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and leapt backward. She scrambled wildly in the other direction. Pony caught hold of her, hugging her tight with his free hand, his shields spilling down over her, encompassing her.
    "Got her!" he cried, and backed away, the others closing ranks around them.
    The whistle blew again, so sharp and piercing a sound that even the monster checked to look upward.
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    Someone stood on the Westinghouse Bridge that spanned the valley, doll-small by the distance. Against the summer-blue sky, the person was only a dark silhouette—too far away to see if he was man, elf, or oni. The whistle trilled, and, focused on the sound, Tinker realized that it was two notes, close together, a shrill discord.
    The monster shook its head as if the sound hurt and bounded away, heading for the bridge, so fast it seemed it teleported from place to place.
    The whistler spread out great black wings, resolving all question of race. A tengu, the oni spies created by blending oni with crows. Tinker could guess which one—Riki. What she couldn't guess was why he had just saved them, or how.
    " Domi ." Pony eclipsed the escaping tengu and his monstrous pursuer. He peered intently at her hands and then tugged at her clothing, examining her closely. "You are hurt."
    "I am?"
    "Yes." He produced a white linen handkerchief that he pressed to a painful area of her head. "You should sit."
    She started to ask why, but sudden blackness rushed in, and she started to fall.

    2: GO ASK ALICE
    Tinker fell a long time in darkness.
    She found herself at the edge of the woods near Lain's house, the great white domes of the Observatory gleaming in moonlight. The ironwood forest stood solemn as a cathedral before her. Something white flickered through the night woods, brightness in humanoid form. Like a moth, Tinker was drawn toward the light, entering the forest.
    A woman darted ahead of her, wearing an elfin gown shimmering as if formed of fiber optics tapped to a searchlight—brightness weaving through the forest dimness. She was so brilliant white that it hurt to look at her. A red ribbon covered her eyes and trailed down the dress, bloodred against the white. On the ground, the ribbon snaked out into the distance.
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    It came to Tinker, knowledge seeping into her like oil into a rag, that she knew the woman and they were searching for someone. In the distance was a thumping noise, like an axe biting into wood.
    "He knows the paths, the twisted way," the woman told Tinker while they searched for this mystery person. "You have to talk to him. He'll tell you how to go."
    "We're looking in the wrong place," Tinker called.
    "We fell down the hole and through the looking glass," the woman cried back. "He's here! You only have to look!"
    Tinker scanned the woods and saw a dark figure flitting through the trees, keeping pace with them. It was a delicate-boned woman in a black mourning dress. A blindfold of black lace veiled her eyes. Tears ran unchecked down her face. At her feet were black hedgehogs, nosing about in the dead litter of the forest floor. In the trees surrounding Black and the hedgehogs was a multitude of crows. The birds flitted from limb to limb, calling "Lost! Lost!" in harsh voices.
    "Black knows all about him." Tinker said. "Why don't we ask her?"
    "She is lost in her grief," White breathed into Tinker's ear. "There is no thread between you. She has no voice that you will listen to."
    The thumping noise came from the direction that they needed to head, speeding up until it sounded like helicopter rotors beating the air.
    "Wait!" Tinker reached out to catch hold of White, to warn her. She missed, grabbing air. "The queen is coming. You've murdered time. It's always six o'clock now."
    "We can't stand still!" White caught Tinker's hand and they were flying low, like on a hoverbike, dodging