Eventually, we found one of the janitors—an elderly man. But there was no sign of his female counterpart.

After our fourth sweep of the building, we stopped in the second-level child-care center, by the window overlooking the front entrance. Below, the flow of traffic dropping off children had slowed as noon approached. A brief break for lunchtime, then it would start all over again.

“So is Lily not here?” I said to Trsiel. “Or do we just keep missing her?”

“We haven’t seen a female janitor yet. And that was definitely a woman’s jacket downstairs.”

“But is it from today? It’s spring. Come to work in a winter coat and by afternoon it can be hot enough that you forget to take it home. Damn it! What if—”

I caught a glimpse of a motorcycle pulling out of the drop-off circle, and turned for a better look, invoking my long-range sight. One glance, and I was flying out the door.

“What is it?” Trsiel asked, hurrying after me.

“That bike. The motorcycle. It’s Lucas’s. Lucas Cortez. Savannah’s guardian. She’s here. Savannah’s here.”

Trsiel grasped my shoulder, but I shrugged him off, plowing through people as I made my way to the stairs.

“Don’t panic, Eve,” Trsiel said, jogging at my heels.

“Maybe it looks like his motorcycle—”

“It is his motorcycle. It’s an antique. Very rare. He restores them.”

“Maybe he was dropping off his wife, Paige. You said she comes here—”

“There was no helmet on the back of the bike.”

“What?”

“Paige would have left her helmet. Savannah’s fifteen. She’d carry it inside with her.”

From Trsiel’s silence, I knew this didn’t answer his question, but I wasn’t wasting my breath explaining the adolescent coolness quotient of toting around a motorcycle helmet. I cut through the solid wall of kids heading up to the lunchroom, and bounded down the stairs so fast I tripped. Trsiel grabbed me. I righted myself, shook him off, and kept going. A few steps from the bottom I stopped. I peered out over the sea of heads. People kept walking through me, blocking my view. I climbed onto the railing for a better look.

“Eve,” Trsiel said, laying his hand on my leg to steady me. “If we find Lily, she can’t hurt anyone, including Savannah.”

“You go after Lily, then. I’ll find—”

“I need your eyes, Eve.”

A shape shimmered below, on the other side of the railing. Kristof appeared, looking up at me.

“Oh, thank God,” I whispered. “Kris! It’s Sav—”

“I know,” he said, putting out his arms to help me down. “I’ll find her.” He lowered me onto the floor. “You find the Nix.”

I squeezed his hand. “Thank you.”

Trsiel wheeled through the crowd, grabbed my elbow, and tugged me away.