The two of them left. I stared bleakly at the water, wondering how long “a while” was. I’d been excited when the spell seemed so simple originally. Now, I wished there were more ingredients to mix, more incantations to recite. This high-level magic, relying on will and mental energy, was much more difficult—mainly because it was intangible. I liked the concrete. I liked to know exactly what was needed to make something happen. Cause and effect.

But this? This was just me staring and staring, hoping I was “staying fixed” and using “razor sharp focus.” How would I know if I was? Even if I achieved that state, it might still take a while to manifest what I needed. I tried not to think of that yet. Sonya. Sonya was all that mattered right now. All of my will and energy had to go into saving her.

I kept telling myself that as the minutes ticked by. Each time I was certain I should stop and ask Ms. Terwilliger what to do, I would force myself to keep looking into the water. Sonya, Sonya. Think about Sonya. And still, nothing happened. Finally, when an ache in my back made sitting unbearable, I stood up to stretch. The rest of my muscles were starting to cramp up too. I walked back to the living room; almost an hour and a half had passed since I’d last been out here.

“Anything?” asked Ms. Terwilliger.

“No,” I said. “I must be doing something wrong.”

“You’re focusing your mind? Thinking about her? About finding her?”

I was really tired of hearing the word focus. Frustration was replacing my earlier anxiety about magic. “Yes, yes, and yes,” I said. “But it’s still not working.”

She shrugged. “And that’s why we have a curfew extension. Try again.”

Adrian flashed me a sympathetic look and started to say something—but then thought better of it. I nearly left but paused as a troublesome thought nagged at me.

“What if she’s not alive?” I asked. “Could that be why it’s not working?”

Ms. Terwilliger shook her head. “No. You’d still see something if she wasn’t. And… well, you’d know.”

I returned to the workroom and tried again—with similar results. The next time I went to talk to Ms. Terwilliger, I saw that it hadn’t been quite an hour. “I’m doing something wrong,” I insisted. “Either that, or I messed up the initial spell. Or this really is beyond me.”

“If I know you, the spell was flawless,” she said. “And no, this isn’t beyond you, but only you have the power to make it happen.”

I was too tired to parse her esoteric philosophy nonsense. I turned without a word and trudged back to the workroom. When I reached it, I discovered I’d been followed. I looked up at Adrian and sighed.

“No distractions, remember?” I said.

“I won’t stay,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“Yeah… I mean, I don’t know. In as much as anyone can be with all of this.” I nodded toward the silver plate. “Maybe I do need you to get me out of here.”