3
‘I’m not going without Ves,’ Jay duly announced, fifteen minutes later, standing in the middle of Milady’s tower-top chamber with his chin high, eyes flashing rebellion.
‘Certainly not,’ said Milady, calmly.
The chin came down a bit. ‘What?’
‘Ves, you are late. I understand you were recuperating in the Grove, so I will let it pass. However—’
‘Late?’ I repeated, stupidly.
‘A summons was sent this morning. Several, in fact.’
And I’d been sulking with the Horn Squad and had missed them all.
Oops.
‘Sorry,’ I gasped. ‘Sorry. I’m here. And I’ll go anywhere.’
‘Silvessen, specifically,’ said Milady.
‘Great. Where’s that.’
‘Silvessen was a thriving village many years ago, with mention made in the Domesday Book. Scant references to it in some one or two historic texts suggest it was a
