened in Edgewood, presumably working with"--she paused--"men of magic. They unleashed the shadow stalkers, among other things."
"Other things?" Ronan said.
"We saw a thunder hawk," Gavril said.
"We fought and killed a thunder hawk," Moria corrected.
She explained. Then Ashyn told them about the death worms.
When Ashyn finished, Moria fixed Gavril with a look. "Shadow stalkers, thunder hawks, and death worms . . . all just coincidentally appearing in the Wastes at the same time?"
"I agreed that the shadow stalkers suggest the arcane arts. But conjuring thunder hawks and death worms . . . ?" He shook his head.
"It would be the same principle, wouldn't it? Raising something that supposedly doesn't exist?"
Gavril paused. "I suppose so. It does seem unlikely the Wastes would be home to two legendary creatures and we see both shortly after the shadow stalkers."
Ashyn tried not to stare. Seeing Gavril and Moria speaking--without insults and barbs--was surprising enough. But exchanging ideas and actually listening to each other's opinions . . . ? Moria rarely did that with anyone other than her sister and father. And Gavril never seemed to do it with anyone at all.
"So the mercenaries appear to be responsible," Moria continued. "They unleash the shadow stalkers, take the children, and herd us here. Why not capture us at Edgewood, too?"
"Because it would have been sacrilege," Gavril said. "They may pretend they don't care about the spirits, but obviously they do."
"Or someone does," Ronan said. "Whoever the mercenaries are working for."
Moria and Gavril turned to Ronan, looking surprised, as if they'd forgotten there were others there.