“Too late.” I push to my feet.

She smiles. “Every Rootcrafter communes with the ancestors, but Volition is more intense for Mediums than any other practitioner, just by the nature of our particular gifts. That’s why it’s the best place to go when you have questions to ask without being disturbed, when you have ancestor work to do. But for you, Bree-Bree?” She laughs at me. “You’re probably half in the stream just by walking around the place.”

Sel shakes his head. “But is it her power or theirs?”

Mariah laughs again. “Thinking like a colonizer, Kingsmage. The ancestors have access to the power. We’re borrowing it, letting it flow through us, but ultimately, it’s not ours to keep. ‘Temporary’ is the key word here for most Rootcrafters.” Mariah looks back at me, linking arms with mine. “But because of Vera’s Bloodcraft bargain, Bree here is a faucet that doesn’t turn off.”

“Fire hose, more like it,” I mutter.

“Yeah, well, there’s a reason Valechaz calls you ‘powerhouse.’ ”

I pause. “Can Valec come on the grounds here, or would he be a guest?”

Mariah makes a strange face. “Valec was born on a plantation, to a mother who practiced. His mother’s people cast him out, but he ended up enslaved elsewhere. He’s welcome at Volition and always has been. Doesn’t come by much, though.” She looks around. “You and I may feel the dead, see them, but we don’t carry the memories of what these places were really like. He does. He lived it. Survived it.”

“Hard to remember that sometimes, with how young he looks,” Alice says.

Rising up in front of us, imposing and grand and painted in fresh white and grays, is the main house.

“That’s the original big house, for the most part. Some additions about fifty or sixty years ago, and of course the inside is different. Ritually cleansed to hell and back, for one thing.”

“Mariah?” A voice calls out from a large, low-walled garden in the side yard.

“Aunt Lu!” Mariah says. “Hazel called you about us coming by?”

“Yep.” The Grand Dame appears around the corner, smiling at me. “Hello, again.”

I gape at Lu. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

Lu folds Mariah into a hug, then looks over at the rest of the group with a wry smile. “You aren’t our typical passengers. Figured I’d handle some things myself. My abilities are stronger here, too.” She steps closer to me and offers her hand. “So, let’s check in, Bloodcrafter.”

I stick my hand out, preparing for a simple handshake. Instead, her fingers buzz against mine. Lu winces with a slight smile, other hand up as if to block light. “Who you been talking to, all that power?”

Mariah grimaces. “Well, that’s just it, Lu. Bree isn’t channeling anybody right now. This is just inside her.”