In shadow, I sailed north. The sun had risen enough to make crisp shadows, so I was in the shade of a north-bound train track and making good time.

My next bone for transformation was tagged “owl.” All things considered, I couldn’t guess what sort of owl it might be. I had put off the transformation since I hadn’t had a day free, and I was a bit nervous about being helpless for a day as I stayed in owl form and flopped around, unable to see or control my movements. The seal on the book was still intact so whatever message was written there was still a secret. Since I was about to meet with the girl who gave me all of this, I wondered if I was supposed to have gone through the forms in Fairy first.

I was second guessing my second guesses. As I hid in the shadow of a bush while a train clattered past, I decided to take the time in Fairy and be prepared for whatever they had planned next. That meant I was going to have to travel these tracks again since I would be back to Mr. Hebert’s place when I summoned my way out of Fairy. I could always try Jordan or Monroe, but that might put me even further away.

I went to Fairy.

At the seven-way crossroads, a pair of men sat on the edge of the raised area I appeared on.

One of them raised his bottle to salute me. “A good morning to thee, lad.”

I sat beside them. “Good morning.”

The other man said, “Good morning, indeed. Art thou from Downway?”

I asked, “Which way is Downway?”

The man holding the bottle pointed. “That way. Halfway to Nowhere.”

I asked, “The Nowhere they’re building a bridge to?”

He pointed his bottle toward another trail. “Then I’m guessing thou art from Storn. Hast thou seen our king?” He held his bottle up. “Long live King Snipsnort.”

He took a sip and handed it to the other man who took a large swig and said, “Long live King Snipsnort.”

I said, “It is a pleasure to meet such fine men and true.”

The man now holding the bottle said, “While thou art but a lad, still thou shouldst wish the king a long life. He may be facing all manner of challenges and wishing him a long life is cheap enough an offering since we have little that we could give him.”

I asked, “If thou met the king, what boon wouldst thou ask for?”

The man currently holding the bottle said, “Well, not to say anything that might be taken wrong, but since the life of a king is dangerous, perhaps a ring for remembrance if ill fate happened. But I would not ask it. It would be more fitting to ask how I could serve him.”

I made an illusion of a ring on his finger then made one for the other man.

The other man held up his hands. “’Tis nice. Pity it will not last long. ‘Tis a nice thought, but thou hast made an illusion and not yet wished thy king well.”

I said, “I truly wish the king a long and happy life, but I feel selfish saying so.”

I made the rings Real, sped up time, got up, bowed to them, and took to the shadows.

I passed through a town that was probably Downway. I continued to Nowhere. The road changed to a bridge as it entered swampland. A man leading a horse with a small cart behind it was coming my way, so I went back to a ramp going down from the bridge and stepped out of shadow.

I got back up on the bridge, and the man waved to me. “Canst thou holdest these reins for a bit? I need to attend to personal business, and there is no place to harness a horse.”

I took the reins from him as the horse pulled back and eyed me suspiciously. The man ran down the ramp with an odd sort of gait, so I figured out what the personal business he needed to attend to was.

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After a while, he came back and took the reins from me. “I thank thee. Thou may have saved my life. It will be different when they finish the bridge and there are railings to tie horses to. Art thou headed to Nowhere?”

I nodded and waved as I walked past him. After he got his horse and cart moving, I took to shadow again. The trees thinned out, so I had to shift under the bridge to keep in shadow. By a ramp down, another cart was being unloaded from a low ferry boat. I continued past and came to a man leading a large empty wagon pulled by six large mules. I sailed past and came to the end of the bridge. Men were lowering a large stone down a wooden ramp.

One of them shouted, “Brent, thy replacement just arrived. He looks like we might be able to get a bit more work out of him than we ever got from thee.”

A large man looked up at me. “No, he just came all this way to beat thee up for thy lunch. Best hand it over to him, he looks serious.”

I looked for where the bridge was going but I couldn’t see it. There was a path forward where the trees had been cleared but little else.

As I looked, Duchess Bye-bye summoned me. “Bye-bye here, calling King Snipsnort.”

I asked, “How can I be of service, Duchess Bye-bye?”

“Bring me there.”

I brought her to the bridge.

She looked at the men working and grabbed my leg. “Boyfriend hug.”

The men all looked at her then at me. I picked her up and put her on my shoulders. “I was heading to Nowhere, doest thou want to come?”

She rocked up and down on my shoulders enthusiastically. Then she stopped. “Are we going to get wet? I don’t mind, but I have my nice shoes on and should take them off.”

I said, “Brace thyself.” Then I backtracked a bit and took shadows through water and woods following the cut in the trees until I reached a village with boats. In the distance behind the village was a castle. I took us to the nearest shade tree in front of the castle and stepped out of shadow.

Bye-bye hugged my head. It wasn’t the most comfortable hug I had ever had. More awkward and a neck strain than anything else. “That’s more fun than anything!”

I smiled and set her down. She gave me an upset look.

Then she turned to the castle. “Let’s explore.”

I said, “It is probably warded.”

She pouted and said, “Zoom us back to the village. Someone can get us in.”

From the castle, someone shouted, “Lower the drawbridge for Duchess Bye-bye.”

Another voice said, “Right on it.”

The drawbridge started to come down slowly. Bye-bye said, “We could fly.”

I said, “I can’t fly as a rooster, and I haven’t tried to turn into a bird that can fly yet.”

She asked, “Why not?”

I shook my head. “I’m supposed to stay an owl for a day next. I was pretty helpless and couldn’t even walk before I slept as a giant rooster. The watchman and his wife tried to kill me at the manor, so I’m kind of nervous being an uncoordinated owl for a day.”

She said, “Stay here. Imma gonna find the watchman and teach him to leave my boyfriend alone. Maybe kill him.”

I said, “He died. Had an accident running into a steel wall.”

She asked, “Didst thou make the steel wall?”

I nodded. The bridge was down so I took her hand, and we walked into the castle.

I bowed to the guards at the gate. “Art thou fully staffed here?”

The taller guard said, “We are hoping that our new king will choose this as his main residence. Long live King Snipsnort.”

From various locations, I heard people saying, “Long live King Snipsnort.”

There was no point in concealing my identity, so I bowed. “I thank thee for thy good wishes and hope a long and happy life for thee as well.”

One of the guards started to kneel, looked at the other guards, then returned to attention.

I asked, “To visit this castle easily, I will need to be able to summon my way here. Art there any volunteers that would give me thy name so I can summon thee to bring me hence?”

Several of the guards volunteered and while they were giving me their names, Bye-bye let go of my hand and ran farther into the castle.

I was guided through the castle and introduced to more of the staff.

Duchess Bye-bye said, “Turn into an owl. I will stay here and watch over thee. They are making supper and it smells wonderful. Wait, do we need a bunch of rats to feed thee?”

I shook my head.

A servant said, “Would cooked goat or fish do?”

“Hopefully.” I changed into me with the backpack and took out the bone labeled owl.

I held it and examined it and it revealed itself to me and I turned into an owl. It was difficult walking, but then it might be hard anyway with Duchess Bye-bye chasing me. I took to half hopping and using my wings to keep away from her. She relentlessly chased after me. I managed to get up on a ledge, but she turned into a raven and landed beside me. She turned back into a gap-toothed little girl and grabbed me. I didn’t dare shift. She was going to ruin my feathers.

“My owl! Thou canst not be my boyfriend, ‘cause thou art my pet!”

I felt bones threaten to break as she hugged me. She held onto me and jumped down from the ledge. She carried me to a servant and asked, “Can we feed Owlie? He’s hungry!”

I ate my fill and then escaped. She chased me. Being chased by a preschool terror with a gap-toothed maw was incentive to learn to hop, glide, and then fly. Exhausted, I sat on a limb that wouldn’t support Duchess Bye-bye’s weight. She came and leaned against me as a raven.

“Owl, owl, owl, owl. I have a pet owl. Owl, owl, owl, owl, I have a pet owl.”

It went like that for a while. I flew. She chased me. I got better at flying and gliding. She managed to catch me and took me back in to feed me. We finally slept, perched on the same limb. I woke up to her grabbing me and carrying me in to find some more food.