"If you can't find what you are looking for on Phoenixbrook market, chances are it doesn't exist. And chances are, whatever happens, you'll find a dozen things you never realised DID exist and which, suddenly, you'll find yourself coveting." - Snippet from an old review in a Venuvian market trader's journal.

The following day, while Leana strolled in the direction of The Bookshelf to begin the day's shift, Eliki headed straight for Andrina's cottage, wearing black jeans and a jet black t-shirt. He had promised to help her on the jewellery stall today, doubling as a chance to collect the crystal for the mask, which thankfully had arrived - according to Andrina's somewhat wordy email. The snowkitten knocked loudly on the old wooden door, hearing a muffled "Hang on! I'll be there in a moment!"

Eliki waited patiently, looking along the cottage path at the spring flowers already in bloom. There were masses of red daffodils, intertwined with multi-coloured tulips, and near the gate in pride of place, was a bush sporting blue roses. A short time later, the front door opened and Andrina - in a tight pink top and blue shorts - ambled out carrying two fairly large luggage bags, containing the day's merchandise.

As Eliki prepared to lift one of the bags onto his shoulder, Andrina told him, "I've just got to nip back in and grab a coupla things." She vanished back indoors, reappearing swiftly with a flask, a pack of biscuits, and a small wooden box. The flask and biscuits were promptly shoved into her luggage bag, before she handed the box to Eliki.

"And this, kind sir, is your crystal."

"Thanks for taking care of it," Eliki replied, pocketing the box carefully.

"S'okay, Koreen emailed me to say it was on the way, though she still left me as befuddled as a blue mushroom. She didn't really give any details away about it at all."

Eliki grinned. "Probably because she knew you'd struggle to stop leaking those same details to me and Leana."

They headed along the ancient cobbled street towards the marketplace, weighed down by the bags, while Andrina retorted, "Don't cast aspirations like that, or I'll have you carrying both bags before you know it."

Two possible ways to push his luck. He could either correct her 'aspirations' comment, or… "Hah!" he said with an impish grin. "I could handle both bags with no problem. I'm a male, and males lift heavy weights like that all the time. It's what we excel at."

Andrina smiled sweetly. "With those matchstick arms, I'm not risking you overbalancing and falling in the river."

Eliki stopped, putting the bag down, and then pretended to flex his (lack of) muscles. "Look. See that? I did at least two press ups this morning."

Andrina giggled. "Alright, I stand corrected. Come on, let's get to the stall and set things up, and sell things as if they were hot cakes. And speaking of cakes, which I was, we can have those biscuits too, if I haven't lost them, so the sooner we get there, the sooner we can start biting."

They both headed quickly along the thin path parallel to the riverside, which led to a well-worn small flight of stairs, down into the huge market place. Twenty minutes till the official opening time of 9am, and already the place was busy, with people setting up their stalls, or just wandering around to gain some idea of which traders were there today. Andrina waved at two racoon girls at the end of one aisle - owners of a gothic fashions stall - before heading down the next aisle, at the end of which was her own stall - one of several coveted permanent places on the market. This one was nicely situated near the decorative market square crystal clock, and within viewing distance of the fountain. Andrina and Eliki went through the well practiced routine of setting everything out, transferring bracelets, pendants, necklaces, rings and goodness knows how many assorted charms, from the two bags to the wooden boxes lying atop the purple velvet covered surfaces of the stall.

"Right!" Andrina exclaimed, rubbing her paws together. "That's done. Crack open that flask of tea and bring on the biscuits."

"And the customers," Eliki noted, wrestling with the tight lid of the flask as the market square clock chimed nine, and little bursts of coloured light floated up the clock's transparent pillar, like miniature fireworks.

Andrina snipped open the biscuit packet with a sharp claw. "Nonono, not until I've wedged at least two of these into my mouth! Quick, hurry up and open that flask, in case I choke on them."

Eliki just shook his head and sighed with a grin.

Leana stopped momentarily outside The Bookshelf. The window display had altered since she had been here last, two days ago, and she knew Kalia hadn't been here yesterday either, so that meant only one thing. Leana pushed the door, and it swung open with the tinkle of a bell. As she suspected, Kalia had turned up early today. The stocky snowleopard stood by one of the many magazine racks, his long tail trailing along the thick red carpet as he rearranged the stock.

Turning to face her, he said gruffly, "You're late."

Leana beamed. "Every day it's the same. I'm on time and you need a new clock."

Kalia smirked, returning to his magazines. "One of these days I'll catch you out and you'll think I'm serious."

Leana quickly walked into the small staff room behind the counter, putting her bag on one of the rickety wooden chairs, then brushing her hair with her paws and smoothing down her fluffy tail. She returned to the main shop, leaning on the counter.

"So, did you find anything interesting at the bookfair?" she asked.

Kalia nodded towards a large box by the till. "That little lot. Some right beauties in there, but they need pricing and sorting. If you want to make a start, I'll lend a paw when this lot is done. What about you? Did you have a decent birthday yesterday?"

Rummaging in the box, Leana replied, "Yeah, thanks, it was pretty good. We went to see… some relatives." She lifted out a rare and dusty book, which looked as if it had barely been read, despite its age. However, there was no indication anywhere as to what the title might have been. Bemused, she set it aside, calling across, "Thanks for the birthday card!"

Kalia stopped and scratched his white head fur. "But I didn't send… Oh, I see. Sorry, you know what I'm like. I'd forget my head if it wasn't glued on. I'll make it up to you at lunchtime."

"Ah, don't worry about it," Leana smiled. "Hey, you knew my mum, didn't you?"

"Koreen? Yeah, briefly. Why?"

"Did she ever mention a decorative mask?"

Kalia's brow furrowed as he searched distant memories. "Nope, not that I recall."

Leana took a few more books from the box before explaining. "She sent us a really elaborate one for our birthday. A mask she said she'd owned ever since she was a small kitten, yet neither Eliki nor me could remember ever seeing it. From what we could make out, the mask gives its wearer the chance to see what Phoenixbrook looked like centuries ago."

"Now that is something I'd love to see," Kalia mused.

Leana nodded. "Likewise. But mum made a big thing of ensuring its security, and however rare it may be, I don't really see why she was so worried about the Elysia getting hold of it. Looking back at Phoenixbrook's history isn't exactly a priority of theirs."

Kalia muttered as a magazine fell to the floor. "Well, I can't really help you there. Phoenixbrook's history is my specialist subject, but I know nothing about strange and mysterious masks. Maybe it does a lot more than Koreen told you."

Leana was about to mention how vague her mum had been about the mask's other abilities, when the bell over the door tinkled again, as the first customer of the day wandered in.

Eliki crinkled the empty biscuit wrapper. He vaguely remembered having no more than four of them, and Andrina had munched the rest. In three hours, even by her high standards, this was impressive work. Despite this, the red-haired snowkitten had already pledged that once Rich - the teenage racoon who owned the CD stall next to them - had returned from his break, they would be heading off for lunch at the Bridge Café. Until then, Eliki was minding Rich's stall. In return, the racoon would watch over the jewellery stall while they went for lunch.

He glanced over at Andrina, who was merrily piecing together a custom-made necklace for an elderly skunk lady, threading together assorted green and yellow beads, along with a small talisman that the customer had brought along. It was a fiddly task, but Andrina made the whole process look effortless.

Looking at the stalls stretching off into the distance, it never ceased to amaze the snowkitten - and the endless visitors - just how busy and diverse the Phoenixbrook markets were. Not only did the market cater for anyone seeking the traditional fruit, vegetables and other typical market fare, but there were also dazzling arrays of bookstalls, music sellers, and masses of local crafts. There were also a great many stalls owned by people from all over the globe, selling weird and wonderful foods, toys, musical instruments, magical artefacts, and things you couldn't even begin to imagine. A short way from Rich's stall, right by the fountain, a tall blue lizard was selling clocks set into pieces of slate, all decorated with elaborate tribal designs, and by his side, in a large silver cage, was a small golden bird with long, colourful tail feathers.

At that moment, Rich returned, and Eliki handed him the moneybag. The racoon thanked him for taking care of his stall, grinning at the sight of Andrina pacing up and down, eager to go. Eliki told Rich, "It's all yours, and thanks again. We'll be back as soon as Andrina's stomach permits it."

The Bridge café was only a short distance away. The brief journey took them past a posh teashop, over which hung an old iron model of a teapot. Next door was a newsagents, and seated on top of the doorframe was a small, metal black cat - so unobtrusive that you'd almost certainly miss it if you didn't already know it was there. The snowkittens crossed the small car park to the café entrance, and were greeted with the familiar smell of cooking and the sight of Paula, the wolf who owned the place.

She grinned toothily. "Heya, kitties! Decent weather for trading?"

Andrina nodded vigorously. "Oh it is! Far better than last week, with the sun and the nice blue sky to get the customers out, jamming up the whole of the market and buying everything in sight. In fact they've run us ragged this morning. We've been so busy that we'll have nothing left to sell if the afternoon goes as well, and we'll end up shutting early. Or we'll have to put Eliki's clothes up for sale."

Eliki bopped the cheeky snowkitten on the head lightly with his tail. "I thought you wanted to eat, silly."

Andrina nodded again, clasping her paws together, then pointing enthusiastically towards the menu. Not long after, both snowkittens dug into plates of egg and chips - Andrina's fail safe backup choice for when she was feeling indecisive. While her mouth was full, thus rendering her silent for a short time, Eliki took the chance to tell her about the mask, and how the crystal fitted in with it all.

"It sounds incredible!" Andrina exclaimed. "I hope you'll both let Kalia use the mask. He loves his Phoenixbrook history, and to see it as it actually was would make him positively glow with happiness, I'm sure of that."

"I hadn't thought of that," Eliki told her.

"Well, make sure you keep that thought thinking in your head then," Andrina added before disappearing to the toilets.

Eliki looked down, idly reading the coaster in front of him. A sudden unexplained feeling of tension shot through him, and seconds later a pair of white paws thumped down on the table. Connected to the white paws were the black arms, and imposing figure, of Jarret.

"Hello, kitten," he smirked.

Eliki sat back, arms folded. "What do you want now?"

Jarret flung himself into the seat Andrina had vacated. "That's not very friendly. I was hoping your sister would be here, but I guess you'll have to do for now."

Lucky me, Eliki thought, but knew better than to say it. Leana may have had few concerns about doing so, but her twin was more wary, with good reason.

Jarret leaned forward. "No doubt Ailee told you about Fennerton?"

Eliki looked mystified, wondering why the name did seem familiar, until Jarret sighed.

"January? Three clichéd idiots trying to act tough in The Burrow?"

If it had been possible, a light bulb would have appeared over Eliki's head. "Oh yeah, Fennerton was assumed to be their lucky leader. What of it?"

Jarret plucked one of Andrina's chips off the plate and bit into it, before replying, "Well, you can tell your sister that I finally managed to track down some more information about them. I don't think any of us would be too surprised to hear that they were tied in with the Elysia. That little nugget didn't take long to uncover. But, also to no great surprise, they weren't members of that stinking organisation."

He claimed another chip before continuing. "Basically, the Elysia needed someone to do their dirty work for them, so they hired a small time bunch of wannabe racketeers who had been watching far too many gangster movies. The Elysia gave them very little information, agreeing all three were expendable if things went wrong. And their dire excuse for a protection racket gave them a cover for why they were in the club in the first place."

Eliki frowned. "But why send them in there with the bare minimum of facts?"

Jarret grinned. "If they'd known who they were dealing with at The Burrow, Fennerton and Co would never have taken on the job."

How modest, Eliki thought. After a pause, he asked, "So where are they now?"

"Dead."

When Jarret offered nothing further, Eliki left his next question unspoken. However, the strange connection that criss-crossed between the two sets of twins meant that Jarret must have sensed what Eliki had been thinking.

He instantly muttered, "What do you think I am?"

Eliki just gave him a look that said it all. Jarret shrugged and continued. "Anyway, it seems Fennerton, on that night, had been carrying all kinds of weird gizmos, hidden away on his person. I suspect they were attempting to gather and record as much data as they could on just about everything possible. The layout of the building, or whether Ailee and me even still ran the place. Maybe even trying to find out as much as they could about the regular visitors. Anything to get a bit more leverage."

Eliki shook his head. "It all seems a weird set up. And why stir up all that trouble when they could have just stayed quiet? Why risk blowing their cover like that?"

Jarret contemplated grabbing one of the eggs from Andrina's plate. "To test our reactions? As I said, the gear Fennerton was carrying could have analysed just about anything, and who knows what they might have wanted that kind of data for? I don't know, and I don't think we ever will know what they planned to achieve. Having said that, judging from the death sentences handed out to those three, I'd say they failed."

Again, Eliki had pondered the thought that if Fennerton had been pushing for a violent reaction from Ailee or Jarret, it wouldn't have taken much doing. And again, from Jarret's expression, he must have picked up more than a hint of that thought.

Suddenly a female voice snapped, "Hoy! Get your paws off my chips!"

Jarret jumped as Andrina marched up to the table in a huff. The black furred cat muttered, "Waste not..."

Andrina gestured to him. "And you're in my seat. Shoo! Move! C'mon, shift it!" Begrudgingly, Jarret obliged, moving to the next seat along, while Andrina almost leapt back into her chair. "And never mind that. Those chips weren't being wasted. I just hadn't finished them yet, so keep your beady eyes off them."

"Hah!" Jarret retorted. "They're cold now anyway, and they taste like crap."

She beamed. "Glad to know you have something like that to reference by. Cold schmold, you just wanted to fill your face with chips, without having to pay for them as usual. Go get your own. Go on, or this egg goes on your head."

Almost seeming as though he planned to obey, Jarret stood. He turned to Eliki, telling him, "Make sure you tell your sister about what we discussed." A comment like that would have justified a sarcastic salute, but only from those who were feeling very brave.

As Jarret headed for the door, Andrina called out, "We saw you, you know."

He stopped, but didn't turn round. "What?"

Eliki went wide eyed as Andrina explained, "We saw you skulking around and watched you from the trees, and they wouldn't let you in, so you got all angry and stuff and went off in a temper. But we saw you, so don't think for one minute that you got away with it."

Moments later, the door slammed shut, making the bell overhead chime angrily as Jarret stormed off.

Andrina tutted. "Jarrets today, nothing but trouble." She stuffed one of the chips in her mouth and grimaced. "He's right, they have gone cold and taste of evil. Oh well, let's get back to the stall and sell things till our arms drop off." Even before she had finished speaking, she was up and hoisting Eliki out his chair by the arm. He made a last frantic grab at the piece of bread on his plate, but missed. When Andrina had decided it was time to leave, there was nothing more to be said on the subject.