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While Qing and Jasmin went home to check on Michael, Brigid made her way to meet Cass at the bus stop. Concerned that Cass's notoriety would work against them, she asked if Cass had a disguise she could use.

"Oh, I can make her think I'm someone else, easy," Cass assured her. "You, too. But why don't I just use a different name in this case? I'm not in fancy clothes right now so most people wouldn't necessarily connect my face with my reputation unless they heard my name."

"That's probably the easier thing to do," Brigid replied with a nod and sighed. "This whole situation is so messy. I just hope it's not his wife, or one of his kids. That scene was really ugly. The other two murders were so cold and calculated, but the cop..." She shook her head. "There was a lot of emotion behind the killing. It had to be someone who knew him and was pissed off about his cheating - if he was."

As they rolled up to the dead cop's house, they couldn't help but notice the cop car parked outside.

"I hope she's not dead, too," Cass remarked.

However, this turned out not to be the case as, a few minutes later while they watched, a pair of grim-faced police officers made their way out of the house to their patrol car.

"No, but she just found out her husband's been murdered," Brigid replied softly. "I wish we could give her time to grieve, but we can't."

The two approached the house and knocked. A moment later, a middle-aged woman with her blonde hair tied back opened the door. She wore a casual blue and white print dress and redness of her eyes showed she'd been crying recently.

"Yes?"

"Mrs. Kelley? My name is Brigid Cathair, and this is my associate," Brigid said, her voice filled with respectful sympathy. "We know about the death of your husband, and you have our utmost sympathy. I understand you've just gotten the news and likely wish to be left alone, but may we have a few moments of your time?"

She nodded mutely and turned away from the door, leaving her guests to follow her inside. The entryway led directly to the living room. Mrs. Kelley slumped into an overstuffed chair and nodded to Cass and Brigid to take the couch if they liked. Cass's eyes were filled with sympathy for the bereaved woman.

After a moment she collected herself and asked, "Your associate, I know, she's Detective... ah, Detective..."

"MacArthur," Cass supplied helpfully and with a small smile.

"Detective MacArthur, of course." Mrs. Kelley smiled apologetically. "Why it's right there on your name tag." Of course, Cass wore no name tag, nor a uniform.

"Please, just call me Cara," Cass told her.

"But I don't think I recognize you from the force, Ms. Cathair," Mrs. Kelley continued. "Are you from another precinct?"

"No, I'm not," Brigid replied softly but clearly, "but I've been asked to investigate your husband's death. Murders like this, and catching the killers, are an area of my expertise."

The woman put her hands to her face and took a deep breath in an attempt to settle her nerves. She straightened up and then asked, "Am I a suspect?"

Cass asked, "Why would you think that?"

"Because I was filing for a divorce."

"Why?" Brigid asked, making sure her voice was friendly and not patronizing or accusatory. If the dead cop was cheating on her, that would definitely make her a suspect.

"He was cheating on me."

Cara gave her best official-looking officer frown. "You know this for a fact?'

Mrs. Kelley nodded. "About a month ago, I picked up his cell phone, thinking it was mine, and listened to voicemail from some girl named Lucy. She was making plans to rendezvous with him and it wasn't platonic. We had a fight over it and it was pretty bad. I told him to get out. He tried to call me but I wouldn't answer. He betrayed me and he betrayed his children, you know?"

She took a breath, then continued. "Well, the other day he promised he was going to fix things, to make it up to me. He begged me to let him come by tonight. I was waiting for him, but instead of Roger, I got a visit from a couple of his fellow officers telling me he was murdered."

"I don't suppose you remember what Lucy's phone number was?" Brigid asked. There was Lucy again, the ubasti thought. First her pimp, then the priest, and now Kelley. Was it Lucy doing this?

She shook her head. "No. I was too upset to care. But I don't think it was a personal phone. It was like a phone booth or other public phone."

Brigid nods. "Did your husband have an office or a den here?"

"Yes, he had a place where he did the bills." She rose and opened a door with decorate glass windows that led to an adjoining room. She stood still as she looked inside, facing away from Cass and Brigid. She wiped at her eyes and then turned back to them. "Do you think he might have something of interest here?"

"Perhaps," Brigid replied. "It's early enough in the investigation where the phrase 'I'll know it when I see it' applies." She stood and turned to Cass. "Cara," she said softly, "would you mind talking to Mrs. Kelley while I check the room out? Find out what you can about the kids, and what she knows about her husband's partner, Donnie Hert." Her voice drops even lower, almost to a whisper. "And see if you can talk her into giving us a tour of the house. I want to see if there's any signs of the house's Shadow side being tainted and twisted."

While Cara spoke to Mrs. Kelley, Brigid quickly searched through the desk. She found various bills, including one she'd hoped to find most of all — the cell phone bill. There were lots of calls listed, many of which didn't really stand out. Over the past month he'd received calls from various public phones, some listed as being at night clubs. Other calls of interest were from his partner, Donnie Hert. Some of them occurred near the times that the public phone calls occurred.

It may well be that many of the calls were from informants. But it might just be possible that some came from a woman that he was having an affair with. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough evidence here to make that a conclusive connection. Although there was nothing else of particular to find at the desk, Brigid was left with the feeling that the dead man's partner may have been telling the truth when he said that he and Kelley were close. If there was anyone else alive that might know if Kelley was cheating on his wife, it would be Donnie Hert.

As she concluded her search, her eyes fell upon a picture of Kelley with his wife, apparently on vacation, in a framed stand. Brigid picked up the photo. They certainly looked happy. Was he really cheating on his wife, or had he been set up? His response certainly indicated something was going on.

Brigid also wanted to know if there was something going on in the house, if the interior's reflection in Shadow was twisted and tainted. After glancing, as best she could into Shadow, she had to come to the conclusion that there was nothing overtly wrong here. The Shadow itself did show evidence of angry and sad emotions, as she would expect in a place in which one member of a couple had cheated on the other, but nothing of such an extreme that would betray the immediate presence of demonic activity as well as she understood it. It certainly didn't feel ugly and awful as it had at the scenes of the crimes. But that may only have meant that intense violence had not occurred here yet, not that there was no corrupting influence.

After all, if a spirit was present in the body of some possessed individual, they would have no impact on Shadow save for what their actions might engender. If a demon worked the same way, then she really had no way of knowing if a demon was active in the area, until someone died. Incredibly horribly.

While Brigid considered these things and took a look around, Cass occupied their host with small talk and sympathy for her plight.

When Brigid was finished, she tucked her cell phone back into her pocket, making a note to download the pictures she'd taken of all the rooms. Yes, it was an invasion of the Kelley's privacy, but she needed clues as to what was going on, and the others might see something she didn't.

The ubasti returned to the living room, carrying the photograph and cell phone bills. "Mrs. Kelley," she said, her voice filled with genuine - but professional - concern. "May I borrow these for a day or two, just so I can get copies made? They will help with the investigation."

The new widow considered briefly and then nodded. "I guess that would be okay."

"Thank you," Brigid replied. "I'll get the back to you as soon as I can."

---

Cass and Brigid left Mrs. Kelley and prepared to make their next move. Brigid was feeling the draw of exhaustion that would send her to the hotel in search of a warm, kitty-filled bed, but there were some burning questions in her mind that didn't relate to the case.

They climbed into Brigid's car and closed the doors. Cass stared out her window and touched the glass wistfully. No, that wasn't quite it. Brigid took another look and it seemed like the fae queen was actually looking at the glass instead of through the glass. As she watched, Cass sighed and faced forward again, humming the tune to one of the tracks she'd heard at work.

"You okay?" Brigid's head was cocked slightly to one side, and she was too tired to try and hide her concern, especially from her closest friend.

"Oh I'm okay, aside from the nightmares this case is going to give me," Cass replied. "Are you?"

"Just tired." Brigid shrugged, as if to say what else was new. "I've been hearing some things, though, that have me really worried."

Cass turned her eyes curiously to Brigid. "What kinds of things?"

"That you're hanging around the slavers and other merchants at the 13th Street Bridge market. That you're buying goddess knows what, and having sex with anything that moves to pay for it."

Cass laughed, "Haha, very funny!" She rolled her eyes and then looked at Brigid. "Wait. Are you serious?"

Brigid nodded. "Very. The Duchy's listening to the rumors too. There's been... talk. Much of it not good."

"Well there is always talk and rumor. Especially about me, given my vocation. People seem to think that just because you'll take your clothes off for money, that you are also a whore. Which I'm not, except for that one mistake back in Ames, but that was a totally different situation." Cass thought for a moment. "Well, it's true I visit the market regularly. I get goblin fruit there and chat a little. Trade in information. The fruit is always free — the hobs there put it out to draw in customers and don't mind letting me have some. I take only a little, so I go back a lot. I need that fruit to live you know. Price of power, I guess, though I wish the actual power was more substantial for the inconvenience. Anyway. I'm most certainly not giving it up for a couple of blushberries or half dozen bloodfruit! Nor do the slavers interest me. I try to stay far away from them! Regardless that the market is neutral ground, I don't want to give them any reason to take an interest in me or any of my friends."

"That's not what they're saying you're buying," Brigid said with a shake of her head. "Powerful things, like favors, or tokens. And, unfortunately, whether or not you are paying for those things with sex, it's the appearance or belief that counts. How do you think Jeremiah and the other men who love you deeply feel when they hear this kind of thing?"

"But I haven't done anything! Nobody has seen any such thing," Cass pled. "You believe me, don't you?"

"I believe what you're telling me," Brigid said, "but you know as well as I do how much more dangerous words are than the truth. And you didn't answer my question. What do you think Storm will do if he believes the rumors you're giving it up to the hobs at the market, but won't take him to your bed? Do you really think anything I say would make any difference?"

"It makes a difference to me," Cass replied. "I can't control what Storm thinks of me. He knew who I was going in and I'm not making apologies for being who I am. And if I tell Jasmin I'm not trading sex at the goblin market, she'll believe me." Her words sounded accusatory, but she didn't sound as confident as she wanted to. Would Jasmin believe her? If Brigid could doubt her, then what might Jasmin think, especially if her feelings were hurt by the ugly rumors? She was focused on her friends, so Cass hadn't begun to consider the social and political implications of this on her Court.

"What we believe has no relevance in the Desert Duchy, because we're not a part of it." Brigid pulled the car over into a parking lot and turned the engine off. She undid her seatbelt and turned to face Cass more fully. "The best that I can ever hope to be is a friend to the Spring Court, maybe of Summer too, but that's only because they were willing to give me a chance because I'm your friend. You're not just the Queen of the Spring Court, Cass. You are the Spring Court. You're supposed to be the best, the brightest of all the members, a voice for your people. How are you going to be able to do anything for them if the other Courts think you're worse than a crack whore?" Brigid knew her words were harsh. She hated to say them, and hoped Cass knew that too. "I know you don't care what other people think about you, and I'm not asking you to apologize for who and what you are, but you're not responsible for just yourself - or the safety of just your friends - anymore."

"I know that, but, how am I supposed to defend myself against baseless rumor?" Cass asked. "Who is spreading these lies anyway? Because no one is telling me anything useful here. I can do a lot to manipulate a social situation. Believe me on that fact. But who am I supposed to be guarding against?"

"I have no idea who is doing it," Brigid said. "Why don't you talk to Taera and Max and find out. Use the info to expose them or, better yet, turn the tables on them. But before you do anything else, you have to stop acting like you're sneaking around the market, like you're trying to hide what you're doing. You're the Queen. Go with a bodyguard or two."

"I can't do that and do what I need to do," Cass stated. "But I can start asking questions. I will also have Sam start an investigation to find out who started these rumors. I may be able to discredit their word if I learn who it is. First things first, though. To get to the bottom of this without messing around, I've got to talk to the hobs down there again. Find out if anyone's been asking after me. That way, they won't see me coming."

"Please, don't go al..." Brigid paused, as a thought struck her. "When you go to the market to barter info, do you go looking like you, or do you change your looks?"

"Well, I don't want people to know about my dependence on things like a regular diet of Arcadian fruit and addiction to glamour that some of the fruit carries. That could be used against me by my enemies, you know?" Cass explained. "So usually, I change just enough about my appearance that they won't recognize me. I will also change my appearance when I look for information. See, I'm watching over my fellow changelings. Paranoid, maybe. But if any of them starts dealing in slaves, addictive substances, or brokering deals with fae they shouldn't I want to know about it. This is also why I don't go with bodyguards; in either case, their presence would give me away. I almost never appear as myself."

"Well, someone knows you're going there on a regular basis," Brigid said with a tired sigh. "But why aren't you going to ask Max to check into who's badmouthing you?"

"I will, but I don't want to go into this relying completely on others to handle things and investigate things." Cass smiled without much humor. "I've learned a few things about investigation since we've been doing this work, and that is no matter how good the second hand information, it's never as good as being there yourself. I'm not going to be able to move around freely as myself on this side of the Hedge since no one's going to talk to strangers about court stuff. He can handle this stuff. There's no reason I can't handle the market investigation myself. It won't take me very long anyway; certainly not enough time to take me away from Jasmin's case."

"Promise me you won't do anything rash and that you'll take someone with you and that person will stay with you at all times. No starting a fight, no doing something, or not doing something, to provoke one. And not some half-assed promise, leaving yourself loopholes so you can do as you please to get some measure of payback."

Cass raised an eyebrow at Brigid. "I'll do my best. I don't know who I can take, though, that will be inconspicuous. Maybe someone small, cuddly, and stealthy. You know anyone like that, B?"

"Only if I can take a nap before we go," Brigid replied, unable to fight back a yawn.

Cass smiled. "Best let me drive then."

---

A short drive and a walk through the maze-like shanty under the 13th Street Bridge had the two of them soon in the middle of the Market. Brigid couldn't be certain if they were in the Hedge or just a really crummy and confusing maze of street vendors. However, if this was just a hidden location in the world she knew, it was populated by all kinds of fair and foul monsters of every description.

Cass looked as she always did to Brigid, but her experience with the fae queen at the widow's house told her that what she saw wasn't necessarily what everyone else was seeing. Draped lazily around her friend's neck, she'd managed to nap most of the way here. Brigid really had no idea how to get out of here or how she got in this place, but she knew as long as she was with Cass, there was little to fear in terms of getting lost.

The stall that Brigid found herself and Cass standing before was lined with various strange, wet-looking plants and dead fish were hung over glowing coals to slowly dry. The proprietor appeared initially to be an attractive woman with long black hair that looked damp and had bits of sea weed clinging to it. The woman had black-on-black eyes and pale skin. The black dress seemed to be made of layers of lace that made it look somewhat like a web and somewhat like a fisherman's net. Brigid could see only small squares of pale skin beneath it. The woman bowed slightly to Cass.

"Welcome, Emerald Queen," she said.

Cass nodded back.

"Are you interested in my wares today? I have in stock some Dream Kelp that I think you would find delightful as well as useful." She gestured fluidly toward a rack of what looked like some kind of sea weed that had banana-shaped, red fruit hanging from it. The strange and wonderful fish she was drying smelled delightful to Brigid and much more appetizing, however. Still, it showed the vendor's knowledge of Cass's preferred tastes. Brigid had noticed that Cass didn't eat meat anymore, unless it was to be polite.

The vendor glided over to the kelp in anticipation of retrieving a sample for Cass. Brigid noticed that instead of legs, the creature instead was propelled along by a clump of thick tentacles.

"Thank you, Dry, but actually I was wondering if you could tell me when you last saw me here at the market?"

Dry turned to Cass and cocked her head in question as she considered. To Dry, it sounded a bit like a test. Or if it wasn't, that perhaps something of interest was going on. Things of interest meant opportunity for profit.

Brigid turned her sleepy head to look at the fish and started to purr. "Mmmmm.... Something smells good."

"Thanks Miss Kitty. It's baby phat goddess," Cass told Brigid.

"I am not fat," Brigid said, tapping her friend's cheek. She hoped Cass understood the role she was trying to play, that of a rather spoiled, possibly slightly dim, hobgoblin companion.

Dry said, "Why you were just here earlier tonight."

Cass frowned. "What was I doing?"

"I don't know. You didn't stop by my stall. I think you headed to see Ronnie the Ogre."

Cass's frown deepened. "I did?"

Dry nodded. "Though I don't know why specifically, I know you went into his tent for a little while and then you left. I didn't see where you went after that." She paused. "You don't think I was spying on you, do you? I only mention what I noticed. I never left my booth."

Cass shook her head. "No, you've been most helpful. Thanks. Kitty? Did you want something here?"

"Can't you hear my tummy growling?" Brigid asked plaintively. "I'm hungry, and would like some fish. Please," she added, as if remembering her manners.

Cass smiled and said, "What Miss Kitty wants, Miss Kitty gets. Choose one fish, and we'll bargain for it. Try not to break the bank, okay Kitty?"

Brigid made a big show of looking at all the fish, finding something good and bad in each one. "Oh! May I have this one, please?" She pranced happily in front of a small fish. "It's as pretty as I am!" Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The fish's skin was a foul looking mottled gray with long blue whiskers and covered in nasty barbed spines the color of Brigid's eyes. It smelled like stale vomit with a hint of catnip, and the ubasti really wanted to find out what it tasted as bad as it smelled.

"Okay," replied Cass, trying not to wrinkle her nose at it too much. "What about that one, Dry?"

"An interesting choice. That one is rather special, and rare. The blue barbed catfish, caught off the Fall of Last Hope is not only nutritious, but it can also cure poison. Unfortunately it doesn't keep long — only about a week if refrigerated. Still, it's property is unmatched. I will give you the fish in exchange for a dozen poisoned Changeling Thorns."

Cass started a moment. She looked at Dry through narrowed eyes. "Poisoned thorns? Where would I get those?"

Dry smiled. She possessed several rows of serrated, triangular teeth. "I'm sure I would not know, your Highness. But I think one with your means could obtain them ... easily?"

"What you ask for is exceedingly rare," Cass stated. "And I daresay can be found in only one place anywhere in a hundred miles of this place."

"Oh, I don't know," replied Dry. "You may be surprised."

Cass seemed to turn that over in her mind. Brigid sensed there was more communication going on here than what the words hinted at. Oh to be inside Cass's mind right now!

Cass shook her head. "A dozen is too many, Dry. Even for this most excellent and rare fish. That many poison thorns would surely be far too painful to find for something that will simply end up a snack for my cat. I could give you one thorn, instead. A trifle for a trifle?"

"A trifle to your kitty's tummy represents a great deal of work to me, Emerald Queen. But perhaps I overestimate your resources. I think I could make do with six poison thorns. Since they are so rare and in such demand, I might be able to get a better price than I thought at first." Dry's eyes narrowed, showing her delight in the making of a deal.

"If you know I can produce such an item, then you know they are very special," Cass told Dry. "I can get you three, no more, of the most rare kind of poison Thorn for this fish, and that many only because you were so helpful today."

"Done," Dry replied with a quick nod and a wicked grin. "May I have them now?"

Cass nodded with a grimace. "You wrap the fish to go — we don't have time for Miss Kitty to enjoy the fish at this moment. And if you'll allow me to use your tent, I find your thorns for you."

"Of course."

Dry set about wrapping up the fish and Cass stepped around the booth to where Dry's small, grey tent stood. She lifted the flap and stepped inside where. A moment later, Dry followed her inside.

Brigid glanced around and, dragging herself away from the wonderfully stinky fish, snuck over to the entrance of the tent. She fully intended to eavesdrop and learn what she could - and be there should Cass need protection. The ubasti felt bad at making Cass pay so dear for something that had grabbed her momentary fancy. But even a fish that could cure poison wasn't worth three thorns, based on Cass' reaction. What was being bargained for? Information?

The corner of the tent flap dragged on the ground and that kept a tiny triangle parted just enough that Brigid could see inside with one eye. She watched as the Emerald Queen sprouted thick vines all over her body. It shredded her clothes, which had been mundane, with scores of rips made by wickedly sharp thorns with blackened tips. Brigid had seen them before, perhaps, in the heat of combat but had never had a good look at it. Even then, Cass had limited the growth to her arms, only. The effect now turned her friend into a prickly creature with apparently spikey, poisonous thorns all over her body.

Dry looked delighted. She drifted over to a small box and withdrew a large pair of what appeared to be iron pincers. Cass held out her left arm and Dry took hold of one of the long thorns with the pincers. The touch of the tool seemed to hurt Cass, but she stood still. Dry tried to break off the thorn, but succeeded only in moving Cass's arm. She frowned and said, "Dear me. These are really strong. This might sting a bit."

With that Dry gave a might twisted with both hands. It ripped free of Cass's arm, taking a glob of flesh that dripped greenish-black blood with it." Cass inhaled sharply with a his and squeezed her eyes shut to ward the pain. The creature then dropped the poison thorn into a waiting glass jar. Dry repeated the grisly task twice more, leaving two more small, oozing holes on Cass's arm.

Cass seemed to release something with a mental command, and all the extra vines and thorns receded. The wounds in her arm were still there, but Dry withdrew what appeared to be some kind of medical tape from her box of tools, and deftly taped up each wound with a few quick motions.

After she finished, she picked up the jar with the three, three-inch thorns with a happy smiled and hugged them possessively, before put them inside a footlocker, which she then sealed. "I look forward to our future business, Highness," Dry said with a happy grin. "And I'll be sure to send anything I learn of your activities back your way."

Brigid had just enough time to scramble away before Cass and Dry strode back through the tent. Cass seemed not to mind her ruined clothes relatively speaking. She clutched her arm to herself. She gritted her teeth and managed a rueful smile at Dry. "Thank you, Dry. See you later."

"Goodbye."

Cass picked up the fish and set Brigid back up over her shoulders. It appeared they next had a date with Ronnie the Ogre.

"Thank you for the fish," Brigid said softly into her friend's ear. "I hope the information you'll be getting will be worth it. That's what you were really paying for, wasn't it? That smelly thing wasn't really that expensive, right?"

"I guess we'll find out," Cass said in a strained voice. Her arm was obviously hurting. She looked around as they slowly made their way to Ronnie's stall. "The bargains at the Market aren't always fair. But as they say, nothing ventured nothing gained. Still, that one seemed helpful enough. I think she'll pass on what she knows."

"I didn't put it on too thick, did ?" Brigid asked. "Just the right combination of slightly dim, spoiled but too cute to get angry at for long?"

"I think you did very well," Cass assured her.

"Should I do the same thing with Ronnie? Maybe ask to eat something of his if he doesn't play nice?" Brigid grinned. "Complain the last person you gave me to play with didn't last all that long?"

Cass shook her head. "Better not. He might not take it with humor. Ogres are liable to try something dumb, like pick a duel with me over some perceived slight. While it can't happen here at the market, as soon as I leave I'm fair game so I'd rather not get his hackles up." Cass thought on it some more and came up with something. "If someone looking like me has made some kind of deal with Ronnie, then we need to find out what that was without him getting suspicious. Ideas?"

"Depends on how smart he is," the little cat replied. "Maybe ask for an update? Or maybe it would be wise to wait and see how he reacts when you walk into the tent." Brigid pauses. "Or maybe I could ask some questions. What are you doing for my queen?" she asked, in her Miss Kitty voice. "You've already established Miss Kitty gets what she wants. You could tell him to answer me."

"Let's try all your suggestions at once. Shall we walk in there, see his reaction, and then you ask for an update and I tell him to answer you if it seems like he needs the encouragement?"

"Sounds good to me," Brigid replied. "I just hope this doesn't blow up in our faces."

Cass drew on her magic, which surely must have done something even if Brigid couldn't see anything obvious. They proceeded to the ogre's stall. There was set up a huge, heavy work bench in front of a dingy tent. The table was waist height fro the ogre, which meant it came up to Cass's chest. The ogre didn't notice their approach at first, probably due to the size of the table, and this gave Cass and Brigid an opportunity to see what he was doing. It appeared he was making jewelry, though not the kind you might find in any store. He didn't work silver or gold wire or gems. Instead he braided lengths of leathery cord and coarse plant stalks into complicated knots. These were then hung on little racks on top of the table. Cass, and Brigid too being perched on her shoulder, could see his handiwork right in front of their faces.

The ogre himself was huge, fully nine feet tall as he stood behind the work bench. He had one massive right arm as if he exercised only that side of his body. A meaty hand ended the arm. His left was thin and his hand nimble. His head sported patched of scraggly hair and his left eye was very much large than the right, accentuated by the fact his iris and pupil were smaller than his right eye's.

The ogre's reaction to their approach quickly spoiled Cass and Brigid's planned approach. He gasped happily and beamed a happy smile. "Cassie!" he bellowed. He clapped his hands in delight and quickly reached behind the bench. Cass stepped back reflexively, unsure what he was going to do.

But her caution was without warrant. He thrust a handful of crumpled flowers (with mostly brown petals) toward her. "For you! They are flowers."

Cass was so caught off guard, she didn't know what to say.

Brigid gave the flowers a delicate sniff. "Did you remember to get flowers for me?" she asked, looking as hopeful as only a cat hoping to get a treat could.

"Uuuh?" The ogre leaned over the table to peer at Brigid. "Cats no get flowers. Who is cat?"

Brigid jumped up onto the table. "Hmph! I am Miss Kitty. If you haven't been talking about me every time Cassie has visited you, what do you do?" Her tail held high in feline indignation, she looked at the ogre expectantly.

He scratched his head in puzzlement. For the moment, he was effectively sidetracked from whatever it was he was doing. "I make charm bracelets?" he explained.

Brigid gave a little gasp. "I love charm bracelets almost as much as I love fish!" She pranced closer to to the ogre. "What kinds are you making for her?" She slid Cass a sly look before saying in a stage whisper "She won't tell me anything!" And let's pile on the "Aww..." factor and the "I'm so cute and ditzy you can tell me anything!" :)

The ogre started to talk, caught himself and then focused his crazy eye on Cass. The Spring Queen smiled, winked, and nodded to encourage him to share with Brigid. Ronnie gave Brigid a big, lopsided grin. "I'm not making any kinds right now, little kitty. She already bought several, and she paid in full, and with intr--, inifrimp--, inkiti--... uh...."

"With interested?" Cass helped.

"Yah! With int-rist," the ogre happily agreed.

"You can tell her what you made for me," Cass stated. "It's okay, she's my friend."

He nodded and grinned . "Ha ha ha! I make charms," he repeated. "I make you strong. I make you safe. And I make other kinds, too. Cassie bought other kinds. She wanted holding charms. I make a very good holding charm. No one break free of Ronnie's holding charm! Ha ha! Cassie likes charms. She so happy she made Ronnie happy too!" The ogre again thrust the wadded flowers at Cass. This time she wasn't startled and took them gracefully.

Cass didn't want to ask. She really didn't want to know. She looked at the misshapen hulk and had a bad feeling, but like a deer in the headlights, she couldn't stop herself. "And what did you get in return for the charms you made me?"

"Ha ha!" Ronnie laughed. He leered grotesquely at Cass. "Cassie make Ronnie feel very nice."

It wasn't uncommon to see green on Cass. She liked the color well enough and after all in her natural state, her hair was of green vines. But her skin was red and to see her turn this shade clearly meant she felt ill at the very thought of what Cassie had traded for these "charms" — in the Queen's name. Cass made a little sound of distress and then turned and fled.

"Thank you for telling me," Brigid said as she jumped down off the table and ran for the exit. "But if I were you, I wouldn't make charms for Cassie anymore, no matter how good she makes you feel."

Brigid had to dodge the shuffling feet of a parade consisting of a three-headed woman singing in perfect harmony and accompanied by a satyr piper and an ape drummer that had a human face. They were preceded by a pretty girl in a sheer pink dress who danced and pirouetted as she tossed flower petals in the air before the musical company. Various hob and fae stood out of the narrow aisle between market stalls and watched them pass by.

Brigid ignored them, and instead tried to peer through the forest of legs to spot Cass. She thought she saw the shapely curve of red-tinted calves rapidly receding around the far end of the next booth.

The tiny cat scampered along, darting between feet and under tables, trying to catch up with what she hoped were Cass' legs. After zipping down an alley, filled with heaps of refuse, she found her friend slumped over and kneeling beside one of the smaller heaps of trash. She'd regained control over her stomach, though Brigid thought she still looked unwell.

"I can not believe that stupid faerie twit actually had sex with that monster for a fucking charm bracelet," Cass vented. "Has she no morals or standards at all? Does she care about herself or anyone else so little that it means nothing to her? I want to believe she is doing this only because someone is making her do it because she was your friend, Brigid. But this... this is too much."

"The Cassie I knew is gone," Brigid replied, "but the one I knew had a distinct lack of a moral or ethical compass when it came to sex or getting what she wanted. And if someone is making her do it, I have a pretty good idea of who it is. But talking about it here won't do us any good. Now that we know who it is, we can begin work on making sure she can do no more damage than she already has." The tiny cat rubbed her cheek against Cass. "Let's see about getting you cleaned up a bit. Is there anything else you want to do here?"

"I've had enough for one night," Cass told her friend. "Come on. Let's go home."

Brigid simply nodded, and decided getting Cass back to more comforting surroundings was more important than returning to the ogre's tent to retrieve her fish. Besides, Brigid had some people she needed to talk to, and quickly.


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