The Wand & the Sea by Claire M. Caterer Page B

response. Holly touched the cell door with her wand and muttered, “Osclaígí.” The lock clicked and the door swung open.
    Holly held up the lantern, and Jade slipped in ahead of her, approaching the centaur. The dim light illuminated the sharp planes of his sunken cheeks and the fresh cuts and bruises on his chest. His breath came in shallow puffs. “Jade, is he all right?”
    The cat prodded Ranulf’s cheeks gently with his paws, and then did a funny thing she had never seen him do before: He breathed on Ranulf’s face in little puffs of air. The centaur stirred at last and opened his eyes.
    â€œWho goes there? What—”
    Holly nearly cried hearing his voice, however raspy it was, for it was still deep and carried its Gaelic lilt. His eyes, however dulled, lit up when he saw Jade, and then widened when Holly crouched down next to him. “Lady . . . Lady Holly. You mustn’t be here. He is coming for you. You must go. . . .”
    â€œNo way. Everett! Help me get him up.”
    It took both of the boys and Holly together to help Ranulf to his feet, which was an awkward business because his hooves kept slipping on the stone floor, and no one much wanted to be kicked, even accidentally.
    â€œCan you walk?” Holly asked doubtfully.
    â€œWhat of the guard, Lady?”
    â€œHe’s . . . taken care of.”
    â€œHolly, we need to go,” said Everett.
    â€œRanulf, are these the only cells?” They crept out and peered through the dark down the line.
    â€œNay, there be another passage beyond—at least two Dvergar prisoners that I know of,” Ranulf said.
    â€œI’ll see who else is there,” Everett offered, and took off down the corridor.
    A minute or two passed, but there was no sign of Everett or the Dvergar. “I’d better go check on him,” Ben said.
    â€œBen! Come back here!” Holly whispered fiercely, but he was already gone. Why couldn’t the boys stay put for once? They all needed to stick together.
    The centaur leaned against the cold stone wall. “Go after him, Lady Holly. I will bide here.”
    She didn’t like leaving him, but Jade crept ahead of her in the dark and she followed. But before she had reached the corner, her lantern light fell on a huddled form in the last cell.
    â€œLoverian?”

Chapter 17
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His Highness
    Everett followed the dungeon passage around the corner just as Bittenbender came out of the gloom at the far end with Swikehard and Wiggers. Two other Dvergar clung to them, barely conscious, bruised and asking for water. “We got what we came fer,” Bittenbender said. “Did ye find the Mounted?”
    â€œRanulf, yes, he’s—”
    But whatever he’d been about to say vanished from his throat. From behind Bittenbender, a figure emerged, and Everett froze in place, a chilly sweat breaking over his shoulders.
    Prince Avery.

    The prince hadn’t changed much. He would be fourteen now, Everett quickly calculated, but he was still quite skinny and no taller than Everett himself. He wore a simple scarlet tunic with a high collar that brushed his curly blond hair, and leggings with hose. His deep-set blue eyes, which he usually trained in a kind of haughty, I’d-just-as-soon-squash-you-as-a-bug sort of disdain, right now were wide-open circles of utter shock. Even his voice, in his surprise, forgot to sound princely.
    â€œEverett?”
    Avery wasn’t even looking at the Dvergar, who froze in their tracks for a split second, and then, as if they had anticipated this, sprang into action. Swikehard and Wiggers drew back, melting into the shadows with the men they had freed, and Bittenbender seized Avery from behind, pinning his arms. Everett could tell from Avery’s wide eyes that Bittenbender’s dagger was probably pressing into his spine.
    â€œAin’t this a pretty prize?” said the Dvergar in a low