Jessica glanced from one of them to the other. Rex had a funny look on his face, and she noticed that his hands were still shaking, his fingers bent stiffly into claws. Melissa was staring at him like he’d grown antlers.

“Are we missing something here?” Dess asked aloud.

“Yeah, what happened?” Jessica said. “I saw a darkling running away.”

Melissa took a step closer to Rex and the girl. “The darkling was here, but it seemed to think Rex was a—”

“Don’t!” Rex interrupted.

There was a long silence, the two of them staring at each other.

“Not now,” he hissed.

“Wow,” Cassie Flinders said. “Maybe I am dreaming because you guys are really weird.”

Everyone looked at the girl. She stood there, staring defiantly back at them. Jessica decided that she had a point.

“Okay, kiddo,” Melissa said after another awkward moment of silence. “I think it’s past your bedtime.”

“But it’s morning,” Cassie answered, then looked up at the sky and frowned. “Or it was…”

“Either way, I can’t believe your grandma let you out of bed,” Rex said. “You being sick and all.”

“She always lets me play in the backyard,” Cassie said huffily. “Says it’s good for a cold to get out in the cold.”

“Well, I’m putting you back under the covers,” Melissa said, reaching out a hand. “Come with me.”

“Said the spider to the fly,” Dess muttered.

Jessica looked across the clearing at Jonathan. There had to be some other way to keep the secret than messing with people’s brains. She was just a kid, after all. Who would believe her?

As Melissa’s hand closed around Cassie’s, the girl seemed to relax. Then she yawned, her eyes growing sleepy.

Melissa turned to the others. “Chill, guys. I’m a lot better at this than I used to be.” She shrugged. “Besides, I’m only going to calm her down and put her to sleep and maybe suggest that this all was a nightmare. When it comes to radical memory overhaul, I only work on stiffs. Which, you may have noticed, Cassie isn’t. Anything else will have to wait.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Cassie asked sleepily.

Melissa smiled, leading Cassie back toward the railroad tracks. “We’re discussing how you’re going to remember this crazy dream tomorrow.” She winked at Rex. “But probably not the next day.”

“So she’ll tell people about it?” Jonathan asked. “And then just forget the next day? Won’t that seem funny to everyone else? I mean, she’ll probably be on the news tomorrow.”

Rex shrugged. “She’s a kid, she’s sick, she wandered off. So what if she talks crazy for a day? And after we pay her a visit tomorrow at midnight—” He raised his fingers and snapped.

The sound sent a shiver through Jessica. Maybe they were right, and mindcasting was the only way to keep the secret. In the old days, when Bixby had practically been ruled by midnighters, they’d probably done it all the time. But still, the idea didn’t make her very happy.