Izz was doing the same. "So. Are you going to go through peacefully or not?" Oberon asked


"This is the plan," Kimi said, standing on tiptoes to bend over the table. "This is the SciCorp entrance," the half-phouka continued, pointing to an obscure line near the bottom of the paper. "According to Warren," Kimi went on, tracing a finger up to another line, "the scepter is being held here, between floors twenty-nine and thirty."

" How do we know he wasn't lying about that? "

She gives him a long look. She doesnt say anything.

"Apparently, it works the same way I can have a mansion between the mortal world and the Nevernever, darling," Leanansidhe answered, looking at Grimalkin as if she really wanted to shoo him off the piano. "The Iron fey have their horrible glamour, just as we have ours. We turn into rabbits, they eat bank accounts. Grim, darling, do you have to sleep there?"

"You, Puck and Ironhorse will come in here," Kimi continued, tapping the bottom of the blueprint. "Past the doors will be the security checkpoint, which will scan your ID card. Puck and Ironhorse will be invisible to mortal eyes, so we dont have to worry about them being seen."

"What if there are Iron fey on the first floor?" Puck asked.

"There arent," Kimi replied, glancing at him. "Nelson and I checked it out. If the Iron fey are going into the building, theyre not using the front doors."




Izz is silent as well.

Oberon sighs. "Fine. I will force you." The tree roots push the two into the trod before retracting into the ground.

Lise sighed. " Okay. " She said.

Camm tries to catch the side of the trunk with her claws, but misses and falls.

"Once youre past the checkpoint, the elevators are here," Kimi went on, tracing the path with her finger before giving them a grave look. "And this is where things get dicey. I dont know how youre getting up to floor twenty-nine and a half. They might have a certain button only those with Sight can see, or there might be a password, or you might have to press buttons in a certain sequence. I have no idea. Alternatively, you can take the stairs, here, but that will mean climbing up thirty floors from ground level, with no guarantee there will be an entrance to floor twenty-nine and a half."

"We'll burn that bridge when we come to it," Puck said, waving it away. "So, what about the floor with the scepter? What can we expect?"



Izz tries to cling to the wood as well, with no luck either.

She curls her tail protectively around Izz as they fall.

" Theres bound to be iron fey on that floor. "

Oberon goes through the trod behind them.



"Probably, but look at it this way." He grinned. "We either go with our gut, or we don't go at all. Not a lot of choices, Princess. But, don't worry." He put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. "You don't need a plan. You have the Puck with you, remember? I'm an expert at this. And I've never needed an elaborate plan to pull anything off."

There was a loud clank from the piano, as Leanansidhe finally convinced Grimalkin to sleep elsewhere. Annoyed, the cat had slid from his perch and landed with his full weight on the keys, then leaped to the bench. "Worry not, human," the cat sighed, giving himself a thorough shake. "I am going with you as well. With Goodfellows exemplary planning, someone has to make sure you go through the right door."

"Huh." Puck snorted and glared at the feline. "Thats awfully helpful of you, cat. Whats in it for you?"