Eletheria woke to a knock at her door. It took a second and third knock before Ele got out of bed. She was still wearing her outfit from the previous night, including Lex’s jacket. She shuffled sleepily to the door and opened it. Dionysia was standing there holding a tray with bread and cheese on it.

“Heard you had a late night, so I brought you an early lunch,” Dee said stepping into the room. She raised a single eyebrow when her eyes passed over the house insignia upon the collar of the jacket but said nothing. Ele closed the door behind the housekeeper and followed her to the little desk in her room. Dee set the tray on the desk and pulled a chair out for Ele. “Eat, today will probably be as busy. Lex already stopped by earlier to see if you were awake.”

“How long ago?” Ele asked as she moved to the desk and sat down. The food in front of her looked delicious and she wasted little time in starting to eat. Dee grabbed a hairbrush from the nearby vanity and moved to stand behind Ele.

“About two bells ago, he said to tell you when you awoke that he was going to recover what was lost,” Dee said while she brushed Ele’s hair.

“Dee, I gotta go find Lex,” Ele said with a partially full mouth of bread and cheese. As Ele stood up from the chair Dee stepped to block the way to the door.

“Not looking like that,” Dee firmly said, and Ele looked down at her outfit. “At least change into something clean.” Dee picked up the tray of breadcrumbs and then headed back to the door. “Pick something that is suitable for riding if you plan on gallivanting on a horse today.” Dee sighed and stepped through the door closing it behind her, leaving Ele there looking a little dumbfounded.

A few minutes later Ele was dressed in some loose riding pants, her leather corset that had a metal bar wrapped in wire built into it, and a dark-colored, loose-fitting shirt to hide her leather arm brace. As she was choosing her outfit she mulled over the events of the previous night. It was dark enough in the park no one should have seen them talking to Blaze. She was certain people would remember a lady and a gentleman looking for him. On a whim, she placed the little knife she took from Blaze in her boot. As she stepped towards the door, she yawned and glanced towards the bedroom window. Her curtains covered most of the sunlight but it still looked bright outside. She grabbed her goggles and put them in her leg pouch in case she needed them later.

As Ele entered the great hall, she saw her father entertaining some guests. They were all sitting in chairs near the hearth, a few of them holding glasses of amber-colored liquid. Her father was standing and addressing his audience of four.

“…the path of ships hit by pirates, we can determine where they are hiding,” Mr. Zephyr said while pointing at a chart hanging to his side. Ele hadn’t seen it as she walked in and as she continued towards the door she was able to see it clearly. She knew pirates were attacking both sea and airships but did not realize it was such a problem. Once her father noticed her, though, he spoke, “If you all excuse me for a minute, I must have a word with my daughter.” As he walked over to Ele, his guests murmured about the rumors they had heard about Eletheria and her recent adventure in the woods.

“Ele,” Pappa said in a low tone once he was away from the guests but close enough to Ele that only she would hear. “Lex would not say anything, but I am guessing you found Thio. Is he ok?” Her father’s concern was visible on his face as he asked the question.

“Pappa…” Ele started to say, but her emotions started to overwhelm her. She just closed her eyes and shook her head. Anything more would have told everyone more than what she wanted to say. As the information sank in to her father, his face became grimmer.

“If you need anything, bribes, an army, let me know,” he said. He then briefly embraced his daughter. As he released her, he continued, “Take Antonio with you. He is a good man and can be relied upon.” Ele nodded and turned towards the door to leave. She took a step and then turned back to her father.

“Thank you, Pappa,” she said quickly, hugging him. He returned the embrace, and when Ele let go, he kissed her forehead. She turned and headed out the front door.

Eletheria was able to locate Antonio fixing an old carriage harness in the stables. He was sitting on a bale of hay while trying to secure a new piece of leather to a loop. Ele sneezed as she entered the stables. Although she wasn’t allergic to horses, she always sneezed when she stepped into them. As she sneezed, Antonio looked up at her and smiled.

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“Afternoon, miss,” Antonio said as he tied a knot and then set aside the harness he was working on.

“Tony, I am going to find Lex and need a ride,” Ele said, glancing around, wondering where the carriage was. It had not been parked outside, either.

“All I can offer you is a horse. Your mother took the carriage to visit your aunt earlier,” Tony replied. He then stood up and brushed off the dirt and hay that was trying to escape the stables.

“A horse will work; also, will you join me? I could use a second set of eyes,” Ele asked quickly before a sneeze could interrupt her. Immediately after she said “eyes”, she sneezed. Tony stopped brushing off his clothing and looked at her apologetically.

“Sorry, miss, forgot the dust gets to ye. Meet me outside, I’ll get some horses ready.” Tony then went deeper into the stables to get two horses ready. Ele hurried out of the building through the side door she came in from. It was only a moment longer for Tony to arrive with two saddled horses. Ele took the reins from Tony for a dapple grey colored horse named Beaumont. Since Ele wasn’t sure where Lex was they went to the docks by the bluff. Navigating through people, carts, and various animals was difficult enough at a slow pace.

There was a small crowd gathered near the bluffs. As Ele got closer, she saw there was a cart and several men standing around appearing to be guarding the cart and the ledge going down. Someone had rigged up a pulley off a lamppost with a rope going down over the ledge. The rope appeared taut and moved slowly. Ele dismounted and looked at Tony, “Can you watch the horse and keep an eye out for trouble?” she asked him. Once he nodded, Ele turned and headed towards where the rope led down into the bluff.

As Ele got closer one of the men standing as a guard approached her and held out a hand. When Ele moved to the side to go around him he also moved to be in her way.

“Stand back, ma’am,” The guard stated while maintaining his position between her and the bluff.

“I’m looking for Alexander, also known as Lex. I believe he is down there trying to recover a body,” Ele said. The face on the guard did not change; he still stared at her impassively. Ele tried to take a step forward, but he wouldn’t budge. “Please I believe the body they are bringing up is my friend.”

“It is too dangerous for anyone to be near the edge. For both you and the people working down there. Please stand back and wait,” The guard replied. Ele considered her options; her corset had a bar wrapped in wire built into it. She could activate it and fly up, but without something to stabilize her, it would be difficult. She also noticed the guards’ swords and imagined them flying towards her as soon as she activated the field. She considered a show of power, but these people didn’t look like common folk and imagined a simple little spark wasn’t going to impress them. Remembering that there was a second body, she turned around and ran to the horses.

“To Abney Lane, there is a park there,” She instructed Tony as she mounted her horse. Tony nodded as he tossed the reins over to her once she was in the saddle.

The park was mostly empty once they got there. During the heat of the day even the shade was too hot to sit under. The city had electricity running through it to almost all the buildings. Most houses had fan systems so people tended to stay indoors during summer afternoons. They rode to the general location where Ele and Lex had left Blaze the previous night. There was nobody there nor any signs of a murder. While the grass was pressed down, it was no more so than the areas where people walked along. Once she was there, she dismounted from her horse and looked around. There was no trace of what happened the previous night.

“He was right here!” Ele exclaimed as she looked around bewildered.

“Who was there?” Tony asked from atop of his horse.

“Yeah, who was there?” said a voice in the tree above the spot. With a start, Ele looked upwards and saw a kid sitting in the branches. The young man looked to be in his early teens.

“I was supposed to meet a friend here,” Ele tried to recover and looked around to see if anyone else was in the park.

“What’s a bug doing meeting a friend in a park?” the kid asked while looking around. Ele ignored the slur the kid directed at her. Some stink beetles could generate little sparks when they rubbed their wings together. Some of the G’Aequor referred to Ele’s kind as bugs.

“I guess they are not meeting me here. I have other things to attend to.” Ele made a show of her comment and mounted her horse again. Then she beckoned to Tony to lead the way out. She hoped the young man wouldn’t tell anyone about her visit as it did seem suspicious. While she was certain no one saw them questioning Blaze last night, it did not change the fact that she helped Lex kill a man in cold blood. Ele shivered as that sank in. Even if Blaze had killed Acanthio, he still deserved a fair trial for his crime. Ele reviewed the mistakes she made last night and this morning in her single-minded pursuit of locating Thio. She needed to talk to Lex and figure out their next step. Do they turn themselves in?

“Where to, ma’am?” Tony asked as soon as they reached Abney Lane. His comment had broken through the thoughts that clouded Ele’s mind. She did not know what to do.

“Tony, I think Lex and I did something wrong last night,” Ele whispered. The wide-eyed look on Tony’s face helped Ele realize he wasn’t thinking about what she was hinting at. “No, not that, we questioned and killed Blaze.” The relieved look and almost smile on Tony’s face worried Ele just the same.

“Ah, probably scum, and the city is better without him,” Tony whispered back.

“I think that kid knows. What if he tells the city guard?” Ele stated, still in a low voice so they wouldn’t be overheard.

“Your peers’ll try you and probably found justified or innocent.” Tony’s matter-of-fact tone surprised Ele. “Eletheria, Windmasters, and mistresses are on another level. Also, if Blaze killed your friend, I’m sure people will side with you.”

“But, what do I do? Last night I didn’t worry, but now I’m scared.” Ele’s voice started getting a little louder towards the end. She looked back towards the tree the young man was sitting in. The young man was no longer there, and no one nearby was within hearing range.

“Perhaps we should ask your aunt. She would know how to handle this,” Tony suggested, and Ele agreed. They started riding towards the Praestes estate.