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“What’s this about your airship being too full, now?” Granny asked. Her eyes glittered with mischief.

“Figure of speech.” Will waved a hand dismissively.

“Well, that’s a relief because I’ve spent the whole morning baking.” She sighed. “I thought you might need some extra fuel. For the big secret journey.” She winked, setting the basket down in front of Will. “There’s a note inside about what keeps and what doesn’t. Eat the ones wrapped in blue cloth first, they won’t last more than a couple of days. The rest should be fine for up to a week. It’s important that you eat properly. All four of you.”

“Four?” Dan asked.

Will was suddenly overtaken by a coughing fit. Arthur thumped him on the back.

Luna looked at Will with a triumphant expression.

“Ah, don’t act so surprised. You should know better than to try and keep a secret from a fairy. You know our hearing is legendary. I was back at Westabrook mansion to do a spot of cleaning for Buffalo yesterday and I couldn’t help but hear him making some arrangements to be away for a bit. Said he’d be unreachable. Sounded quite excited about it too.”

“Granny!” Will’s eyes bugged out. “You should stop talking now!”

“Right you are. Wouldn’t want to give my Danny-boy any ideas about searching for his ancestors, would we? But if you’ve room for any more passengers, I’ve always wanted to take a trip up the Nile to see the Pyramids.”

Will took another swig of Arthur’s coffee and looked like he regretted it immediately, but it seemed to do the trick. He managed to recompose himself and peeked in the basket.

“Thank you, Luna,” he said, with genuine sincerity. “I appreciate it. It all looks so delicious. I hope I can wait till tomorrow to tuck in.”

“Save it for the journey. I know how much energy porting takes. And take care, sweet boy. Of everyone!” Luna gave him a quick kiss on both cheeks and flitted off.

They all stared after her.

“So, you’re leaving tomorrow, then?” Dan asked.

“All packed and ready,” Will confirmed.

“Great,” Dan said. “I was hoping you—both of you, actually—could come to a thing with me tonight. It’s at a pub in downtown Boston.”

He’d been planning to go it alone, but now he was reconsidering it. It would be much more fun to hit the tournament scene again with a couple of friends in tow. He might even enjoy it.

“A pub, you say?” Will’s eyes perked up.

“I suppose I’m free.” Arthur looked up. “What’s happening there?”

“You’ll see.” Dan smiled.

The Weighted Anchor had been a fixture in the Charlestown neighborhood since horses and buggies were a regular sight on the cobblestone streets. The interior was dark, with old wood paneling and dim lights. They’d had the same selection of beers on tap for several decades and the smell of it had seeped into everything. The floor was tacky. No man-made mop had a chance against an entire century’s worth of spills.

Dan had spent most of his adult life in bars like this one. It felt like he was coming home.

Tonight’s trivia competition, run by The Lucky Duck Trivia Company, was already drawing a crowd when they arrived. Dan spotted a few familiar faces, trivia circuit regulars he recognized from years on the road. But there were plenty of new faces as well. There were around thirty competitors in five elimination rounds leading to a final round of six teams. The winner would take the pot. And tonight’s pot was substantial. He hadn’t told anyone about his intention to throw his hat back in the ring. He’d made a few calls to see if there was still space for contestants, and if Tom Horner would be running the show.

Dan scanned the room twice, cataloguing everyone and everything. He couldn’t turn off the habit. It was, he supposed, a characteristic of the Wilder aspect of his nature. Always the predator, even when he had no prey nor any desire to hunt.

He’d expected a crowd of Ordinaries tonight, so he was surprised to feel the strong presence of magical folk. It hummed like a low-level frequency, pinging between certain individuals. He’d already memorized their faces and positions by the time he sat down.

There was a woman in the corner with antler-bone earrings who was doing something subtle with her fingers that suggested she was using some sort of magical mnemonic system. Two men by the bar whose preternatural stillness had a quality he associated with certain reptilian shapeshifter lines. A nervous fae teenager near the back sipped a nonalcoholic beverage. His cocktail napkin was twisted into shreds.

The guilt Dan had been carrying, about using his magical ability as an advantage in an Ordinary tournament, loosened. The room was not as uniform as he had assumed.

“Lot of magical folks here tonight,” Arthur said as he took the stool beside Dan.

“More than usual for this sort of thing.”

“Well, what did you expect?” Will’s eyes lit up. As usual he was thriving on the buzz that was building. He rubbed his hands together excitedly. “They probably wanted to see if it was true.”