The Wyvern's Spur - Kate Novak [76]
Steele's lantern light began to creep around to the back of the buggy. Olive slipped as quietly as she could toward the ladder to the loft. She tested the first step gingerly. It felt quite sturdy.
She scampered up the ladder, rolled into the loft, and nearly choked herself to death.
Upon her transformation back to a halfling, her halter had slipped around her neck. A strap of the leather caught on the top of the ladder as she dove over the top. Olive rolled back and extricated herself quickly from the leather binding, but not before she'd gagged out loud.
"What was that?" Julia demanded as a small bit of hay drifted down in the lantern light.
"A cat or an owl or something," Steele insisted. He stood beneath the ladder and held his lamp over his head, looking into the loft.
"Steele," Julia said with the tone of a woman who would put up with no more nonsense, "burro's cannot climb ladders." She's right, Steele, Olive thought. Better listen to her.
"You didn't even know what a burro was until this morning," Steele pointed out. "How would you know?"
"It walks around on four feet, Steele. For heaven's sake, be reasonable." She slapped her arms at her sides and snapped, "I don't know why I've put up with this madness of yours. I agreed to help you sneak the spur from the crypt," Julia said, desperately trying to convince her brother of her loyalty. "It's not my fault the door opened twelve days early and someone else stole the spur."
"We only have Drone's word for that," Steele said.
"Why would Uncle Drone lie about that?" Julia asked with disbelief.
"Think, Julia. Giogi is away for three seasons, supposedly on a mysterious mission for the crown. He comes back late one evening. The crypt alarm goes off the next morning."
"You think Giogi was using the spur on his trip?" Julia asked.
"Precisely," Steele said. "Uncle Drone was covering for him, just like he covered for Cole. Drone must have forgotten to turn off the magical alarm so Giogi could return the spur when he got back from his trip. Uncle Drone told us he couldn't see who the thief was-because he didn't want to give Giogi away." Steele continued by digging through the chests of adventuring equipment and looking in every tiny nook of the carriage house.
"But if Giogi went into the crypt to return the spur," Julia objected, "why was it missing?"
Steele shrugged. "Giogi changed his mind at the last moment. Not realizing the alarm had alerted everyone at Redstone, he thought it didn't matter if he kept the spur or not."
"But Giogi went into the catacombs looking for the thief," Julia pointed out.
"Only to keep up the appearance of innocence," Steele said.
"Why would Drone say the thief was locked in the catacombs?"
"To stall for time, so I didn't have a divination done sooner. I'm on to their game now. Without Uncle Drone, Giogi is no match for me." Steele thumped his fist on the buggy. It wobbled a little on its three good wheels. "There's no burro in here," he growled at last. "Where else could it be?"
"Giogi could have left it with a friend," Julia suggested. "Shaver Cormaeril keeps a private stable. It could be there."
"That's a possibility. Let's go." Steele returned to the doorway.
"Where?"
"To the Cormaeril estate, of course."
"Steele, it's dark and cold and slicker than oil out there Couldn't we just head home and check in the morning?"
"No. It will be easier in the dark, and I need you to keep watch," he said, shuttering his lantern. He pushed open the door.
"Steele, I want to go home," Julia said with an iron determination.
"Fine," her brother snapped. He paused, silhouetted by the moonlight shining in the doorway. "Go home. You're useless, anyway." Steele disappeared into the darkness.
Julia stood in the open doorway, and Olive thought she heard the noblewoman sob. After a few moments, though, Julia fled the carriage house without bothering to close the door. Olive heard Julia whisper, "Steele, wait up."
Still in the loft, Olive rolled over and sighed with relief. She stretched out on the straw, wriggling