“Let’s not find out,” a voice said from behind Sam.

He turned his head, and for the first time noticed something huge perched on top of the hotel. It was an enormous metal statue of the planet Saturn, complete with rings circling it. It stood atop a pole, seeming to float in the air above the building. Lights inside of the central globe were visible through small holes in the surface of the planet, making it radiate light.

Magdalena walked out of the shadows that pooled beneath the statue. Sam kept his hands behind him, hoping she wouldn’t look too closely and see that the handcuffs were loose. But she seemed more interested in twirling around with her arms stretched out.

“Isn’t it a beautiful night?” she said.

Neither Ghost nor Sam answered her. Sam kept his head low, reminding himself that he was supposed to be incapacitated by the parasite. Ghost stepped away from the edge of the roof and folded her arms over her chest.

Magdalena skipped to the edge of the building and looked over the edge. “You should see what’s going on down there,” she said. “My babies are having quite a time.” She sighed. “Of course Eleni is making herself the star of the show. I probably shouldn’t have given her that Legacy.”

Sam looked at her, forgetting that he was supposed to be out of it. What had she said? She’d given Eleni a Legacy?

Magdalena giggled. “Just imagine what I can do with what my little friend is collecting in your head,” she said, walking over to Sam. “I can’t wait to take him out.” She frowned. “That means you’ll be dead, which isn’t great for you. But you probably don’t really know what’s going on at this point anyway.”

“What’s happening in the room?” Ghost asked.

Magdalena shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “I heard a lot of banging and figured you’d left. I was right.”

“You didn’t even check on the others?” Ghost said.

“Why should I?” said Magdalena. “The only one I need is right here.”

She tapped Sam on the head, as if petting him. Sam, watching Ghost, saw her expression harden. If Magdalena noticed, she didn’t say anything. Rather, she said, “We might as well transport him out of here. Back to the lab. It’s about time I remove the parasite.”

“What about Eleni and those . . . things?” said Ghost.

Magdalena waved a hand. “That’s her problem,” she said. “She’s the one who wanted to make a big production. Now she’s got it. She doesn’t need me to help her control the grindles. She’s got the staff.”

Grindles. Is that what she calls them? Sam thought. He hadn’t seen one yet, so he could only imagine what they looked like. He pictured mouths full of teeth. He wondered what the rest of them looked like. And what was this staff Magdalena was talking about?

“All right,” Magdalena said. “Let’s get moving. Come over here and whoosh us back to the lab.”