She walked the length of the wall, stopping at a stone that looked like all the stones around it. She reached up and pushed it, and it slid inward with a soft click. A door swung open in what should have been solid stone.

On the other side was a woman. She was thin and pale and hunched in on herself, like she feared the consequences of taking up too much space. Her hair was a Medusa’s nest of tangled brown curls that seemed almost to move of its own accord; her eyes were the color of dishwater, and so very tired. She looked at Jack. Jack looked at her, both silent for the measure of a moment.

Finally, Jack said, “You’re younger than I remember you being. I thought…” She stopped.

The woman almost smiled. “You were a child,” she said. “To a child, anyone old enough to be in high school is ancient. I’ll be thirty in the fall, if I survive this day’s work. Old enough to know what I’m dying for. Tell me why you’re here, girl who chose to leave us.”

“This is portentous and all, but can we hurry things up?” Christopher glanced at the sky, where black clouds loomed. “I don’t like the looks of that storm.”

“I do,” said Jack, eyes still on the woman. “The Master and Jill came to our home. They attacked Dr. Bleak. They attacked me. A challenge has been issued for balance of this protectorate, and I’m within my rights to answer.”

“It looks like you’ve answered with a frontal assault.”

“I have. They’ll storm the gates, break into the hall, fight the Master’s servants. Some of them will die. I’ll resurrect as many as I can, once this is over.” Jack sounded unconcerned. It would have been chilling, if she hadn’t also sounded so tired. “Perhaps they’ll even face the Master, although there’s not much chance they’ll kill him, not when the Drowned Gods haven’t come out of the sea. I’m here for my sister.”

The woman nodded. “What will you do if you find her? I know what she did to you.” Her lips twisted. “I brushed her hair and tied her stays for years. There was no way I’d miss the fact that she’s in a body not her own.”

“I’ll take back what belongs to me,” said Jack. “And once I’m secure in my own skin, I’ll kill her. Please, Mary. Let us pass.”

Mary nodded and stepped aside. Jack was almost through when Mary’s hand shot out and grasped her wrist, hauling her to a stop.