Kirsten smirked, “An old trick. Anyway, they took Billson into a small room. To get a closer look, I leaned over to peek through the crack in the top of the door.”
“That’s when her necklace fell off,” Thomas interrupted again.
“Right, that’s when my necklace fell off,” she said slightly annoyed by Thomas’ interruptions.
“You wear a necklace?” Bo asked, questioning why he hadn’t noticed it before.
“Well, not usually, but I found it in my mother’s things last night and it was so beautiful, I wanted to wear it. I didn’t know it was going to slide off.”
“So, they found out you were spying on him?” Britt asked.
“Yes. Well, no,” Kirsten trailed off.
“Which one is it, yes or no?” Britt asked irritated by Kirsten’s confusion.
“So, right before the necklace slid off my head, I saw Rankstine standing in front of Billson. The strange thing was Rankstine had this orb. It was held in a sort of stand next to him,” she said.
“An orb?” Max asked. “Were they using it to do something to Billson?”
“No,” Kirsten continued, “I’m not sure what they were doing to Billson, but it didn’t sound nice. But inside the orb was an exact replica of Grandwood, an alive replica complete with townspeople walking about inside it.”
“That must be how he’s trapping us in,” Britt said.
Kirsten snapped her fingers and said, “That’s what Thomas and I thought, too. I caught a glimpse of Highborn Bay before he moved and blocked my view.”
“How long ago did that happen?” Britt asked.
“Just over an hour and a half, maybe two?” Kirsten said shrugging, looking to Thomas who nodded in agreement.
“Did you see any of us near the house?” Britt asked.
“Well, no. But that’s because you guys weren’t there, right?”
A smile slowly spread across Britt’s face.
“Why are you smiling?” Thomas asked.
“We did return to the house for lunch. We were there for over an hour before coming here. We only arrived here maybe fifteen minutes before you two.”
“So, the orb’s powers don’t recognize us?” Max suggested.
Kirsten nodded, “Or the orb’s control diminishes the farther away you are from it?”
“So Rankstine doesn’t know we can see the kurr coming into the bubble?” Bo asked.
Kirsten shook her head, “Probably not. But he might have seen us leaving the church,” she said with a cringe.
“Hmmm,” Max said. “That’s not good.”
“Wait a second,” Thomas said. “If Rankstine’s using the orb to create this barrier, and it’s working pretty strongly, why would his powers diminish outside the city?”
Kirsten shrugged, “Maybe the orb’s only designed for one task and he’s exceeding its limits? How else can you explain the man who followed Bo and turned around halfway, seemingly confused?”
“That’s true. Well, however it works, it’s beyond my comprehension. I just hope you’re right that he can’t see us or influence us in the way he’s been managing the townspeople,” Thomas said.
“Either way, Rankstine’s probably sending his guards out to the house right now to look for us,” Kirsten said.
“And when he doesn’t find you there, he’ll post scouts to watch the place until we return,” Britt said.
“You think he’ll do that?” Kirsten asked.
“I would if I were him,” Britt said.
“Shoot,” Kirsten said. “I was afraid of that.”
“What if we wait until dark and find the guards or guard left behind to watch the place, then take him out ourselves?” Bo suggested.
Britt’s eyes searched the ground, thinking that option over for a moment. “You know, that might be a good idea.”
“Really?” Bo said, straightening up and smiling at Kirsten.
“Yeah, I don’t want to sleep outside any more than the rest of you. If we can locate the guard before he can find us, Rankstine won’t be able to tell if his guard is still watching the place or tied up in a chair in your house,” Britt said. “We might even be able to get some information out of him.”
“This is all assuming the orb’s use for observing people ends just outside town and that there’s only one guard,” Max said. “What if there are multiple guards or he can see us. What if he sends a kurr to do the guarding?”
“We can handle his men,” Britt said confidently. “The kurr on the other hand…” she trailed off. “We can reassess later if that is the case.”
“Sounds good to me,” Kirsten said, Thomas and Bo nodding in agreement.
