“Are you out of your mind?” he demanded. “That creature might resurrect any moment.”
“I think we are on the guest part of the tapestry right now,” she said. He stared at her blankly. “It seems as though this part is meant to be separate from the track the hunters are on. I think that originally, those trapped in the spell were not meant to find this area. It was meant for observing Faeries.”
He nodded. His face scrunched as though he was still trying to catch up with her reasoning. “It is possible.”
“And that’s why we could walk off the path in that section of the tapestry—the enchanter would not want their guests hurt.”
Thornwood nodded. “It does make sense in many ways, but if that is the case, it should not have been that easy for us to find it.”
“Unless the magic is overgrown.” Mouse gestured to the path. “You said magic becomes unpredictable with age. What if this Tapestry Hunt is unpredictable and the magic keeping the guest pathseparate from the rest of the spell has eroded? Could that explain why we can see it?”
Thornwood’s eyes widened. He turned back toward the main path, racing to it with Mouse close on his heels. He touched the ground where the two courses met, and his eyes closed tight.
“What are you doing?” Mouse asked.
“Looking for the seam of the spell. If there is any fraying, I will have a clearer picture of the various parts. It’s difficult while separated from my power, but I might be able to pick it apart.”
He dug his fingers into the thin gap between the stone and plain dirt. Then, he moved his hands up and down the line, pressing each finger into the hole in a sequence known only to him. The movement reminded Mouse of a harpist strumming an instrument. Finally, his fingers snagged on something, and he pulled upward. Thornwood’s features shifted as he strained against the invisible force. A slash appeared in the air, as small as a coin. Thornwood released the magic, sinking to his knees.
“You were right. This path was for guests,” he wheezed.
“So, something is wrong with the spell?”
“Yes and no,” he said. “The spell is working as intended. The hunters hunt, and the creature is hunted. But the rules aren’t working anymore, giving the hunters the advantage.”
“How do the rules of a Tapestry Hunt usually work?” Mouse asked.
“More often than not, the caster grows tired of the spell before it finishes properly, but traditionally the enchantment ends when the creature or mortal dies. Since the caster left without ending this spell, it has been playing on a loop all this time. It is likely that the enchantment on Thistlemarsh itself latched onto this errant magic, as it is very strong.”
“So, if the Tapestry Hunt was working correctly, the guests could leave as soon as the hunt ended. If we can fix it, we can walk out justas easily as one of the Faerie King’s guests. How do we stop the spell from repeating now?”
“We cannot fix it unless you have a hidden penchant for tapestry magic.”
“We are trapped, then.” Mouse slumped down at the edge of the path. She ran her palms over her eyelids, and she thought of the creature’s pale blue irises. “The hunters always catch the creature, right?”
“Yes. The creature is meant to frighten the hunters, but the hunters always win.”
“What if we changed that?”
“Why?”
“In this Tapestry Hunt, the hunters winning is not how to end the spell. Perhaps the spell may break safely if the creature destroys the hunters.”
“How do you propose we fashion a win for the creature? Somehow, I doubt that we will get far speaking to it rationally.”
“No, but we can start by giving it a fair advantage, while distracting the hunters at the same time.”
“With what? Are you willing to risk the chance that they attack you instead?”
“If they consider themselves gentlemen, which they will if they are the spirits of Dewhursts, then a lady asking for their help on the side of the road might distract them enough to give the creature an advantage.”
“You have a disturbing faith in your family. What if they are not gentlemen and discern, correctly, that you are an untrustworthy distraction?”
“Then I will give you enough time to lure the creature out to the hunters without their noticing. Unless you have a better idea,” Mouse said, swallowing the fear in her throat, “then I think my plan is our best option.”
A few silent moments passed between them, with Thornwood searching on either side of the path as though an idea might appear there as the hunters and the creature had. Finally, he sighed.
“Fine, I admit I cannot think of anything better.”