Rutger exchanged a long look with Mothball, neither of them showing much expression or saying a word.

Finally, Rutger said, “On second thought, we better let Master George explain it to you. Come on, let’s go down the elevator to the canyon floor.”

Chapter

41

~

A Cloud of Stars

Do you trust me, Atticus?”

Tick looked at Mistress Jane, almost expecting her to laugh and say she was kidding. They’d been standing in silence for at least ten minutes since reading the Note of Doom. “What kind of stupid question is that? You’re a traitor, and you really seem to like hurting and killing people. No, I don’t trust you.”

Jane scowled, the pale red light making her look like a devil. “Fair enough. Then answer this—do you trust Reginald Chu?”

That made Tick think. “Well, no. He’s as bad as you.”

“Listen to me,” Jane said. “I know I can’t convince you I’m a fairy godmother who loves to make cookies and play hide-and-seek with children. But you’re a smart boy. Think about our situation. No matter the troubles between us—between me and the Realitants—we have a bigger problem, right here, right now. We have to stop Chu before he causes every last person in the Realities to go insane. And I need your help.”

Tick threw his arms up in frustration. “Need my help? You keep saying that. Yeah, somehow I winked people out of the Thirteenth and—” He stopped, not wanting to tell her about how last spring he’d made the burned letter from Master George reappear. “But it was probably just a freak thing and will never happen again. Plus, what good will that do us? You want me to wink you somewhere like I’m some kind of human Barrier Wand?”

Mistress Jane grabbed her black hair that lay over her shoulder and gripped it in her fist like a ponytail. “Atticus, you’re either a brilliant actor or not quite as wise as I thought.”

“What are you talking about?”

Jane reached out and poked him in the chest. “Your whole body exudes Chi’karda. It practically glows on your skin. You’re like a supercharged battery just waiting to unleash your power. I’ve never seen anything like it, and you can’t tell me you don’t feel it.”

Tick suddenly felt very ill, and all he could do was shake his head.

“I visited some of the places Chu sent you to—after you were gone. Back when I was still deciding whether or not to kill you as he’d challenged me to do. How could you have done those terrible things and not realize you’d done it?”

“I have no idea what—”

“Please!” Jane shouted. “The twisted trees, the melted glass with a huge creature stuck in the middle—what do you think did that? A stiff hot wind? It was you!”