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the other houses, it differed from them only in that one of the front windows appeared to have a broken pane. It stood two stories tall, but was narrower than it was high, and the roof was slanted to the back. Despite Alexan’s long absence, the house looked to be kept fairly neat, with the exception of the broken window. A grey fox came out of the house when they pulled up, wearing a simple linen dress, a blue apron, and a surprised expression.
    “ Master Alexan,” she said, curtseying as he stepped down, though her eyes remained on Jonas. “Is this good news?”
    Alexan grinned at her. “Julianna, this is Jonas.”
    “ Pleased to meet you.” Jonas extended a paw, and Julianna took it warily.
    “ Are you sponsoring Master Alexan? Or are you here to investigate…?” She eyed his clothes as she spoke.
    “ Neither,” Alexan cut in. “Jonas is going to be staying with me.”
    “ Oh,” she said, and then nodded, almost winking at Alexan. “I see. Very good, sir. Shall I prepare the spare room?”
    Jonas started to say no, but Alexan spoke first. “That will be fine, thank you, Julianna.”
    “ Pleasure to meet you, sir.” The grey fox curtsied and walked briskly into the house.
    “ The spare room?” Alexan was already walking back to the wagon, but Jonas stayed where he was standing.
    “ Sure. What about it? It’s clean.”
    “ No, I mean…”
    Alexan was starting to lift a crate out of the back of the wagon. “Will you come give me a paw with this already?”
    Jonas didn’t say anything more as they moved the crates of weapons into the house, to a storeroom in the back. Several crates were already stacked there, and the smell of wood was strong in Jonas’s nostrils. “Why didn’t you take these to Tephos?”
    “ They weren’t here when I left.” Alexan glanced at the crates. “Some of the merchants I deal with bring things by while I’m away. They know by now that I’m good for it.” He hurried out again.
    Jonas watched Alexan as they moved crates, trying to figure out the fox. At times he didn’t seem to want Jonas around at all—and then he’d given him his coat and smiled that smile. And he had invited Jonas into his house. So maybe it was presumptuous of Jonas to have thought they’d be sharing a room. These things would come in time, he told himself. And it was nice going to bed without a sour aftertaste in his muzzle, or an ache under his tail.
    All the same, as he pulled the blankets over him and curled up alone, he missed Sasha, Pike, Richy, Alicar, and even Tally more than ever.

Chapter 5
     
    Jonas had a chance to examine Alexan’s merchandise before he got to meet his friends. Alexan had him inventory the stock as he carried it out to take to his local market stall. He had a number of finely carved bows with intricate designs that made Jonas want to trace them over and over with his claws; he had a number of wooden handles without blades that had simpler designs but were made from exotic-smelling woods. They felt smooth and good in Jonas’s paw.
    Also in his inventory were a number of finely fletched arrows—without tips—and some narrow wooden darts. Then there were shields, all wooden and of various sizes; they took up the most room. A few had beautiful designs around the edges, but most were unfinished in the front.
    “ The buyer has them painted,” Alexan said when Jonas asked him about it. “Just count them, okay?”
    He’d come back from the market that day in a bad mood. Normally he liked to talk about the weapons because he was proud of his merchandise, and Jonas had hoped that would distract him from whatever was bothering him. “What’s the matter?” he asked, but Alexan ignored him and went on inspecting Jonas’s numbers.
    “ Are they okay?” Jonas asked when the fox put down the paper. Alexan had a strange look in his eye, a worrisome look.
    “ Come on.” He grabbed Jonas’s wrist and led him to the bedroom, where he pointed to the bed. “Get