“You can’t keep pushing yourself like this. Maybe the crash didn’t kill you, but a heart attack could.” She squeezed his hand.

“I need a new phone. Then I’ll go to bed, I promise.”

“I’ll get you one,” Steven offered.

Josiah nodded his thanks. “What else? You didn’t gather here because I ignored doctor’s orders.”

Anson said grimly, “I’ve been sensing magic sparks. Several discernible ones have appeared throughout the afternoon and evening.”

He raised his eyebrows and looked at Maria. “People?”

She nodded. “I think so. They haven’t appeared all at once, and they haven’t converged, but I think there’s a gathering of some kind going on. I mean… other than us, of course. We’ve gathered too.”

His breathing suspended as he absorbed the news. “Are they friendly or unfriendly?”

“That’s unclear.”

“Do they connect to our mission?” Richard asked.

At that, she didn’t hesitate. “Very much so.”

“Doesn’t sound very friendly to me,” Henry muttered.

“We need to take turns keeping watch,” Josiah said. “See what kind of activity occurs and if we can get a lock on their locations.”

Anson said, “Agreed.”

“I regret I can’t help with that at the moment,” Josiah told them. Sick exhaustion dragged at him, and he raged against it.

“Nothing’s more important than you recovering your energy ASAP,” Henry said. “We need you for whatever comes next.”

“Agreed,” Richard said.

He didn’t have any other choice. The sooner he recovered, the sooner he could reunite with Molly to face whatever came next. Damn the subterfuge and the lying. He was done.

But there was one last thing he needed to attend to before he could fall into bed.

“There’s something else you should know,” Josiah said. “Molly’s returned to Atlanta. She heard about what had happened to me, and she was worried I might have died. So far the only people who know she’s back are the detectives working the case surrounding her husband and, of course, me. I went to the station to see what was going on. They were questioning her this evening.”

He paused to look around, gauging their reactions to the news. Richard glowered. Anson and Maria looked noncommittal. Henry wore a more skeptical expression. As always, Steven looked friendly. It was his go-to face. That and his heavy-framed glasses camouflaged his dangerous, lightning-fast brain.

Then Maria sighed and rubbed her eyes. “I would have flown back too if I were her.”

“We need to keep watch on her too,” Josiah told them.

“To do what, exactly?” Richard asked. “It’s not our job to babysit her.”