--29--
	They were only an hour's distance from the city when Sarah stopped so suddenly in the middle of the road that Catherine walked right into her.  She stubbed her toe on the back of one of the heavy leather boots that Sarah had insisted on wearing and she growled in pain and irritation.  Sarah held up a hand to hush her.
	“I can smell a fox, just up ahead around the next turn,” Sarah said.
	Catherine sniffed, but all she could smell was Sarah's perfume which Sarah had tried to wash off before they left and which was still so strong it was a wonder the girl could smell anything else at all.  There was maybe a hint of fox underneath the scent, but it was too faint for her to be certain.
	“Do you know how many foxes there are in Jaspertree?  If we're going to stop every time you smell one, we'll never get anywhere,” she said.
	“This one smells familiar,” Sarah said.
	Catherine stood up on her toes and craned to see through the thick cluster of trees and sunburned brush that surrounded the road on either side, but even if it hadn't been nearly dusk, she wouldn't have seen anything.  Years of squinting at piles of paper in a poorly lit office hadn't done anything to help her eyes.
	“Marcus?” she said.
	“He wouldn't be hiding from us.  He doesn't have the brains for that kind of subtlety,” Sarah said.
	“Then we'll keep going,” Catherine said.
	They did so, slowly.  Catherine kept three fingers hooked into Sarah's belt so they wouldn't get separated, and she kept her free hand on the hilt of her grandfather's sword.  As they got closer to the bend in the road, her fingers tightened around the hilt until they ached.  She could smell the fox now, even through the perfume, and she thought there was a hint of cat mixed in with it, too.
	“If they were dangerous, we would know by now.  I thought you were in a hurry,” she said.
	“You know what foxes are like, how sneaky they are,” Sarah said.
	They went around the turn at a crawl, walking down the exact middle of the road.  With every step, Catherine imagined Marcus Keppler coming out of the bushes, waving a gun at them.  The tension of waiting grew until she wanted to scream, to make him come out of hiding and face them, just to have it over with.
	It wasn't Marcus they found, but Richard, when he jumped out of the bushes at them.  He was armed with a broken piece of tree branch, which he waved at them like a club.  His ears lay flat against his head, and panted with fear, which seemed the wrong way around to Catherine, who had to yank Sarah out of the way of a second wild swing.
	“He sent you after me, didn't he?  To drag me back?  Well, I'm not going home until I've found her, and you can tell him that, too, for all I care,” Richard said.
	“Find who?” Catherine said.
	“Jessamine, who else?  Don't pretend you didn't know that.  You just want me to tell you so you can say I confessed to anything you make up.  I know how this works,” he said.
	“We don't want anything from you.  Stop waving that piece of wood around, before you hurt somebody,” Sarah said.
	He swung a third time, right at Sarah who ducked.  The branch passed over her head and hit Catherine in the arm when she tried to catch it.  The blow hurt, but the branch turned out to be rotten and it shattered and fell in pieces around her feet.  Richard froze with the stump of his club still clutched in his hands, and even with the growing darkness, Catherine could see his tail curling up between his legs.
	“Idiot.  You can't go anywhere without tripping over one damned Keppler or the other.  Point another weapon at me and I will make you eat it,” Sarah said.
	She crossed the distance between them in two steps and raised her hand to slap Richard in the face.  But a little spotted cat ran between them and bared his teeth at her.
	“You leave him alone.  He was frightened.  You would be, too, if you thought Marcus was looking for you,” the cat said.
	The cat took Richard in his arms and Catherine noticed how comfortably they fit together, the same way that she and Sarah did.  They withdrew, but only out of arm's reach and the cat raised up on his toes to whisper something in Richard's ear.
	“Why would Marcus be chasing you?” Catherine said.
	“That's none of your business,” Richard said.
	“It is if you're looking for Jess.  I'm not going to let you lead the old bastard straight to her, whether you mean to or not,” Catherine said.
	“We don't want that, either,” the cat said.
	“Why?  What do you care what happens to her?” Sarah said.
	“Because I'm not my father,” said Richard.
	“Because he loves her,” the cat said.
	Richard barked something in the fox language, which Catherine had never been able to master, and the cat laughed and gave Richard a playful slap.
	“The two of you should go home,” Sarah said.
	“So should you, but you aren't going to, are you?  And we're going to follow you anyway, so you might as well walk with us, and share what we have.” the cat said.
	“We don't need anything from you,” said Sarah.
	“So you have a lantern stashed in your pocket?  It's going to be dark soon, and how were you girls planning to find your way then?” Richard said.
	He wriggled out of the margay's arms and disappeared into the forest again for a moment.  They listened to him crashing around the bushes for a full two minutes, while the margay grew restless and Catherine began to seriously consider just walking on past them.  Then Richard came back carrying an old fashioned glass lantern and a couple of overstuffed backpacks.  They waited while he struggled to light the lantern in the growing dark, until the wick finally caught and a little sliver of fire stung their eyes.
	“How far do you think we'll be going?  Lohan Forest isn't that big,” Sarah said.
	“Your goal is to find this girl, and see that she's safe.  We plan to go a lot further than that,” the cat said..
	“You had better, if I ever find out you've been lying to us,” Sarah said.
	Richard and his boyfriend walked ahead of them, because he had the light and because Catherine still had her hand on the hilt of her sword.  None of them were really certain where to begin looking for anyone in the dark, tangled forest, but Catherine remembered having visited a spot in an otherwise unremarkable circle of trees, known locally as the Rose Benches.  There were four of them set in a circle to indicated the cardinal directions on a map.
	Once the moon was up, Richard snuffed the lantern to save fuel and they stopped long enough to let their eyes adjust.  While they waited, Richard opened his pack and passed around thin pieces of dried fruit and a flask of water that tasted faintly of licorice.   Catherine risked a quick smile when he handed her the flask.  Richard didn't smile back, but after that he was a little more relaxed around her, though he kept his distance from Sarah.  After they had started walking again, she was able to pull him off to one side, while Michael and Sarah walked ahead in mutual mistrust.
	“Are you really in love with Jess?” she said.
	“No.  I have Michael, and he's all I want.  But what if I was?” he said.
	“I'd tell you to forget about her and hold on to your boy.  You can't trust that someone will hang around and wait for you forever,” she said.
	“He understands,” Richard said.
	But he didn't sound like he was certain.
	It was well past midnight by the time they got to the Rose Benches.  Catherine's eyes felt like they were filled with grit and she was so sleepy that she couldn't muster the energy to pick her feet up any more than it took for the next step.  Everyone else fanned out to look around the clearing, in case some nasty surprise was waiting for them, bu all she had the energy to do was stumbled over to the closest bench and sit down.
	When the water bottle appeared in front of her, she took it and looked up, smiling, expecting to see Sarah standing over her, but it was Richard, instead.  She took the bottle anyway, and the cold water woke her up a little.
	“Why don't you hate me?” he said.
	“You sound almost disappointed.  Do you want me to?” she said.
	“Everyone else does,” he said.
	“You haven't done anything to me,” she said.
	Sarah watched them from the other side of the clearing, under the pretense of scouting out the north trail.  She started to come over when Richard sat down on the bench, until Catherine scratched her right ear with her left hand.  It was one of their oldest signals from back when they had both been children, and their biggest concern was stealing sweets from her father's pantry.  Sarah shook her head, to show Catherine how much she disapproved, but she turned away from them to prod at the bushes again.
	“I didn't enjoy it, if that makes any difference,” he said.
	“You'd better not tell Jessamine that.  She'd slap your silly face off, and I wouldn't blame her.  But if you don't like girls, why did you rent her?” Catherine said.
	“My father isn't going to like what I've got with Michael, and I don't know what he's going to do when he finds out,” Richard said.
	“You don't have to pretend to be what he wants.  That isn't healthy,” Catherine said.
	“That's what Michael says, too, but you wouldn't think that if you knew my father as well as I do,” Richard said.
	Catherine took another mouthful of water, needing the shock of cold to keep her from drifting off again.  When she finished, she sniffed the mouth of the bottle, wondering how Richard had got it to taste the way it did.  Instead of the smell of licorice, however, she caught a whiff of a burning match, and cigarette smoke.  She didn't stand up or shout, but glanced over at Sarah who was still on the other side of the clearing.  Michael stood next to her, and Catherine knew she'd smelled the smoke too when she put a hand on the cat's arm and squeezed.
	“I think we've been found,” she said.
	She tightened her grip when Richard started to get up, and fortunately that was enough.  He froze in his seat and didn't even look up at her.
	“That was faster than I expected,” Richard said.
	Across the way, Sarah turned to watch them, with her hand still on Michael's arm.  It was too dark for Catherine to see Michael's expression, but every time he turned away from her she jerked him back, until he laid his ears flat and snarled at her.
	“What are we going to do?  We've got enough to deal with already, and if they start fighting for real, we could be in real trouble,” Catherine said.
	Thomas's soldiers were already going to be on edge, and something as simple as an argument could push them over.  She hadn't expected to have Richard with them when they ran into the guards, either.  That was why she hadn't done any more to secure her sword than stick it in her belt.
	“We're going to do this,” said Richard, and he grabbed the hilt of her sword and tugged it free.  She yelped and grabbed for the weapon, but he pushed her off the bench and stood up.  He held the sword out in front of him with both hands on the hilt and the blade pointed at the trees, in a pose that was straight out of the worst sort of historical romance.  In response, ten soldiers armed with rifles emerged from the trees in a circle around them.  Two guns each were aimed at Michael and Sarah, and the rest were pointed right at Richard.
	“I don't know who you think you're going to impress, but it isn't working.  Put the damned sword down before you get us all shot,” Catherine said.
	She'd landed on a tree root, which hadn't done anything to help her temper, and she wanted very much to bite him, but the big coyote in front of her turned his rifle toward her, and at this range he wouldn't even have to aim to hit her.
	“It got them out in the open, didn't it?” he said.
	“You'd better listen to her.  Drop the sword on the ground, and take one step back.  I'm not going to ask you again,” the coyote said.
	“This isn't going to help you see Jess any faster,” Catherine said.
	Richard held his pose for another minute.  Then he opened his hands and let the sword fall to the grass.  The soldiers around them relaxed a little, but they didn't lower their weapons.
	“On the contrary, I think it will get us in to see her even faster,” Richard said.
	A light flared in the trees behind the big coyote, and Thomas came out with a lamp in his hands.  His fur was uncombed and tangled with dirt and briars, and he looked liked he hadn't been sleeping well, but Catherine felt a little better for seeing him.  When he waved his hand, all of his soldiers lowered their weapons.
	“I thought you would have been here by now,” he said.
	“I was a little bit busy putting my life back in order,” she said.
	“Of course.  I was just worried about you, all by yourself in the city,” he said.
	“Have you found Jess yet?  She's the one who needs help, not me,” Catherine said.
	Thomas picked up the sword and ran his thumb across the blade, which made him frown.  In his hands it looked like a toy.  She felt foolish for bringing it, and wanted to explain that she had only kept it with her so it wouldn't get stolen, and that made her angry all over again.
	“I don't know why you think I would have any idea.  I hardly know the girl, and I have all of these other people I have to fret over and take care of.  But the four of you came looking for me first,” he said.
	Freed from the worry of being shot, Sarah left her place on the other side of the clearing and came over to join them, dragging Michael along by his wrist.  She pushed him at Richard, who caught him, and that meant that their arms were full of each other.
	“Who else were we supposed to ask?  If you know where she is, tell us.  I don't have the patience for games,” Sarah said.
	Thomas held his hands out in a placatory gesture when she bared her teeth at him, but the effect was spoiled by the fact that he still held the sword.  Sarah caught his wrist before he accidentally stabbed Catherine and she squeezed until he winced.  But he only shook his head and looked at Richard.
	“He's harmless,” Catherine said.
	“If he knows what's good for him,” Sarah said.
	Sarah let go of Thomas's wrist and caught the sword by its hilt when it dropped out of his fingers.
	“I hope so.  Since you were stupid enough to bring him here, he's going to be your responsibility until I'm convinced of that,” Thomas said.
	He beckoned to the coyote, who turned his back to them and stooped so that Thomas could whisper in his ear.  The gathered soldiers stirred, and several of them came to attention, though they looked sloppy compared to earlier.  It was well past midnight now, and everyone had to be tired.  Catherine shut her eyes for a moment, just for the pleasure of it, and didn't bother to open them again when she felt Sarah's arms around her.
	“When I see that girl again, I'm going to slap her.  Everything we did for her, and here she is again,” Sarah said.
	“We knew what she was like when he picked her.  That's why Elizabeth likes her so much.  This is our fault, not hers,” Catherine said.
	“I hoped she would be smarter than this, though,” Sarah said.
	“That's what I hoped for all of us,” Thomas said.
	It was an effort for Catherine to open her eyes again, and when she did she regretted it because it meant she was going to have to face up to walking the rest of the way to camp.  Thomas's soldiers walked off, led by the coyote, and they spread out through the forest in a wide semicircle.
	“They aren't going to find anything.  But looking makes Lieutenant Crossfield feel better, so I let him take over,” Thomas said.
	“What about Jess?  You never did tell us,” Sarah said.
	“The camp is meant to be a secret.  If I take you to her, you'll have to promise not to tell anyone,” Thomas said.
	“Who would I tell?  I can't say I like you.  You're too much of the worst kind of son of a bitch.  But right now, you're all we have,” Catherine said.