She checked the clock on the time machine’s dashboard: there was still an hour until midnight. Which meant that she and Mac had just left Roman’s body behind in the future, they’d just returned, and Mac had just informed the Black Cirkus that Jonathan Asher was responsible for their beloved Crow’s death. Dorothy could still hear his voice, promising the gang of Freaks a great reward in exchange for Ash’s body, dead or alive. Right now, it was just the Cirkus hunting for Ash, but Dorothy knew that, soon, it would be the entire city. She would need to act quickly.

She flew to the schoolhouse where Ash and the others lived and landed the Black Crow on the water outside. She checked that she still had Roman’s dagger safely tucked inside of her cloak. She did. With a low exhale, she climbed onto the docks and wove her way around the side of the school building, counting dark windows until she reached the one that belonged to Ash.

He kept it locked, of course, but the locks in New Seattle were sort of a joke. Dorothy slotted Roman’s dagger between the window frame and the sill, wiggling the blade around until she felt a catch. Then, using the dagger like a crowbar, she pushed the window up and up, groaning a bit when the wood finally gave, and a sliver of space appeared between the frame and the sill. Dorothy pocketed Roman’s dagger and slid her fingers around the frame, groaning as the window shuddered the rest of the way open.

The room was empty, dark. Ash hadn’t returned from the future yet, but he couldn’t be too far behind. Dorothy found a spare scrap of paper on his desk, and an old pen and wrote the note:

Outside the anil. Midnight.

She paused when she was done, a shiver moving through her as she studied the message. It hadn’t been that long ago that Zora had thrust this exact note in her face and demanded to know why she’d written it and what she’d done with Ash. At the time, Dorothy had insisted it hadn’t been her. She felt a sinking feeling now, as she realized she was turning herself into a liar.

That’s not the worst thing you’ll become tonight, she told herself. A sour taste rose in her throat. She swallowed it down, making her way back to the window.

It was time to get this over with.