“My heart beat wildly inside of me, but I couldn’t shake the dizziness. I looked at Nash. I saw that his eyes were filmed over. Even Aunt Queen appeared dazed and wide-eyed as she stared at this being, this tall big-breasted creature with her raiment of long black hair.

“I shuddered. I would shake off this languor, this spell. I wouldn’t be imprisoned by it, no. I did the most impulsive thing. I reached out, with Goblin’s hand tucked over mine, and I motioned to clasp the hand of Petronia, and she, seeing this, accepted my hand and then pulled her hand back sharply, as sharply as if she’d been stung by a bee, all from Goblin’s touch.

“I heard Goblin’s secret laughter. ‘Evil, Quinn,’ he said to me. ‘Evil!’

“Petronia’s eyes searched for him but couldn’t see him.

“I glanced at Goblin and saw him fully realized and saw him afraid. And then he said to me words that explained everything and nothing.

“ ‘Not alive.’

“What I had felt was even more baffling—a spirit thing like Goblin, electric, powerful, ready to form a current through Goblin to me. I couldn’t grasp the principles of it really. But it was supercharged and terrifying. And the rage came back to me. How dare this being play with me? How dare he play with us all?

“Meantime, her voice was moving on in a hushed manner: ‘And so I took up the art of making them because I loved them, and knowing of your love, I had to bring these few to you to keep with your others. It’s been a long time since I visited the island, and of course the story came down to me of how my great-great-grandmother had wanted to be buried there, though it never did come to pass.’

“ ‘No, it never did, did it?’ I said. ‘And last night you caught me outside in a choke hold and you told me what you wanted done with the Hermitage, didn’t you? And before that, you broke into my very room and dragged me from my bed!’

“I stood up, comfortably towering over her, as she looked up at me, smiling.

“ ‘I saw you dump those bodies,’ I said. ‘I know you did it. And you come here to be received by the person dearest to me in all the world!’

“ ‘Quinn, darling,’ cried Aunt Queen, ‘have you lost your mind!’

“ ‘Aunt Queen, this is the very person! I tell you this is the mysterious stranger. This is the one!’

“Nash was on his feet too and attempting to take me by the shoulders and turn me aside, and very slowly Petronia rose to her full height of over six feet, and with every inch over six feet grew out of femininity and into manhood, looking at me quietly with a gloating satisfaction in her pretty smile.

“Aunt Queen was frantic.