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“It was a guess.” His tone soured. “I’m not a Spring magician. I don’t know everything.”

I wondered if other people his age did this a lot to him: ask the fanciful simpleton to unravel the enigma.

Twisting around, I said, “Hey, sorry.”

Nicu wrinkled his pert nose. “It’s all right.”

“Except, it’s not. I don’t know everything, either.”

That earned me a wane smile.

By the afternoon, my ass had gone numb, and an overflowing ravine forced us to leave the aspens and detour to a more vibrant patch of color. We headed into a hickory dell, to Punk’s dismay. She kept twittering, a warning that it wasn’t safe territory, but what else could we do?

I needed comfort food. Drawing a wrapped morsel from my satchel, I peeled the parchment from the marshmallow the stonemason’s son had stolen upon my request. Funny, I’d been saving it for a special occasion.

Nicu accepted half. He moaned as he chewed, though he must have been used to even more luscious fare than this.

I swooned as my half of the treat melted on my tongue, absorbing into the wood. The best sweets, like honey, came from Spring. But sigh, how these spongy wonders made my head twirl.

“Oooh...hi there!” Nicu greeted, waving at something.

I licked my fingers clean. “Huh—”

The mule slammed to a standstill, Nicu’s head knocking into the back of my skull. Hovering beside us, Punk’s feathers rippled in an aggressive display. I’d never seen her like that.

Without making a sound, they had surrounded us. A gang of maidens, their hair weaved into disheveled Mista braids, shades of red or orange cascading all over the place. They wore skirts of a cross-checkered pattern, reaching only to their knees, and matching embellishments: sashes, scarves, vests.

Foxes also prowled the area, the wily creatures perched beside the girls’ booted feet. The animals’ pinched faces watched us through pellet eyes. Not the typical four-legged friendly dwellers of Autumn, nor the upright and generous attitudes of Mista folk.

How quickly territories could change, from one bend to the next. I should have consulted the map or listened to Punk, because it appeared we’d crossed into unbidden territory, into the arms of some kind of fox cult.

My hatchets rested heavily in the clasps attached to my calf and nape. Not having a clue how to fight, the measly weapons felt like a sham suddenly.

The girls scowled and sneered. I stared down my nose at them, refusing to be intimidated, concealing the tremor down my spine. I could handle a fellow bitch or two. But a fleet of badasses? Armed with long bows, loaded quivers, and girdled anelaces?

Nicu clenched my hips. His enthusiasm made a rapid decline, realizing their weapons meant trouble.

Valiant Punk flitted in front of us, her wings beating like mad.

The sight of our group intrigued the fox maidens. They stalked closer, a shrinking ring of bodies.

“Well, well, well,” one of them announced. “If it isn’t a pair of fools.”

A cardinal rule for any ringleader: sabotage with judgment and then offer a biscuit. My gaze settled on their weaponry. “How outdated. Don’t you have something better? Those toys could use some reviving.”

They ignored that at first, but as I sketched my thoughts aloud, I got their attention. They peered at me as I described split blades and corkscrew arrowheads.

Unfortunately, they weren’t stupid.

One girl raised her anelace, the long dagger shining. “Think we’re saps, do ya?”

“Okay, we get it,” I said. “We’re in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Let us pass, and we’ll do it quickly. I won’t say another word about your sorry weapons.”

Five minutes later, Punk wiggled upside down, her woodpecker tootsies trapped between a maiden’s fingers after trying to peck the girl to bits. Nicu squirmed on the ground, rope cinched around his ankles and middle.

And I hung from a hickory branch, strings binding my arms and legs. Trying to get free, I jiggled in place like a marionette, which was obviously the point.

I whined at the top of my lungs, the hissy fit entertaining them to no end. They crossed their arms and snickered, tossing my feather hat between them.