The goblin snarled and jabbered at the lead star, forcing Sir Carter to pull back on its rope in order to keep them apart. The bat, thankfully, seemed less interested in attacked and more interested in defending itself. Meanwhile, the King drew a key from a cord around his neck and handed it to Sir Carter, who used it to unlock the gate.

The bent bars meant that the goblin would have been able to squeeze through them unhindered, although nobody else in the party would have been able to. Peter could have, perhaps, although nobody would have dared him to. Cerys stopped suddenly, even as the rest of the party passed through the gate, ignoring the screeching of the lead star.

“Wait!” she called out. “Someone is missing!”

James turned and looked at her. “Who?”

“There was another man,” she said. “The one in the cloak, the one whose face I could not see.”

“What are you talking about?” Carter snapped, turning around when he heard what she was saying.

“The one they called his highness!” Cerys cried out, becoming frustrated. “He didn’t follow us. Is he okay?”

James shook his head. “I told you, just tell yourself that he was as good as not there.”

“Because he wasn’t,” Nashtra finished for him. “That was just an illusion.”

“What is the–”