“How will we ever find what we need in here without it all crumbling to dust?” he says, turning in a circle.

Rachel laughs. “That’s what you have me for.” She puts a finger to her chin and twirls. Impulsively I mirror her, my skirts and hair spinning wildly for a brief moment. Rachel runs a hand over the faded alphanumeric system imprinted on each shelf until she finds what she wants.

“Aha!” She pulls down a sheaf of papers that look like maps, along with a few old scrolls, and sets them down on the huge oak table. “Here we are. These are our oldest maps and show the very beginnings of town records in the three territories. The rest of the records are on those shelves to your right.”

I take in all the piles and piles of records, momentarily succumbing to hopelessness. “But where do we start?”

Rachel pats me on the shoulder, brushing back my frizzy white hair. “Don’t worry. I’ll stay and help. Your little group is by far the most interesting search I’ve been given since I got here.”

They think they’re tasking me with something tedious, but how wrong they are! she thinks, and I laugh.

Rachel’s eyes widen, and then she laughs too. “Sorry, I forgot for a moment there that you can read minds.”

I shake my head sheepishly. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to let my talent roam freely.” I scratch my head. “It’s been hard to keep it under control since Lady Aisling lost her powers. I’m not certain, but I believe I had better control once. But only vague memories to prove it.”

Sebastian frowns and looks away.

Sorry, I think at him. It isn’t your fault. It’s hers. Only hers.

He gives me a small smile, but it’s half-hearted at best.

“Let’s get started, shall we?” Rachel says. She begins assigning each of us a stack of records and maps to sort through.

Sebastian’s eyes widen, but he says nothing. His mind, though, is daunted. This is going to take forever, he thinks.

I shrug. All I have is time.

His mind strays to thoughts of his sister as he pores over the stack set before him, and I immediately regret my words.

I wish Jemma was here. I really thought she’d be here by now, Sebastian thinks. What could have happened to her? We shouldn’t have left her.

I’m sure she’ll be here soon. And there wasn’t anything we could have done for her. The body walker would’ve just gotten us, too, if we’d stayed.

We both shudder, knowing all too well what that would mean.

I begin with the maps Rachel set beside me. They’re old and crinkle around the edges, little bits crumbling in my hands as I unroll them. One of the few things I recall from my time with Lady Aisling is how to read a map. Lord Tate showed me, though he despaired at getting me to remember. But some of it remained in my mind. I was just too distracted, too filled with spells at the time for much else other than commands.