“She was pretty far from the green,” Kaylin pointed out.

Serralyn nodded. “But the flower grew, regardless—and it grows nowhere else. There must be a reason she brought it, a reason she made those braids, a reason she planted the flower in Mrs. Erickson’s hair. I think whatever power she needed to create the enchantments she created she intended to draw from a very tenuous connection to the green.

“And...from Shadow. Shadow seems—given what little we personally know of it—to be more elemental in nature. Fire, earth, water, wind—they’re called, and they answer, but the location of the summoner doesn’t seem to matter.”

Kaylin said, “I think it’s mostly rooted in Shadow; the nimbus of darkness is stronger around the painting.”

“But Mrs. Erickson isn’t dead and she isn’t trapped,” Serralyn pointed out.

“Because Azoria was very unlucky, in my opinion.” Kaylin hesitated. “She may have been attempting to do...something with the children, but it ended up killing them.”

“Legally, they weren’t dead.”

“They’re dead. They were dead the moment she did...whatever it is she did.” Kaylin exhaled. “We need to get into that damn house.”

“The one no one can see?”

“Teela could sort of see it—I think it’s dependent on time of day and magical aptitude. But I’m certain it’s there. We need to get into it.”

“Have you considered that getting into it, as you put it, will bring you face-to-face with possibly the greatest criminal the Barrani have ever known?” Teela snapped.

“Yes—isn’t that the point?”

Terrano laughed. Serralyn didn’t. Teela rolled her eyes.

But the Shadow that had come, at the Avatar’s request, approached Kaylin, two limbs lifted. She stood her ground, although her first instinct was to dodge; Hope was with her, and Hope didn’t seem alarmed. He was alert, but he wasn’t quivering with tension the way he often did when danger was present.

She watched as the Shadow began to cohere, to condense; limbs formed, and if they didn’t quite conform to Kaylin’s version of normal, they were definitely arms and legs. A head formed with an unfortunate number of eyes, but those eyes receded until there were only three. Kaylin realized that the Shadow was attempting to adopt a form with which she might feel more comfortable.

“He is no longer imprisoned here, but he is very wary of the world beyond my borders,” the Avatar said. “Like Spike, he is free now, to make his own decisions, to pursue his own path. He has chosen to remain within my borders for the moment because he is certain that here, he will remain free.