The Mark of the Dragonfly

The following morning, Piper awakens in the luxurious surroundings of her train cabin with a sumptuous breakfast waiting for her. As she and Anna eat, Piper says they will need to find some clothes that aren’t torn and dirty, but she has no money. At these words, Anna produces a money belt stuffed with gold coins. Piper is staggered by the small fortune now at her disposal. She finds a merchant on the train who fits them both for shirts, pants, and new boots.

Piper is struck by Anna’s innocence and realizes how easy it would be to take the money and abandon the girl, but her conscience won’t allow such a betrayal. Once they get to a town called Tevshal, Piper intends to consult a seer named Raenoll, who belongs to the amphibious sarnun species. They communicate telepathically with each other and are renowned for their keen intuition. Piper hopes that Raenoll can reveal something about Anna’s hidden past. When Gee learns that the girls will disembark briefly at Tevshal, he warns them that slavers are in the area and someone might abduct them. Piper scoffs at his fears and refuses to tell him the full story about why they are hiding.