Of course, Cassie was no seer. She couldn’t read the lore; the darklings wouldn’t bother to make a halfling out of her. She wouldn’t last very long in the blue time, except maybe for the fillings in her teeth.

He knocked.

Both sisters jumped at the noise, the sound of Beth’s voice choking off mid-sentence. She stared at Jonathan’s face in the window for a moment, then focused a cold gaze on Jessica.

As Jonathan pushed the sash up, he heard her whisper, “I knew it!”

Jessica just stared at him.

“Hey, guys,” he said.

“Well, hey there, Jonathan,” Beth said sweetly. “Just dropping by?”

“Jonathan!” Jessica groaned. “Couldn’t you have…” Her voice trailed off.

He climbed in and looked from one sister to the other. Beth’s eyes were narrowed, and Jess was staring at the floor and shaking her head. He sighed. “Look, I’m really sorry to interrupt, Beth. But something’s come up. Something important.” He looked at Jessica to emphasize that last word.

“You’re sneaking out tonight?” Beth said, her whispering only making the words harsher. “You’ve only got one more day, Jess. Do you want to get grounded again?”

“Believe me,” Jessica said. “I really don’t.”

“Listen, Beth, I only need to borrow your sister for…” Jonathan glanced at the clock. “Eighteen minutes. I promise she’ll be back by then.”

Jessica closed her eyes as Beth’s stare swung across to the clock.

“Eighteen minutes?” Beth said.

Jonathan swallowed. Jessica’s little sister didn’t know anything about the blue time, of course, but she had an uncanny way of making you think she did. “Yeah. More or less.”

Jessica stood, pulling her jacket from the bed. “Come on. Let’s just go.”

“Jessica,” Beth whined.

“Look,” Jessica said tiredly. “If you’re going to tell Mom and Dad, go ahead. I don’t have time for this.”

“Jess, I don’t want you to be in trouble,” Beth whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. “I just want to know what’s going on with you.”

“I’m sorry, okay?” Jessica paused, as if struggling for words. “But I need to get out of here right now, and I can’t explain why.”

“And you’re going to sneak out right in front of me?” Beth crossed her arms. “So I’ll be in trouble too when you get caught?”

“That’s your fault, Beth. I told you to leave half an hour ago.”

“Can you at least explain when you come back…in eighteen minutes?”

Jessica sighed. “Sorry, Beth, I’d love to. I just can’t.”

“Got your flashlight?” Jonathan said, one foot already out the window.

She thumped a bulge in her jacket. “Yeah, right here.”

They slipped out, dropping to the soft earth of the garden. Jonathan heard one last complaint cut off by Jessica’s sliding the window closed and thought again how he couldn’t wait for midnight gravity to arrive. Finally he would be unstuck from Flatland, able to fly again, and all little sisters would be mutely frozen.

And the darklings will come to life, he realized, checking his watch as they jogged toward the car.