“And you’re sure we trust it?” Sophie had asked Agatha after Uma and the boys went to find a stymph.
Agatha stroked the camel like a pet. “The Sultan of Shazabah sent it as a gift for Rhian’s wedding, before I saved it from the king’s hands. It wants to reunite with its family. I heard its wish. But it can’t go home to Shazabah. Not without being killed for disobeying orders. Uma said it was hiding in the Woods when it saw Lionsmane’s message about me being the second test. The camel knew I needed help, so it sent word for Princess Uma through the forest animals, hoping she’d be able to lead it to me.”
Sophie watched Merlin nuzzle his young face in the camel’s fur. “Last time we trusted an animal, it was that despicable beaver who tried to murder us with snakes,” said Sophie. “I don’t trust vermin of any kind. No matter what Uma says.”
“Spoken like a true witch,” Agatha quipped.
Sophie frowned. “What’s that smell?”
The camel had peed on her shoe.
With half the Woods bounty-hunting Agatha, they could only ride at night, leaving sleep for the daytime. As for those left behind, Tedros assigned them new quests. A gang of first years led by Valentina and Laithan would sneak into Camelot to shadow Japeth’s movements, while Bogden and Willam were to visit the priest named Pospisil—who Willam once served as an altar boy—to see if he’d be of help against the Snake.
“Librarian at the Living Library hinted he might be a friend to us,” said Tedros.
Meanwhile, a squirrelly nut had arrived for Tedros while they’d been in the School Master’s tower.
“Message from Jaunt Jolie,” Tedros disclosed, addressing the witches. “Queen Jacinda wants to see you.”
“Jaunt Jolie?” said Hester. “That’s Ever territory.”
“Send Beatrix or Reena instead,” Anadil agreed.
“Except those two are still missing,” matronly Dot pointed out. “Kiko too.”
“Not our problem,” Hester snapped. “Nor are Ever queens.”
“Well, this Ever queen asked for you, which is why you three are going,” Tedros ordered. “Tell Jacinda that her daughter is dead, at the hands of the Snake. She should know the truth. And find out what happened to Nicola and my mother. Last we heard, they’d gone to ask for the queen’s help. Her Knights of the Eleven are our best chance to help kill Japeth before he finds Agatha. And we have to kill him. Because as long as the second test holds, he won’t stop until he kills her.”
Sophie could see Agatha thinking this over, but Aggie made no argument.
Along the way, Tedros added, the coven should stop at Glass Mountain to find where Robin Hood had hidden Maid Marian. (“How do we tell her Robin’s dead?” Dot lamented. “We really are the death parade,” Anadil mumbled back.)
The rest of the Evers and Nevers, teachers included, would resume classes as usual, deflecting any suspicions they were harboring Agatha, while keeping the Storian well-protected. Besides, as Professor Sheeks pointed out, the camel had made a wise choice: by withholding its plans for Agatha, the school could play dumb—even the most potent sorcerer couldn’t extract information if they had no information to give.
Good, Evil, Boy, Girl, Young, Old . . . the common mission was the same: forward motion, trusting a camel to guide them, even if they hadn’t a clue where the camel was going.
Sophie felt this forward motion literally now, their journey begun, the camel bouncing her with every step, Sophie’s nose and mouth covered with white silk. Somewhere between the Clearing and the Woods, her white kimono had magically morphed into a chic riding ensemble, complete with headscarf and veil. “You know, I keep trying to get the dress off, but the more I try, the more it refashions into something divine, as if it knows exactly how to charm me. At this point, I can’t tell whether it’s good magic or bad magic.”
“Anything of Evelyn Sader’s is bad,” said Agatha in a dark hooded cloak behind her, the baby asleep against her back.
“And yet, Evelyn is the link between the Snake and Green Knight,” Sophie replied. “Isn’t that what you saw in the pearl?”
“It was some kind of riddle hidden inside. A riddle Arthur wanted the winner of the first test to see,” said Agatha.
“Must be important, then,” Sophie allowed, “even if it makes no sense.”
“When we went into Rhian’s blood, what did we see for sure?” said Agatha. “We saw Evelyn enchant Arthur to have his child. We saw Evelyn put the spansel around his neck instead of Lady Gremlaine doing it. Which means Arthur had a secret son with Evelyn Sader. Or sons. No doubt about it.”
“And yet, the Snake isn’t Arthur’s son at all. Or at least he claimed he isn’t,” said Sophie. “Then again, he lies about everything, just like his brother did.” She shook her head. “But why would he lie about that? Unless the Snake isn’t the son Evelyn had with Arthur . . . Unless it’s the Green Knight who’s the Snake’s father . . .”
“But Rhian’s blood says it’s Arthur who’s the father!” Agatha argued.
“And yet, the Green Knight has the same name as the Snake. Japeth. Plus, the wizard tree said the Snake had a connection to the Green Knight’s soul. How can that be unless Japeth shares his blood?” Sophie insisted. “The Green Knight has to be the Snake’s father.”
“And Evelyn Sader his mother? But why did Rhian’s blood lie, then? And how did it fool Excalibur when Rhian pulled the sword from the stone?”
“Maybe it didn’t lie,” Sophie guessed. “Maybe Rhian had Arthur as his father and Japeth had the Green Knight as his . . . Evelyn Sader the mother to both.” Sophie’s heart hummed faster. “Twins divided by magic . . .”
“Like us,” Agatha spoke softly.
Sophie heard the catch in her friend’s voice. They’d never talked about it. What they’d seen in August Sader’s history long ago. That they were sisters . . . but sisters in name only . . . Two souls, forever irreconcilable, each a mirror of the other: one Good, one Evil. What if Rhian and Japeth were the same? Sophie thought.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Agatha rejected. “How can twins have different fathers?”
Sophie threw up her hands. “But who’s their father, then? Arthur or the Green Knight? Is Rhian’s blood right or is Japeth’s blood right? And if Rhian’s blood was wrong, how do we know Evelyn Sader is their mother at all?”
Agatha sighed, both of their brains in knots.
They stopped speaking for a while, Merlin letting out a burble as if he’d been listening all along. Sophie glanced high at Tedros and Hort, silhouetted in their black cloaks, still locked in their own conversation, while Uma steered the stymph to match the camel’s pace.
“You really broke your wrist to save my leg?” Agatha asked.
“If the Snake is coming for you, we can’t have you hobbling around. Of course the repair spell could have broken my own leg in return or worse, but I figured you and I would take turns healing each other and breaking bones until we found the least inconvenient one.”
Agatha snorted. “God, how did we get here?”