Folding the Sky

-24-

Chike and Kalindi stood side-by-side before Wendell's Rug Shop, neither of them moving.

Chike sighed and said, "Something tells me this is a terrible idea."

He expected the princess to reprimand him, to fix him with one of her deadly scowls and tell him not to be so yellow-bellied. To Chike's surprise, however, Kalindi nodded her agreement. "Probably," she said, "but we'll make it quick."

Chike frowned at her. "But if Sorin's in there—"

"Then we'll incapacitate him," Kalindi said. She stepped forward, disappearing into the shade beneath the front awning as she closed her hand around the doorknob. "Just like we discussed. We need to dig around here, Chike. Liesel could be hiding something."

"I know," Chike grumbled. Kalindi was right—if Liesel and Schmitt were really so closely interconnected, then she had to know where he was, or at least where he might be. He just didn't exactly like that their only way of confirming that was snooping around her house. Something about it made his conscience ache.

The front door squealed open, and though Kalindi started inside, Chike shook his head and drew her gently back by her elbow. She glared at him, but let him precede her.

Inside, it was empty and silent. No trap door fell out from underneath Chike's feet, no rigged projectile shot out at him as he passed the threshold and eased onto the uneven wooden floors. He cast a quick glance around, at the heavy, woolen rugs dangling from ceiling displays, at the smaller braided ones decorating metal racks, and only when he was sure it was safe did he wave Kalindi after him.

The princess clicked the front door shut behind her, instantly stifling the buzz of the outdoors. "Start with the desk," she ordered, weaving between the maze-like display of rugs until she landed at the desk in question. It was strewn with papers and empty ink canisters, an old, dented cash register sitting in its corner. "I'll check upstairs."

"Kalindi," Chike said, his tone dark. "Please be careful."

She hesitated, fingers curving as she moved the curtain aside to reveal the staircase. Then a smile, or at least something like one, came to her face. She told him, "I'm always careful," and then vanished up the steps, her footfalls silent and weightless.

Chike rolled his eyes, and turned back to the desk. He began with the papers, sifting through them, unfolding and folding them up again when they proved to be nothing more than invoices or bills that had already been paid. The cash register was locked, and he knew nothing about lock-picking—that would've been more of Aldric's thing, he thought absently—so he left it. Instead, he pulled the front drawer open.

It was another stash of papers, though this one was much thinner. Chike sifted through more old bills, more purchase records, a few coupons to local food markets. He shoved aside a newspaper clipping about a new educational program opening in Naino, and stopped.

A photo had caught his attention. It was laminated, its glossy surface glinting white as he lifted it, careful not to bend or blemish it. In the photo, three people sat on what looked to be a grassy hill, all of them smiling at the camera, their eyes squinty as if they were looking into the sun. Chike hadn't seen what Zuri had seen, but nonetheless he could gather who at least two of them were. One of them was Liesel, hair blowing into her face, glasses at the very end of her nose, and the other, with his arm around her, had to be Vernon Schmitt.

The person Chike didn't recognize at all was the young boy sitting between them, eyes round and cheeks rounder, mouth open in a laugh. His mind fought to make sense of it. Had Liesel and Vernon had a son together? And if so, where did Sorin fit into all of this?