The carved wooden sign creaked in the wind that howled down the narrow street. The sign hung above a thick oak doorway studded with black crystal depicting a small ship with a single sail. A figure stood at the prow gazing forward. Carved upon the hull of the wooden ship were the words THE BLESSÈD QUEEN.

Tania lifted the latch and stepped into the inn. She found herself in a long dimly lit room, standing in deep shadow. Subdued firelight played on ivory walls crisscrossed with black timbers. The ceiling was low and hung with jugs and hunting horns. The walls held similar trophies: crystal harpoons with wooden shafts, hanks of tarred rope, framed pictures of seascapes and ships and leaping fish.

There was a scattering of wooden tables and benches—but the room was empty save for three figures sitting close to the roaring fire. A man was singing, his voice high and fluttery but tuneful nonetheless. Tania paused to listen.

There was applause as the song ended. Tania stepped into the light, clapping along with Rathina and Connor.

Hearing her, they looked up, their faces showing relief at her sudden appearance. Both Rathina and Connor had steaming bowls in their laps filled with a thick, aromatic stew.

The third figure, the singer, was a thin man with a friendly, wrinkled face and wispy gray hair. He wore a long white apron over a plain brown tunic and leggings that were tucked below the knee into gartered stockings.

“You took a fine long time to join us, Tania,” said Rathina. “We were debating which of us should quit the hearth and seek you out.”

As Tania walked toward the great stone fireplace, the warmth of the room enveloped her, seeping into her limbs, making her fingers and toes tingle.

The man stood up. “Princess Rathina and Master Connor have told me the tale of your journeying, both in Faerie and between the worlds, Princess Tania,” he said, his aged voice like wind through reeds. “You are all most welcome. My name is Elias Fulk, and I am landlord of this inn. I apologize that your greeting could not be more merry.” His eyes fixed on her face. “You are the very image of the Queen!” he said breathlessly, dropping to one knee and bowing his head. “It is long since your mother rested in this place, my lady, but we do not forget her—not even in such fearful days as have come upon us.”

“Please,” Tania said, embarrassed by this show of deference. “Don’t do that.” Hurrying forward, she helped him to his feet again.

“As your ladyship wishes,” Elias Fulk said, stepping away from her as if the contact made him uncomfortable.

“The stew is great,” said Connor, shifting along the bench so Tania could sit beside him. “I didn’t realize how much I wanted some hot food inside me till Elias started dishing up.”

A third bowl of stew was resting on a hearthstone. Elias Fulk lifted it from the warm stones and placed it in her hands.

“Thank you,” she said, enjoying the warmth of the wooden bowl in her palms. The rich aroma filled her head, thick and savory and cheering.

“What took you so long to get here?” asked Connor. “I was beginning to think you’d gotten lost.”

“No, I didn’t get lost,” Tania replied, lifting the wooden spoon from the bowl. She glanced at the landlord, wondering for a moment whether it was wise to speak candidly in front of him. But then she remembered that the Queen had said he could be trusted. “There were a few things to talk over, that’s all.” She took a mouthful of the stew.

“Such as?” asked Connor.

“How is our father?” added Rathina. “And Cordelia—how does she fare?”

“I don’t think she’s any better,” said Tania. “But they have a plan to cover the whole of Faerie in the Gildensleep. Our mother thinks it’s possible—so long as everyone helps. Including the two of us.”

“Name the way and it shall be done,” said Rathina. “I would throw myself down a dragon’s throat if it would ease the suffering of but a single child!”

Connor frowned. “You have dragons here?”

“Not that I’ve ever seen,” Tania said, her eyes on Rathina. “Our mother thinks there will be enough power if she can draw on all of our spirits. I don’t know how it’s going to work, but she said it would probably make us feel weak at times.”

“A small price to pay,” said Rathina. “But when does she mean to throw the cloak of Gildensleep over the land? We must be away from these shores by that time.”

“They’re going to raise the Gildensleep early tomorrow morning.” She turned to Elias Fulk. “That means we have to get away before the sun comes up. Is there a boat we could use?”

“I have my own vessel in the harbor, my lady,” he said. “It is used by hirelings to catch fresh fish for the kitchens of the inn. You are most welcome to use her. The Blessèd Queen, she is named. A small vessel, to be sure, but tight-knit and bonny upon the water—if any of you have the skill to sail her.”

“I know how to sail,” said Connor, looking at Tania. “Remember? My dad had a twenty-eight-foot sloop that he kept at Essex Marina. The Wee Tam.”

Tania nodded. She had been invited aboard the sailboat a few times when she had been younger. Yes, she remembered it well: the wind in her hair and salt on her lips, swaddled in a bright orange life jacket and clinging on for dear life as Connor and his father sent the Wee Tam racing through choppy waters.

“Tania, we sailed often together as children,” Rathina added. “We had a yacht named Magnifico. You and I and Zara and Cordelia out on the water—do you not remember? The dolphins would leap and spin while Zara played the whistle.”

Tania saw the grief cloud her sister’s face as the bitterness of Zara’s death darkened the happy memory. Rathina dropped her head, becoming silent, her thick black hair falling over her face.

“I don’t remember, I’m sorry,” Tania said. The loss of the memory of her blissful Faerie childhood ached in her like a wound that would never heal.

“Elias was telling us that the plague has been in Hymnal for several days now,” Connor said, breaking the silence. “The people have locked themselves away.”

“These folk fear the plague greatly,” added Rathina. “That is why the bodies by the bridge have been left unattended.”

“Aye, it’s a bad time to be sure,” said Elias Fulk, nodding mournfully. “By the grace of the gentle spirits, my own family has been spared. But not a patron has set foot over my threshold for two days and nights now.” His eyes glowed with firelight as he looked at Tania. “Is all of Faerie infected?”

“I think so,” Tania said.

Elias Fulk sighed. “And it is at such a time that my lord the earl breaks faith with the House of Aurealis, as the princess your sister has just told me,” he murmured. “Sad times, indeed, my lady, sad and galling times when friends should stand back to back against a common enemy.”

Tania looked carefully at him. “Do you know the name Nargostrond?” she asked.

“Nay, my lady,” he replied. “But it throws a shadow over my heart, like the wraith of a dreadful memory.”

“For me also, Master Fulk,” said Rathina. “’Tis most like to waking from a nightmare, sweating and filled with dread but unable to remember the source of the fear.”

“Collective unconscious,” murmured Connor. “You all have it. Whoever this Nargostrond guy was, he certainly left his mark on you people.”

“He must be a great necromancer to do us such harm,” Elias Fulk said. “Greater even than the Sorcerer of Lyonesse.” He reached out and touched Tania’s arm with his fingertips. “I pray that your mission be blessed, my lady,” he said.

“From your lips to the hearts of the good spirits,” said Rathina. “Master Fulk, we are traveling to foreign lands on the morrow. I do not know how the people of Alba may dress themselves, but I doubt that it will be in such garments as we are wearing now— garments brought through from the Mortal World. In your household are there any clothes that we might borrow?” She glanced at Tania. “We do not know what manner of greeting we may receive beyond the ocean—and I would prefer that we move among the folk of Alba unremarked.”

“I have daughters of an age with you and the princess Tania, my lady,” Elias Fulk replied. “I will search out some hard-wearing traveling gowns. But I fear I have little to offer you, Master Connor. My clothes would be too small for you and there are no other menfolk in the house.” He frowned. “In happy days I would knock upon a neighbor’s door and ask for help, but none will answer tonight, I fear. I can offer a goodly cloak, oiled and snug—fit for the cruelest of weather. Wrap that around you and none shall perceive what you are wearing beneath.”

“That’s good,” said Tania. “Thank you. That will be a big help.”

“And I have empty rooms enough for three times your number, my lady,” said Elias Fulk. “Sleep here in peace this night. I will awaken you before dawn and lead you down to the harbor where the Blessèd Queen lies at berth. Food and drink will I give you also, enough to last you many days.” His gray eyebrows lowered in a frown. “How far is the land of Alba, my lady?” he asked. “If my memory remains true, Queen Titania was on the ocean’s face for the passage of many long days before she saw the towers and spires of Hymnal on the horizon.”

Tania shook her head. “No, that can’t be right,” she said. She looked at Connor. “Remember the map from the archives of Caer Regnar Naal? Faerie and the British Isles are almost exactly the same. If Faerie is England and Alba is Ireland, then it can’t possibly take days and days to get there.”

Connor frowned. “I’ve been on a ferry to Ireland,” he said. “We went from Fishguard to Rosslare. I think it was about sixty miles. I know we’re probably farther away up here, but it can’t be much more than a hundred miles. On a good day a fast sailboat ought to be able to make that in twelve hours. Even if we have to tack against a hard wind, it shouldn’t take us more than twice that.” He looked at Tania. “If we leave at dawn tomorrow, we’ll be there the day after, no problem.”

“Then I shall provide food and drink for that time and more,” said Elias Fulk. “May the good spirits of air and water protect you on your journey.”

“Aye, sirrah,” said Rathina somberly. “Let us hope indeed that their benison can traverse the wide waters that lie between. And let us hope that the Mortal folk of that land have a kindly way with travelers.”

Tania nodded as they got up. “If not, we’re going to have some serious problems,” she said uneasily. “Without the help of the people of Alba this quest is going to be over almost before it begins.”