“I’m sure.” I grabbed my jacket and books and climbed out of the car. I wasn’t fully recovered from last night’s exertions yet, which meant I was better off sticking with traditional libriomancy. Creating physical objects from books tended to char the books. When I started manipulating that magic directly, that was when the charring was more likely to move into my own flesh.

I pulled out an old red-covered role-playing manual and skimmed the Treasure section. This was one of the earliest editions, and the first I’d used as a kid. Several other editions had already been charred from overuse, making their magic too dangerous and difficult to control. These manuals just had so many good toys to play with . . .

I double-checked the rules, then pulled out a trio of rings. “According to the rules, once you put these on, you’ll be invisible until you remove it or attack something. If that happens, remove the ring and put it back on to redo the spell. We’ll still be able to hear one another, and so will anyone else, so keep quiet.”

“What counts as an attack?” asked Lena.

I snorted. “I once stayed up until three in the morning arguing that question with our dungeon master in college. I said tickling an ogre wasn’t an attack because it didn’t cause harm or damage. He said it required an attack roll, and therefore the ogre could see me, and therefore he could stuff my wizard headfirst into the privy.”

My breath turned to fog in the cold morning air. I reached back into the car to retrieve Smudge from the dashboard. Since his cage was at the bottom of the Atlantic, I set him on my shoulder. He crouched down, seemingly content and comfortable.

I’d just started walking when a strong hand squeezed my backside. I jumped and spun. Lena had slipped on her ring, but I could see the shadow of magical text where she stood. “This could be fun,” she said with a chuckle. “How about saving these for recreational use back home?”

She reached toward me again. I stepped to one side. When she turned away to try to find me, I snuck in for the counter-goose.

Lena spun. “Unfair. You can still see me.”

“Prison break now,” Deb snapped. “Sex play later.”

I froze. “Shit.”

“What’s wrong?” asked Lena.

“The siren. I just lost her.” I double-checked the book I’d used to track the siren. Its magic remained strong, and there was no evidence of charring or other damage that might interfere with my spell. I had no problem sensing Deb. Only the siren had vanished.

“You think they killed her?” asked Deb.

“It shouldn’t matter. The spell doesn’t rely on the subject being alive.”

“Unless they destroyed the body. Would your spell work if they burned her to ash to destroy any evidence?”