“Why would the Demon God be angry with me?” said Davidor. “We got on like old friends. Even said I could call him Carlo, for short. It was your mother he wanted to eat.”

“You made a deal with him,” said Igail, “your life for Mother’s. But you didn’t keep your end of it. I know that wasn’t your fault, but the Demon God isn’t one to forgive someone on a technicality. Here...”

Igail grabbed her bag from the floor and emptied it onto the table. Half a dozen books of all sizes poured out. She sorted through them until she found a small volume bound in brown leather.

“The Demon Almanac and Glossary. It’s not a good book, really. I think it was probably written by some kind of amateur demon enthusiast. But in the back there’s a list of books he considers essential reading, including this one.” She patted the big book on the table. “And look here.” She opened the book and handed it to Davidor.

He took it from her. The page had a crudely drawn dragon on it, titled Carlotqueskelet, Demon Lord of the Second Hell. Underneath it read: Awakens on the double lunar eclipse. Knows how to hold a grudge.

“When is the double eclipse?” asked Davidor.

“One year from today,” said Igail.

Davidor snapped the book shut. “So we destroy the egg before the eclipse, no Demon God. Simple.”

“Yes,” said Igail. “And no. We know when he will awaken, but we don’t know where.”

“Your father and I already know the location of the Demon God’s temple,” said Roona.

“That’s just his lair,” said Igail. “The awakening chamber that houses the egg is somewhere else. It’s hidden behind a magic barrier. But there’s a book that has clues to its whereabouts.” She took the brown volume from her father and opened it to the list on the back page and pointed to the last entry. “This one. It’s called The Demon’s Egg. The problem is it’s not here.”

“Where is it?” asked Roona.

“One of two places. Either the library of a wizard in the Southern Fields on the Island of Terit. Or the Palace Library in K’Jarta. You and Dad should go to the capital and get the King to let you search the library there, and me and the boys can go take care of the wizard.”

“Why would we split up?” said Roona. “And why are you dealing with the wizard when we’re off to the capital?”

“Because you’ve never allowed us to go to the capital,” said Igail. “You always come up with some excuse or other, so I assumed you wouldn’t want us to go there. It’s just a wizard. You know what they’re like, cast one fireball and have to rest for a week. Probably won’t take more than a punch in the face to get him to hand over the book, if he’s got it.”

“The reason we don’t let you go to K’Jarta is, it’s just that…” Roona looked over at Davidor. “Your father’s something of a celebrity there, and it’s a bit embarrassing for him.”

All four children eyed their parents suspiciously. Their father was many things, but embarrassed by attention wasn’t one of them.

“We can do it this way,” said Davidor. “I’ll take Fen and Igail. Roo can take Gart and Titch.”

“No,” said Igail. “I want you to see that we can do this on our own. It’s like Gramps said, you always do everything and we just get to watch.”

“That’s because we only want what’s best for you,” said Roona.

“I don’t think that’s true,” said Igail.

“What do you mean?” said Roona, somewhat taken aback.

“I think you never let us do anything dangerous because you’re scared. You’re frightened something might happen to us, and you’re not used to being afraid. Of anything.” Igail threw up her hands in exasperation. “You have to let us do this so you can learn to trust us to take care of ourselves. I want you to overcome your fear.”

“And what about the rest of you? Do you feel the same?” said Davidor.

“Pretty much,” said Fen.

“I agree with Iggy,” said Titch, “so she must be right.”

Davidor turned to his eldest. “Gart?”

Gart’s eyes remained locked on his little sister. He smiled, but nothing about it suggested happiness. It was the bitter smile of knowing you had horribly underestimated your opponent.

“Yes, I feel the same. But there’s more to it than that, isn’t there, Iggy? What happens after we prove we can handle ourselves?”

Iggy looked down at the books on the table, avoiding Gart’s penetrating stare. She took a breath, then raised her head to look at her parents. “After we find the location of the awakening chamber, you can’t come with us. The barrier that protects it can only be crossed by a child. The priests are selected when young. Once they cross over, they never return. You’re too old.”

“What about Gart and Fen?” said Davidor. “They aren’t exactly kids.”

Igail shook her head. “It’s not measured in human terms, it’s children in Elven years. That means you have to be less than thirty.”

There was silence as each person considered what they had been told.

“I want to ask you something,” said Gart, standing up.

“Yes?” said Igail.

“Not here.” He grabbed her elbow and walked her out of the room on her tiptoes.

“But I haven’t—”

“Only take a minute.”

They were out of the room before anyone could object. He guided her between the shelves, into the heart of the library. Once they were far enough for the others not to be able to hear them he stopped and spun Igail around to face him, but didn’t let go.

“What are you really up to?”

“What do you mean?”

“Enough with the lies, Iggy. You think you’re fooling me with the magic barrier that only lets in kids? You think I don’t recognise the plot from one of your stupid storybooks?”

Igail blanched. “You’ve read my books?”

“Of course. We’ve spent most of our lives in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do. I’ve read everything in that stupid bag of yours, including Shannara Stone, Elf Detective. One of the worst things ever committed to paper, I might add.”

“It’s one of my favourites,” said Igail quietly.

“Yes, well, it does have a particularly memorable twist at the end where the magic barrier that could only be crossed by children turns out to be an Elven construct, so humans are able to bypass it, just like the nonsense you told them. Why are you lying to everyone?”

“I’m not lying.” She pulled her arm free of his grip and rubbed the joint. “The Demon God really is going to return and we have to find the book. But you know what’s going to happen if we let them take the lead. We’ve been trained by the two greatest warriors in the world, and all we ever do is stand back and watch them sweep away everything in their path. Don’t you want a chance to save the world yourself?”

Gart took a moment to look his sister in the eyes, searching for some indication of what she was really after.

“You’re being a spoiled brat who doesn’t care who gets hurt as long as you get your way. If the Demon God is really coming back, now isn’t the time to go on a field trip.”

“It’s just an egg! We aren’t going to fight a dragon. There aren’t armies of undead behind the barrier. A few priests who can’t fight, and maybe some traps that will only be a problem if we don’t pay attention.”

“And what about this wizard. How are we supposed to defeat him?”

“There is no wizard. There’s a guy who uses magic to create new types of seeds and crops. I overheard some farmers talking about him once. The book’s definitely in the Palace Library in K’Jarta.”

“Then why are we the ones going to see the wizard?”

“We aren’t,” said Igail.

***

When they returned to the others, Titch and Fen sat at the table, looking bored, while Davidor and Roona were in deep discussion with the Queen and Tas Tel Muir Ley.

“You’re back,” said Tas. “Have you sorted things out?” The question was aimed at Gart, but a look of concern flashed in his eyes as he glanced at Igail. She returned an almost imperceptible nod.

But Gart caught the exchange between the two and couldn’t shift the feeling something was amiss. It was not beyond the realms of possibility for Igail to have been bewitched by the leader of the Elven and was now acting per his instructions. Possible, but unlikely. What Gart suspected was far worse—that the leader of the Elven had been recruited by his little sister, for what purpose he had yet to figure out.

“We can do it,” said Gart. “We’re only going to go fetch a book. You can decide what to do after that, but we’re more than capable of a small task like this.”

Roona glared at her son. “No.”

“Now, Roo, let’s be calm about this.” Davidor placed a hand on her shoulder.

She pulled away from him. “You really think this is safe?”

“If I may?” Retyl stepped forward. “I am not yet twenty-seven. I could escort them on this journey, and the one after. I am considered a more than competent swordsman. I’m sure the Queen will vouch for me.”

“He is an excellent swordsman,” said Queen Lyr. “They consider him something of a prodigy among the young Elven.”

“No,” said Gart. “I don’t care how good you are. You aren’t good enough.”

“My father is Kemyl den Fak, the Chief Swordmaster of the Horde.” Retyl swept his cloak aside to rest his hand on the golden hilt of the sword at his waist. “Even Lady Roona was trained by him. He considers me the best student he’s ever had.”

“Fine,” said Gart. “If you can stop my brother from disarming you, you can come.”

“Agreed,” said Retyl, showing no hesitation in accepting the challenge. His father was not only in charge of training the Elven, he was also deeply involved in gathering intelligence from the outside world.

Retyl had used those contacts to find out about the two sons of Davidor. He knew of their great skills and strengths. They had been trained since birth by masters. But so had he.

He turned to face Fen. The younger brother was the weaker of the two, but Retyl knew overconfidence would not serve him well. He didn’t need to win a duel, even though he felt certain he could have, he just had to avoid being disarmed. As long as he stayed focussed and alert, his rigorously honed instincts and fleet footwork would do the rest.

“Titch,” said Gart, “take his sword off him.”

“Wait,” said Retyl. The child was to be his opponent? Rage swelled up inside him. He was being mocked. “That’s not—”

Titch swept books out of the way and jumped onto the table. “What’s the matter fancy-pants? Scared?”

Retyl felt like skewering the obnoxious little brat. But he calmed himself. If this was to be his opponent then it only made passing the test easier. He smiled and spread his arms wide.

“All right. Go ahead. Take my sword.”

Titch remained standing on the table. He raised his hands and waved them about. Then he reached out, opening his fist as though throwing an invisible ball, before jerking his hand back.

Retyl’s sword leapt out of its scabbard and flew through the air into Titch’s waiting hand.

“Ta da!” said Titch.

“What?” Retyl’s surprise turned to outrage in a flash. “That’s not fair. He used magic.”

Titch dropped the sword. It fell, then stopped, hanging mid-air, swinging back and forth.

“See? It’s devil’s silk. Took me ages to learn how to do that. I can teach you, if you like.” He unhooked the sword from the thread tied to his hand and tossed it back to its owner.

Retyl was so flustered he nearly dropped it. “I wasn’t expecting you would use a trick.”

“That’s the point, isn’t it?” said Gart. “You have to deal with what’s in front of you, not complain about it not being fair. You can’t call foul play after you’re dead, can you?”

Retyl, grimaced, showing his teeth, before turning on his heels and storming out of the room.

“That was kind of harsh,” said Fen. “Funny, but harsh.”

“Now that’s out of the way,” said Igail, “can we get back to the Demon God? At least let us find the book.”

All eyes turned to Roona who had been quietly ruminating all this time. “It’s too dangerous. If this wizard is in league with the Demon God—”

“Yes, you’re right,” said Davidor. “That’s why we’ll take care of the wizard, and those three can take a nice trip to the capital. Other than some sight-seeing, there’s not much to worry about, is there?”

Gart glanced at his sister, who had predicted their father’s decision exactly. He shook his head, impressed and concerned at the same time.

“Hold it!” wailed Titch. “What do you mean, those three?”

“Obviously, you’ll be coming with us,” said Davidor.

“What? Why? There’s no danger, we’re just going to find a book. Nothing’s going to happen. Nothing ever happ—”

A soldier ran into the room. “We are under attack! The Undead are swarming the bridge. Thousands of them!”