Watching Athena's door close, Derrick hesitated a moment. Then he turned and slipped over to a wall hanging and activated the secret door behind it. Slipping inside, he hurried to the guards' quarters. Leaving a message to have a "chaperone" posted with Athena in Erik's room, he silently slipped out.

*****
Tracy looked around cautiously. She had a fine selection of foliage in her basket for finishing up the decorations. It would be an easy matter to sneak back to her hiding place and check on the money. It was an unnecessary move though and she dared not do anything needlessly. Besides, there had been extra patrols walking into and out of the village. Sighing, she paused at a narrow bridge and stared at the water below contemplating how long to wait before resuming her raids. She didn't notice the shadow on the road approaching until a wolf's growl stilled her heart.