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the same holding dimension as her rotten
slimebag scumsucking cousin, Theodosius, former Administrator King.
    Obviously, no one had impressed on him the meaning of "former," because he had been
in a royal snit since the moment she walked into the holding area. She couldn't believe his
griping because no one granted him the respect and consideration he considered his due.
Obviously, neither had anyone ever impressed on him the fact that being Administrator King
meant he was supposed to put the needs and desires and best interests of others before his own.
    The current-and-dead queen had been the epitome of what a Faerie queen should be. She
spent thirty hours of the thirty-six-hour day tending to the problems and needs of the connected
Fae realms and Enclaves, not sitting around demanding that everyone wait on her hand and foot.
Sure, she got the silkwyrm clothes and the bottomless warehouse of chocolate, but she had Fae
watching her work whenever she was in the throne room--which was actually a glorified,
oversized office. Granted, it was supplied with better-than-average coffee and pastries, and the
cubicles had actual doors on them, but basically it was an office.
    Yes, most silkwyrms were so backed up in producing the much-desired clothes spun
without seams that some brides waited ten years so they could be married in an original
silkwyrm gown. But did that make up for the fact the late queen had essentially been in the
position of being mommy to a sprawling, multi-dimensional nation of temperamental brats who
sometimes couldn't find their own noses to wipe them, and then couldn't remember what a
handkerchief was for? Epsi shuddered at the mere idea of knowing thousands of Fae could watch
her at work at any one time. She would be too inhibited to get any work done, always worried
someone would catch her scratching her hair or her nose or burping or yawning or
slouching.
    Fortunately, Theodosius barely acknowledged her presence when Epsi appeared in the
holding area for suspects. Which, she learned when the next person landed in the holding
dimension, was a good thing. Her unwanted cousin could have charged over and tried to paw
through her bags and boxes and trunks of possessions to help himself to whatever he absolutely
needed for survival and hadn't thought to bring--or more accurately, hadn't thought to tell his
servants to pack for him. Epsi found a cubicle where she could stash her luggage, put a magical
resonance lock on it so no one but her could get in, and set about to introduce herself to the other
occupants currently under suspicion and investigation.
    After about three hours, she had made a handball date with her old school chum
Pippirella, followed by joining in the book discussion group that had formed. And wasn't it a
little depressing that people had been there long enough to form a book discussion group? Then
the vortex opened again and Braccadocius stumbled through, looking like he was about to burst
into tears. That had been his normal expression as long as Epsi could remember, since they had
been in the nursery section of the purple blood school, so she wasn't worried.
    Theodosius saw Braccy and nearly flew across the common room to land on him. For a
moment, Epsi thought he would hug the newcomer. From the dawning, trembling smile on
Braccy's face, he thought the same. He opened his arms, reciprocating the open arms of
Theodosius--and stood there, arms open, while Theodosius descended on the pile of luggage that
came through with him.
    "You have got to have a copy of the most recent Magical Mumbler ,"
Theodosius snarled, after opening half of Braccy's bags and tossing most of the contents out onto
the floor. Epsi was impressed to see Braccy had a valet spell in effect, immediately putting
everything back into the bag as soon as Theodosius tossed it aside. "What good are you, showing
up without it?"
    "You didn't place an order with him, did you?" Epsi snapped, and stepped up to put
herself between her