Bi Wei was a spiderweb of magic. Threads of energy my mind interpreted as text were woven through her body and stretched into the distance. It reminded me of Kiyoko. I was relying on that similarity, hoping Bi Wei would be able to nullify her in a way the rest of us couldn’t.

I turned to Jeneta. “Keep Nkiruka close. If she gets twitchy, round everyone up and get the hell out of here.”

“No problem. Deb gave me a number to call. She said they’d help us disappear.”

Nidhi stepped into Lena’s embrace and whispered something before giving her a long, deep kiss. She finally broke away, then hugged me as well. “Keep each other safe.”

“We will.” I turned to Jason next. “Thank you for this.” I gestured toward the yard and his ex-husband’s house. “Tell your ex I’m going to pay to replace that frying pan.”

Jeneta rolled her eyes. “How was I supposed to know fire-spiders would burn through the non-stick coating? I’m used to cast iron.”

Toby grabbed my hand and squeezed. His lips tightened, and his eyes shifted to the side like he was searching for words.

“I know,” I said, returning the handshake. “Toby, if things go south, talk to Mom and Dad for me. Tell them what really happened.”

“Hell, no,” he said gruffly. “Fix this mess, then explain it yourself.”

“Toby . . .”

He nodded and looked away. “Yah, I’ll tell ’em.”

I hugged Lex, shook hands with Angie, then walked over to where Deb was sitting on the porch swing, dipping crickets into a small tub of ketchup. “You ready?”

She flicked another cricket into her mouth and chewed noisily. “I’ve been ready, hon. It’s not like I’ve got anyone to say good-bye to.”

Jeneta reached into her e-reader and withdrew a glass bottle from Through the Looking Glass, which she handed to Lena. Lena raised it in a toast and took several deep swallows, then passed it to Talulah. By the time it was Deb’s turn, Lena had shrunk down to six inches tall.

I sat down to change shoes, lacing my sneakers around my neck and pulling on the seven-league boots I’d used to flee Las Vegas. I held very still as Lena climbed up onto my shoulder. It would be awkward as hell if my feet twitched and propelled me a half-mile away.

Talulah climbed into my shirt pocket, while a miniature Bi Wei floated on a gust of air to land lightly on my other shoulder. Deb climbed up next to Lena.

“Everybody hold on tight,” I said, and started walking.

With each step devouring roughly twenty miles, we covered the 1900 miles from Grand Rapids to New Millennium in minutes.