I took a deep breath and looked her squarely in the eyes. “If we try this again . . . let me wield the bulk of the spirit.”

“But we both—”

“We both will,” I said. “And we’re only doing it once—not every day. If I do the heavy lifting once, it won’t affect me as badly. You augment—a little. But that’s it. You can’t keep hurting yourself.”

She reached her hand toward mine again, then drew it back, though her expression had softened. “You do care about me, don’t you? I knew it. Even though you’re married—”

“Nina,” I said firmly. “It’s not like that. I care about you, but I love Sydney. And if we’re going to do this again, we’re doing it my way.”

Her eyes remained dreamy a few moments longer, and then she gave a reluctant nod. “Your way,” she reiterated. “And I really will help you.”

“I’m counting on it,” I admitted. “But hopefully you can pull off what we need using as little spirit as possible.”

She gave a meek nod and then turned curious. “Okay . . . but are you sure you aren’t worried about your sanity in all of this?”

I hesitated. If Sydney were here, I knew she’d tell me this was foolish, that I was frivolously using spirit I didn’t need to and possibly damaging myself. But there was no way I could abandon Nina to insanity, especially if there really was something wrong with Olive. And I certainly had to seize a chance to get out in the world to help both Sydney and Jill. I just hoped what I’d told Nina earlier, that a one-time use wouldn’t hurt me, would prove true. I managed a stiff smile.

“Hey, I’m not showing any signs of insanity yet,” I told her. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

Me too, whispered Aunt Tatiana. I’m sure you’ll be fine too.

CHAPTER 6: SYDNEY

CHAPTER 6

SYDNEY

WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT THE SANDSTONE BRICK MEANT. There was no enchantment that we could detect on it, no indication of what its role in this mystery was. The only thing we knew for sure was that we needed to get to the Ozarks or, at the very least, Missouri. Once Ms. Terwilliger had settled things with her rental car company to prolong her lease, she suggested we drive to St. Louis and then make a plan of attack. Instantly, my stomach sank.

“Not there,” I said swiftly. “There’s an Alchemist facility in St. Louis. I didn’t go to all this trouble just to walk right back into their hands.”

Eddie’s eyebrows rose in consideration. “Maybe that’s part of the plan? What if this scavenger hunt is part of an Alchemist plot to lure you out and has nothing to do with Jill at all?”