The thirteenth chapter. Sorry for the slower updates; I'm only allowed to go on the computer every other day for less than an hour. But I swear I'll finish this fic, no matter what. Anyways, keep the reviews coming!

Enjoy!

Chapter Thirteen: A Surprise for Daddy

Meggie scratched another tick into the peeling wall beside her. Basta was still there, but Meggie barely noticed him now. He just stood there, occasionally grumbling to himself or polishing his knife for the thousandth time. He had obviously grown tired of taunting Meggie about nothing.

Meanwhile Meggie felt her mind race furiously as she wondered how she could help Mo and the others. She would have been able to write something, if only Basta weren't here... He'd surely know exactly what she was trying to do. Meggie couldn't help but glance out the window every five minutes, hoping that Mo had come and found her message. It was just another dream, another hopeless dream. It made Meggie want to cry again.

Where would Mo be right now? What about Resa, Elinor and Darius? And Farid? Dustfinger? Were they uninjured, in good health, together...? What was tormenting Meggie most was not that she was in Basta's 'care', but that she was just stuck here, in this dingy little inn, while her family and friends were probably in grave danger. She wanted to help them. She wanted to be with them.

Meggie didn't know how long she had been imprisoned in that room, but it sure felt like weeks, months. But finally the Adder and Mortola came to fetch her again. Not that Meggie had wanted them to...

She had been dozing off again when Basta roughly shook her awake. "Witch! The Adderhead and Mortola wants you!"

Still heavy-eyed with sleep, Meggie stumbled after Basta, not sure of what to expect. He opened the door and shoved her in. As Meggie had been assuming already, the Adderhead and Mortola were inside. But there was a newcomer there, too - a man that looked more like a beast than human. He wasn't that tall. He had grizzled brown hair, and clothes that were more like rags. There was a mad glint in his eyes that scared Meggie more than the man himself.

Basta stationed himself importantly behind Meggie, not giving the stranger a second glance. "I've brought her."

"Yes, yes, I can see that," the Adderhead seemed impatient. "Ah, little witch, we have someone to introduce you to."

Basta pushed her forward. Meggie looked up at the stranger, trying not to appear afraid. But she still felt weak at the knees. The stranger gave her a menacing grin that showed a pair of unusually pointed eyeteeth. It was another thing that made him look like an animal.

"He likes to call himself the Wildcat." the Adderhead said with a gesture to the man. "He's my replacement for poor, deceased Firefox."

The Adder must be mad, Meggie thought, Firefox was bad enough. But this man?

"Nice to meet you, pretty," the Wildcat said in a hoarse voice and held out a gnarled hand. Meggie didn't take it. Only when Basta prodded her roughly from behind Meggie mumbled a 'good afternoon'.

As for the Wildcat he spat and growled to the Adder - "Should've told her father to teach her better manners."

"Don't expect too much from the Bluejay." the Adder said. "He's too busy being a famous robber to teach his daughter anything."

Meggie's fists clenched involuntarily. Mo had taught her nearly everything she knew. Too busy being a famous robber? And it wasn't even his fault! Fenoglio had written it that way, him and no one else!

"Little witch!" the Adderhead made Meggie look up from the floor again. "I'm preparing a wonderful surprise for Daddy... Yes, a wonderful surprise, indeed. Does he like surprises?" he was smiling. That couldn't be a good sign.

Meggie felt fear close its cold little claws around her heart. In all the books she had read surprises from villains to heroes had always been something terrible. Meggie couldn't recall which books they were, but she remembered that one word - 'surprise' very well.

"If Silvertongue doesn't arrive here, like you said, I'm going to hunt him down myself." Mortola spoke for the first time.

"Don't worry, Mortola," the Adderhead waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "He will most definately come. And we'll give him his surprise when he does." The Wildcat was prowling around the room just like, well, a wildcat. Meggie shuddered; what could the 'surprise' possibly be? Awful thoughts made their way into her mind. Mo mustn't come here. He mustn't. If he did...

"I'd like to give you one last chance, witch," the Adder said, looking straight into Meggie's face. "If you don't reveal to us the location of the robbers, you'll be hanged, along with your mother and father. If you decide to tell us, we'll spare your life, we'll let you go free."

"I don't know where Mo is." Meggie replied in a trembling voice. "I haven't seen him for days now, I can't know where he is! He wouldn't be staying in that one spot for more than two days -"

"Fine, then." It surprised Meggie that it wasn't the Adder but the Wildcat that spoke. "I'll rip him from limb to limb and have his head lying at my feet the minute he sets foot in this damned inn... She'll be next!" the Wildcat pointed a sharp fingernail in Meggie's direction.

With a jolt of horror Meggie realized that this, this man, must be the Adderhead's 'surprise' for Mo. The Wildcat. He was the surprise.

The Black Prince had vainly searched the entire campsite for Dustfinger, but the fire-eater was nowhere in sight.

Damn Dustfinger and his so-called plan! The Prince glanced, for the hundredth time, at the scrap of paper in his hand. Even though he couldn't read it, the Bluejay had told him what it had said. Don't worry about us... Did Dustfinger seriously think that his note would reassure his companions at all? Why did he come back from the dead if he was planning to go out to get killed all over again?

Suddenly the Bluejay gave a shout from behind him - "Soldiers! Hide!"

The Prince cursed and dove back into the undergrowth. He shouldn't have been wandering about on the road. The Bluejay crouched, still and calm, beside him, although the bushes didn't seem to be tall enough to hide him. The Prince gave him a worried glance; the Jay just shook his head, and mouthed that he was all right. Good thing the others were all back in the camp.

The soldiers came marching past the two robbers. They belonged to the Adderhead, of course. Then, to the Prince's horror, they stopped, alarmingly close to where the two were hiding. They all sat down on the dusty road, and started passing around drinks and bread. The Prince's legs were already numb from crouching; who knew how long the soldiers were going to stay?

Then they started talking. "I've heard the Adder's caught the Jay's witch of a daughter?"

"Yes, and she's being kept as bait for the accursed robber." the Prince felt his companion tense from beside him.

"And the Wildcat's going to kill him off, isn't he? The Jay has no chance against the Cat, however well he may fight. After all, the Cat has some special tricks of his own, doesn't he?"

The soldiers roared in agreement. "And we can finally celebrate!"

"And those other robbers will be hanged, along with their idol!"

The soldiers went on talking about executions, robbers, and who knows what else. The Prince didn't know who the Wildcat was, but he was obviously an impressive figure. And a new enemy. The Bluejay had gone pale; nearly as pale as when the Prince had first saw him in the Secret Camp. The Prince couldn't blame him. For the Adderhead seemed to have some awful plans in store for him and his family.