A woman stood behind the counter, staring at them in astonishment. She was tall and thin, with a sharp, angular face and the same shining eyes that everyone here seemed to posses. Her hair was honey blond, and caught up in a messy bun on the top of her head, and she wore an apron stained with powdered sugar.

Kira pushed forward, and the woman behind the counter did a double take, and then a smile curled her mouth. It was a sharp expression, one that reminded Natalie of Serena and the way she looked at everyone like she was calculating exactly how much she could get out of you.

"Neddih, good afternoon," Kira said, and her voice was calm and pleasant, as if they hadn't all just walked out of the woman's basement through a secret passageway used to smuggle illicit liquor. "I hope we find you well."

Now the woman's expression turned amused. "Sunshine, I hardly expected to see you here. It's a little too...well lit." She gestured past them, at the floor to ceiling windows that lined the other side of the shop. Sam was already striding over to them, posting himself there to check the streets. From where she stood Natalie could see a few people walking by, but no one seemed interested in what was going on inside of Neddih's emporium, and nobody seemed to be running or ducking into buildings, so clearly the soldiers hadn't arrived here yet.

"Yes, well we ran into some trouble." Kira folded her arms over her chest and turned on her heel slightly, surveying the room with droll interest. "It's trouble you may well be happy to be warned in advance about."

Behind the counter Neddih stood straighter. "What? Is it a raid? Soldiers?"

"Soldiers," Kira confirmed. "They've just arrived on the other side of town and there's a lot of them." She shook her head at Neddih's unspoken question. "I don't know why they're here, unless they're attempting a takeover. This is his territory."

Now it was Neddih's turn to fold her arms in front of her, the woman raised a sharp brow around at all of them. "Well I suppose you expect me to hide you away, do you?"

"I can make it worth your while," Kira said.

Sam glanced from the street to the door of the basement. "Better hurry, we had soldiers trying to get into the back room at the inn. They may be coming in through your basement at any moment."

Neddih cursed at him. "Why didn't you say that right away? Over here." She waved them forward, hurrying over to a door in the back of her shop. "Go up the stairs, take a right. You'll see a tapestry on the far wall. Crawl behind it. I have to move some...specialty items, downstairs."

Sam was close enough that Natalie heard him mutter, "I bet you do."

Still, none of them questioned her. Kira was first to hurry over to the stairs, and the others followed. At the top of the staircase they passed through a heavy wooden door and into the tiny apartment beyond. As Neddih had said, there was a tapestry hanging on the wall to the right, a wide woven cloth someone had painted an idyllic landscape on, complete with dots of fluffy sheep and a Shepard resting against a tree.

They paused in front of it, Sam hesitating for just a moment, and then there was a thumping sound from somewhere beneath their feet, and nearly all of them jumped. Natalie's heart kicked into a gallop.

"They're here." Jewels' voice was curt. "Quick, get in." She was already starting forward, pushing the tapestry aside to reveal a hole in the wall just wide enough for them to slip through, though it might end up being a tight fit for Sam.

"Natalie, you first. Quiet as you can." Gwen pushed her forward, and Natalie moved forward, trying to walk lightly over the wooden floorboards. She climbed over the lip of the hole, scraping her legs on the edge, even through her blue jeans. The room beyond the tapestry was dark, and full of vague shapes, more boxes and crates if she had to guess. The light was temporarily blocked out as Gwen came through, and then Jewels. Sam was last, and it took him a moment to wedge himself through the hole, grunting with the effort of it, his face set in annoyance.

He made it through though, and turned to tug the tapestry back into place just as there was a thunderous sound of footsteps on the stairs leading up to the room. The room had been cast into complete darkness, but Natalie thought she could feel the tension in the tiny cramped space. They were silent, barely breathing, listening intently as the door beyond clicked open.

"It's just my bedroom." Neddih's voice, full of exasperation. "There's nothing there. Though you're welcome to search through my dirty laundry if you'd like."

"You sure they ran out the door after they come up through the basement?" A gravely voice, laced with suspicion.

"Yes, I'm positive. You think I kicked over that display myself? They made a huge mess of my shop and I'm supposed to be open right now. You folks are costing me business."

"You'll be fine I'm sure," the voice said, and Natalie could almost picture the kind of nasty look the soldier must be giving the woman right now. "Seems you've got a nice business on the side with that barrel tunnel."

"I told you, I bought the damn shop last year. The barrel tunnels haven't been in use since your illustrious queen started storming across the country. You know that as well as I do."

"Careful, shop girl." It was a second, smoother voice, but still just as threatening as the first. "You don't want to give anyone the impression that you're badmouthing Queen Cassius now, do you? You never know who could be listening.'

"Never said that, did I?"

Niddeh sounded remarkably calm, as if she were only mildly irritated about this intrusion into her shop and house and not at all cowed by the soldiers. "Now do you mind? If you're not going to tear the place apart I'd like to get back to my shop."

One of the soldier's grunted. "Come on, they obviously weren't stupid enough to stick around."

"Just a moment," the gravelly voiced one said, and then there was the stomp of heavy footsteps just outside the curtain. "Interesting tapestry, shop girl."

Natalie stiffened. Her blood seemed to run a few degrees colder, and her heart pulsed thunderously in her ears. He suspected. Somehow he knew they were back there. Beside her, she felt someone shift, and smelled wood smoke. Sam had moved nearer to her, his body tense.

"My mother made it," Niddeh said. "I'll be sure to pass on your compliments."

"The queen would like this," gravel voice said. "Don't you think?"

Heavy silence followed, and Natalie held her breath. Even if they just ripped the tapestry off the wall to mess with Niddeh, it would give everything away.

"I told you, we're not taking nothing. And there's no way we're hauling a damn tapestry back with us. Let's go." The thump thump of footsteps followed as one soldier moved away, and then the gravel-voiced soldier grunted and his footsteps followed his companion. Natalie had to press her hand over her mouth to keep a relieved sigh from slipping out between her lips.

The footsteps and voices grew fainter as the soldiers and Niddeh left, slamming the door shut, and they heard them thundering down the stairs.

"Holy shit," Gwen breathed, and Sam let out a heavy breath of agreement.

"Stay here for a moment," Jewels whispered. "In case they come back."

They stayed where they were, and in the dark Natalie tried to calm her breath, taking deep even drafts of air, hoping her heart would settle back into its regular rhythm. Downstairs they heard the slam of a door and a jingle, the bell over top of maybe.

"I think they're gone," Gwen said.

Sam shifted beside Natalie. "Maybe. Wait for Niddeh."

More footsteps a moment later, and then a soft voice said, "They're gone. You're clear, folks."

There was a rustle as the tapestry was lifted aside, and a beam of light spilled through the darkness. Natalie should have been making a break for that light, the room was starting to feel stuffy. Instead she found herself caught by something, a faint, green glow emanating from the center of the room. It lit up Jewels' face and cast her eyes into shadow, making her look sickly. Natalie realized the light was actually coming from the other girl, from the center of her chest.

"What is that?"

Jewels tilted her face down and her sharp intake of breath made the hairs stand up on Natalie's arms.

Niddeh had shifted the tapestry up more, and now they could see what Natalie was staring down at. The necklace she wore, a slender green stone that was so thin it was actually slightly see through, had lit up from within, glowing with the eerie green light that had caught Natalie's eyes.

"Oh, that's not good."

"What's not good?" Sam was already heading for the hole in the wall. "Come on, let's get out of here, I'm getting claustrophobic and I've hit my head on the ceiling once already."

Jewels was silent until they had all spilled out of the hole in the wall, and then she made her way over to the single window, a thin sliver of glass opposite the tapestry. Her face was grim as she slipped the necklace over her head. Holding the stone between her finger and thumb, she held it up to the window.

The light from the stone faded slightly, but now the light from outside was pouring through it, making the surface glitter and shine.

"What does it do?" Gwen's voice was hushed.

"It reveals hidden things," Jewels said, and her voice was slightly shaky. "The more powerful the brighter the glow. Which is why..." she was moving the stone over the window pain, as if it were a telescope she was trying to line up just right, "I have a bad feeling about this."

A moment later something appeared in the surface of the gem, and again Jewels drew in a sharp breath. She said nothing, only held up the stone, her hand trembling, and looked back at the others.

Instinctively Natalie moved forward, barely aware that the others were doing the same thing at the same time, crowding around Jewels to look up at the gem she held to the window. In the center of the stone, slightly warped, as if it were reflecting something back at them, they could see a tall, black tower.

The sight of it made Natalie's stomach flip flop, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. "What is that?"