“I can’t believe you brought us here. It’s like we’re inside the Matrix,” Peter whispered, while Zoe stuck her head out from the corridor’s end toward the stage. I had brought them here right after letting Noxy copy the Elephant’s Foot design one more time.

  “Shush,” I urged him, “your girl is working.” I pointed at Zoe, hoping she was focusing on the soul mark’s location.

  “It’s okay. That doesn’t bother me,” she said as she turned back toward us. Her eyes flickered between Peter and me before dropping to the floor. “I’m not much help in here, Lex. The mark is in that room, yes, but it feels… dispersed.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Like it’s waiting to coalesce into a single point. And before that happens, it’s everywhere and nowhere at once.”

  “So I’ll have to face those things in there?”

  “You don’t have to do anything,” Peter reminded me, and Zoe nodded in agreement.

  “Oh, you know what I mean,” I replied, rolling my eyes. They could be so literal. “Thanks for coming. See you later. I’ll be fine, I promise.” That clearly didn’t land well as both of them kept staring at the huge sleeping fox on the stage.

  “I’ll teleport out as soon as anything remotely dangerous happens,” I added. “I really do value my life, guys.”

  “Let’s get going, Zoe. It was always like this,” Peter said, gesturing at the stage and the entire bizarre chamber. “Just… before this”—he waved at the puppets, the fox, the coded walls—“her gigs weren’t magical beasts.”

  “You don’t want to stay and help?” Zoe asked him.

  “I do. But I want to spend time with you, and since she didn’t actually ask for help, I’m prioritizing you, Zee.”

  As soon as his lips stopped moving, she launched herself at him, arms around his neck, kissing him. I used the moment to gently touch both of them and send them straight to my room.

  I hope it will be something easy for once. Something I am actually good at.

  [Fingers and walking legs crossed!]

  “Stay here, Lio,” I said thankful for Anansi’s support, and he landed on the actual floor, sitting like a cat with his head held high, watching me with intensity. I, on the other hand, dropped silently to the floor below. Any noise I might’ve made was canceled by the power given to my boots. Boots that believed themselves not only mechanical and powered, but also those of a rabbit. And rabbit feet don’t land with much ruckus.

  I waited a second for something to happen, but when nothing did, I moved toward the stage, jumping onto its edge as soon as I got close.

  “Welcome!” a man’s voice greeted me out of nowhere, and all the puppets turned their faces toward me. “Come and witness the betrayal,” he added, and suddenly a curtain dropped all around me—red and embroidered with golden threads. When it rose, I was both no longer on the stage and still on it.

  My own two eyes told me I stood in a grand royal chamber inside some old palace or castle, with a throne at the front. Upon it sat a young blonde queen, wearing a long, beautiful dress. Other people stood at the sides like a court, and a few held the fox in shackles made of a metal covered with chrome. The fox was awake now, facing the queen. But through my painted eye I saw that I was still on the same stage as before; it was only the puppets that had moved, taking their places inside an illusion. Playing the people and wearing their skins.

  This is some kind of play.

  [Seems so,] Anansi replied.

  I’ll play along. Maybe that will give me the mark.

  I took a place among the people on my right, which put the fox to my left and the throne directly opposite me.

  “The court, milady, brought the beast to be judged by Your Highness, according to thy rules,” said the person who, in the illusion, wore a jester’s clothes, while outside of it was just another puppet pulled by strings. My mind overlapped both images, letting me perceive them at the same time.

  “Why would I lower my station to face that wilder?” the Queen responded in a voice that belittled not only the beast but somehow every other person here as well. She was so full of herself it poured out of her in every little mannerism and even in her eye movements. She placed a hand upon her chest in a manner so fragile I thought it might tear off at any second, then added, “It is obvious that the creature was a thief.”

  “Obvious!” the choir of people chanted around me. “A thief!” they added.

  “I stole nothing!” the fox replied in a hissing but otherwise deep voice. His fur looked like fire, but up close it couldn’t be any clearer that it was just for show.

  A person moved from the crowd in front of me and faced the Queen. It was a man wearing armor with a tabard over it, showing a knight impaling a fox-like creature.

  “My Queen. My name is Sir Galavin the Foxcatcher, of the House Hound,” he said, fist to his chest in a salute, then kneeled on one knee.

  “Stand up, good sir. What say you?” the Queen responded, with a fragile flick of her hand.

  “It was I who captured the beast at the dawn of yesterday. At the green fields outside the castle. It was obvious to me the moment I saw it that it was the one who took the crown from you and went to hide it.”

  “Lies!” the fox hissed, which earned him a lash from the guardian standing nearby. It left a nasty red cut on his fur, and blood began dripping onto the floor.

  “Silence!” the Queen shouted. “Did you find the crown as well, my dear knight?”

  “No, milady. The beast must have hidden it already. There was nothing on it. And there were many mounds and holes in the ground around. It must have hidden it in the earth itself,” the knight continued.

  “Such an awful thief! A liar! Beast!” the people kept shouting.

  “I brought the fox as soon as I could and threw it into your jail, milady. I was deaf to the untruths it kept whispering the whole time.”

  “What kind of untruths?” the Queen asked, while I kept watching the play unfold. There seemed to be something wrong about their narrative. Either the play didn’t account for all the details, or it did, and they were crucial. Nonetheless, I kept that to myself and continued watching.

  “He, your Highness, had the audacity to declare that he wants nothing to do with a crown!”

  A hushed wave of surprise ran through the crowd. People covered their faces and whispered among themselves.

  “Thank you, Sir Galavin. You may rest now,” the Queen said. “Who else is to speak?”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “Sir Baldwin, my lady,” the jester announced as he came before her. Soon after, another person stepped out of the crowd—this time from my side. He wore mail armor with no tabard, but was bigger and more massive than the previous knight. His mustaches curled, jumping up and down as he spoke.

  “Your Highness, it was I who saw the beast for what it truly is.”

  “Explain yourself, Sir Baldwin.”

  “My guards saw it sneaking around the courtyard two nights before,” —so was it you or your guards, please, keep the story straight— “It went into the kitchen, and we quickly moved after it, where it was confronted. I stood vigil at the very doors and didn’t let it go any farther than those few entry halls, milady.”

  “You drove it away before it could do more harm. That is commendable, good sir!” the Queen replied, and the people applauded, smiling widely. Didn’t they see how full of shit these people were?

  “Yes. We stopped the beast, but unfortunately not before it could steal the crown, milady. I don’t know how it managed it. I take full responsibility.”

  “Yes. Yes, good sir. The fox is a trickster, and tricked you, that is for sure. Go at ease,” she replied.

  “Milady! Your Highness, may I speak as well!?” a person shouted, stepping out of the crowd. He wore a long robe and a pointy black hat. He smiled briefly at the captain of the guards as they passed each other. I watched Baldwin as he returned to his place among the people, and when the mage began speaking, he found the previous speaker in the crowd and smiled again.

  “…and ordered the beast’s apprehension,” the mage began his sob story, recounting how he had seen the fox being chased away and then noticed the crown missing. “I called for good Sir Galavin, of course, as he is the one with the most experience. The rest was history.”

  “Can you use your magic to find the crown in the beast-made hollows?” the Queen asked.

  “I am sorry, milady, but its magic is very powerful. It may never work as long as it lives,” he replied.

  “Very well, my good subjects. I have made my decisions. Given all the facts, I declare the fox guilty of stealing the crown and hereby order its execution!”

  The crowd chanted in excitement, demanding blood, while the fox thrashed under the chains that bound him. I looked around briefly at all those people in their highly animated state and decided that it was probably my cue to interrupt the whole thing.

  “Excuse me, Your Highness,” I said, stepping out of the crowd and bowing deeply. The crowd hushed immediately; every eye lay upon me.

  “Who are you? Why do you speak?”

  “My name is Veronica Venus, and I am a private detective travelling your royal roads in search of cases such as this one. I believe Your Highness has been fed a bunch of lies just now.” This once again made the crowd stir. They felt uneasy. I heard the word traitor whispered in a few places.

  “Quiet, subjects,” the Queen calmed her people. “You may speak, but briefly.”

  “This whole story makes no sense, milady. Your guards noticed the fox making an attempt to infiltrate the kitchen to steal a crown. Do you, milady, keep it in the kitchen?”

  “Of course not,” she blurted. “I keep it in my royal chambers.” She added a laugh, and the court quickly followed.

  “But the guard captain mentioned never letting the fox go past them, and yet the crown was supposedly stolen. All according to the mage, who just happened to notice it missing when he saw the fox being chased away.”

  “Are you telling me that I am a liar!?” the mage raised his voice over the crowd.

  “Yes. That’s exactly what I am saying. You, the guard captain, and the Foxcatcher.”

  “I didn’t lie!” Galavin shouted. “I caught the beast and brought it here.”

  “Milady,” I continued, “was the beast washed in your royal jail?”

  “Of course not. Why would we wash the thieving beast?” she replied, making the crowd go silent.

  “Then why are its paws clean? He supposedly rummaged through the ground, making many hollows to hide the crown, and yet he is almost spotless. No earth behind his claws or on the fur at all.”

  “It’s magic, milady! This be a cunning beast,” the mage interrupted again.

  “You heard the man, it was magic. Nothing less.”

  “Magic!” the crowd chanted. “Kill the beast! Kill the beast!” Their voices rose in an almost melodical frenzy.

  “My court has spoken, and so have I. The beast is to be blamed, and I order its execution,” she continued.

  I looked through the crowd of marionettes, ignoring the illusions, trying to find the crown, but failing. None of the puppets held anything at all.

  “Is there any other way to save it, milady? I believe it to be a complicated case.”

  “You dare say I am mistaken in my judgment?” I kind of expected an answer in this exact manner, but still—I believed my task here was to spot the truth, however inconvenient it was.

  “Unfortunately, my queen, your subjects are deceiving you. Starting with your knight, following with your guardsman, and ending with your mage. They are in cahoots and are lying.”

  “This cannot stand, my lady!” the knight declared. “I demand a duel to defend my honor.”

  “Very well,” the Queen replied, and the crowd moved back to make room for the knight to face me. He drew his sword and pointed it at me.

  “Am I getting any weapon for this?” I asked.

  “You should’ve brought yours when you woke up this morning and decided to insult me and my family,” Galavin said, spitting in front of me. I saw the skeleton of his puppet behind the image shown through the illusion.

  “Okay then,” I replied, summoning Ghostflame from my Domain and pointing it at my opponent.

  “What’s this? A knife? Nothing longer?” he asked, laughing as he turned to look at the others, who laughed as well.

  “You may begin,” the Queen said, and I immediately jumped with all my power onto the guy’s chestplate, spring-vaulted off of it into the air, and made one quick slash with my knife through the green strings above him—those I could see only with my magical eyes. What was supposed to be a test proved highly effective, as the knight dropped unmoving to the ground and I landed at his side.

  “That cannot be!” the guard captain shouted. “This is the devil herself! Let me teach her a lesson, my Queen.” She motioned lazily for him to follow through with his words. He unsheathed his own blade and rushed at me as well. His puppeted form moved in awkward, stiff movements, while the one animated in the illusion looked like a normal person.

  I let him pass me in his rage by jumping to the side, throwing a card into the air above him. I blinked toward it and slashed the strings off, just to land in a roll before the Queen, who stood up, surprised by the turn of events.

  I straightened my spine and looked her in the eyes.

  “Beast should be questioned,” I said.

  “Die! Die, demon!” the mage shouted as he rushed toward me without any courtesy. This one was different, though. Despite being puppeted like the others, right before his attack, I saw through the painted eye on Lio’s forehead that the cage hanging above the scene stirred and shook violently. Soon electricity arced along the surface of the construction, going down to the tip pointing at me.

  “By the power of lightning!” the mage shouted at the same time, pointing his wand at me. “I smite thee!”

  What followed was my sudden teleportation out of that spot toward the place where the card I had thrown before landed—dodging a lightning strike aimed at my exact position, one that should have obliterated me and the Queen.

  I didn’t wait for the dust to settle. I jumped once again toward the strings puppeting the mage and cut right through them, dropping him dead.

  That’s when the curtain fell around me once again, only to rise a second later, showing all of the puppets I hadn’t cut circling around me, with the fiery fox standing tall and proud, a grimace on its face that looked almost like a smile.

  “You thought me innocent?” it asked, and as it spoke, the cage above opened its bottom hatch and released the blue bird. It glided around the scene and landed a bit farther away with something clutched in its claw. It watched me intensely.

  “I thought that they were lying. I don’t know about you.”

  “Goo answe!” the bird replied, each word slightly off-sound, cut just a bit too early. “He alway decei.”

  “Not always, my friend,” the fox replied.

  “What was the purpose of all of that?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. “Was it a test?”

  “Just a play in good faith,” the fox said. “We show those who reach us something curated to them. Something they were looking for.”

  “I was looking for a bunch of deceiving people?”

  “It seemed to us that you wanted to witness a deception without a clear outcome, and we delivered what you were searching for.”

  “But it was clear that they were the deceivers. Wasn’t it?”

  “They were, and yet the crown simply wasn’t there.”

  “I was played then? Who had the crown?” I asked. It was the bird that answered.

  “You wi neve kno.”

  “But you”—I pointed at the fox—“told me I gave a good answer. Was that about realizing that despite their lies, you’re not off the hook?”

  “Was it what you realized?” he asked instead of answering, and I paused to think.

  “I think I liked spotting the lies because I’m accustomed to them. And I loved cutting the strings that marionetted the people. I wanted the truth.” I continued that thought in my head. I was a truth-seeker, always had been. That’s one of the most defining traits in my own self-image, and yet I lied left and right, obscuring the truth for others. There’s a duality in me that needs balance, and I wasn’t achieving it. I was either focused on the truth whenever I looked at the world as an artist, or on lying my way through it when I was a thief, a criminal, and an actress.

  “Should I be looking for the truth about myself in the lies I tell people? Or maybe I should look for the lie inside the truths?”

  “Yes, yes,” the fox replied.

  “We lik wha you ar sayin,” the bird added. “Tak thi.” It threw the bar it had been holding in its claws at my feet.

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s a control bar, used to pull the strings. You came here looking for it,” the fox said.

  I reached for the item lying on the ground and touched it.