long pause. Finally, I elbowed Jez. She sighed dramatically.
âNo, Cappy. Iâm not mad.â
âThere, see? All is forgiven. Nice girly.â I smiled, patting Jez on the head. She pinched my arm.
âOw!â I said, pulling away. âOkay, Cappy, if youâre going to be my henchman, you need to know one very important rule: henchmen donât give hugs. Got that? Good. Now, come with us.â
But he really didnât have a choice because at that moment, a rainstorm of miniature arrows arced out from behind the trees and stabbed at me and Jez like a hundred stinging needles. Cappy seemed immune. His hard, rocklike skin deflected the barrage. Still, he appeared kind of angry all the same.
From behind tree trunks and leaves, little black eyes glared at us. The sprites had returned with reinforcements. I guess I hadnât scared them off after all. Jez turned into a bat and flew away.
âGirly can fly ,â Cappy said in awe.
âYeah, ouch! Super,â I replied, pulling my cloak over my head to deflect the tiny arrows. âWay to stick together, Jez! Câmon Cappy! Letâsâouch!âget out of here.â
I ran in the direction Jez had flown.
Cappy lumbered after me, kicking sprites left and right with his big clawed feet. They sailed through the air, landed hard on their rumps, and chattered angrily, shaking their fists at us. It was a relief to make it back into the protection of the surrounding trees.
Cappy and I ran on for a few more minutes until we finally caught up with Jezebel. I was glad to see we hadnât lost her; however, we had lost something. The road. Now I really had no idea which direction it was in.
âJez, why donât you fly up and have a look around? At least you can be some use to us as a bat.â
âHey! I canât help it, okay? When I get nervous I just, just â¦â
âAbandon people?â
âNo!â she shouted. âOh, forget it!â
She flew up above the forest, but even from above, the trees crowded in so close that Jezebel couldnât see the road anywhere.
The afternoon had turned to evening. The forest deepened to a cool, velvety purple. The second day of my Plot was quickly slipping away, and now Iâd lost the road. We decided to stop for a bite to eat before moving on. Cappy found a dead rabbit and was munching itâfur, bones, and all. Jezebel and I ate from the provisions sheâd packed. I think she could tell I was a little depressed, because she offered me a bite of her chocolate.
We got a fire going, then Jez and I took turns pulling out sprite arrows from each otherâs skin like splinters.
âAre you still mad?â she asked as she plucked one from my neck.
âOuch! Mad? About what?â I asked.
âI donât mean to, you know, transform all the time. It just ⦠happens. When I get anxious.â
âOh.â
Fighting with Jez was fun, but for some reason talking seriously to her made me anxious.
âIâm not mad. I just canât believe we lost the road. If only we had some way toâwait a minute!â
I rummaged in my pack and pulled out my dadâs crystal ball. Jez scooted in for a closer look. Our hands touched the glassy surface at the same time. I expected her to shy away, maybe flutter her eyelashes at me, but who was I kidding? This was Jez. After a tiny moment of awkwardness, she slapped my hand and took the crystal ball from me.
âLet me do it this time,â she said, closing her eyes and running her hands over the sleek surface. âShow us the road.â
A moment later, a familiar red glow lit up the ball. Cappy even stopped munching his rabbit to watch. His eyes got all big like he was being hypnotized.
âOoooh, purdy!â
An image formed inside the ball of a dark road surrounded by trees.
âWell, thatâs really helpful,â I said. âNice work, Jez. It showed us the road all right.