“The Traitor’s Gate Shadowrealm.” Dare nodded. “I’ve heard of it.” She shuddered, her shoulders rolling beneath her coat. “Rumor has it that it is an evil place.”

Dee ignored her. “Together, I believe we’re powerful enough to activate and enter it. Once we’re in the Shadowrealm, we can hop from realm to realm and then drop out in America.” He grinned with genuine good humor.

“Once you activate the gate, you will have betrayed our position,” Virginia said.

“True. But once we’re in the Shadowrealm, no one will know where we’re going.”

Virginia Dare shook her head, her long hair flowing down her back. “Can I point out one or two very minor flaws in this plan?”

“Such as?”

“Let us assume we can overpower the guards in the Tower…”

“Easily done. You can spell them to sleep with your music.”

“And then let us assume we can leap into the Traitor’s Gate Shadowrealm.”

“We can do that,” Dee said confidently.

“Do we know whose Shadowrealm it is?”

The doctor shook his head. “No one knows. Some minor Elder, perhaps-but you know that many of the Shadowrealms that border the earth are empty.”

“I also know that the Dark Elders have been calling their brethren who live in the outer Shadowrealms to draw closer as Litha approaches. Something might have taken up residence there.”

Dee opened his mouth to comment, but Virginia pressed on.

“But let us assume that we find it empty. We then have to move through it to cross into one or two or three more Shadowrealms before we end up in a realm that touches the Americas.”

“Yes.”

“And it could be anywhere in the Americas from Alaska to Florida?”

“Yes. At worst we’ll be a couple of hours away from San Francisco.”

“So tell me why we are going back to San Francisco? I thought that city was about to be overrun by your Elder’s nightmare army?”

“The Book of Abraham the Mage is in San Francisco. I need it.”

“You finally got it!” Virginia sounded genuinely delighted. “Took you long enough,” she added sarcastically. Then she stopped as a sudden thought struck her. “The Book is still in your possession-have you not surrendered it to your Elders?”

“No. I’ve decided to keep it.”

“Keep it!” Virginia’s raised voice made some of the late-night tourists turn to look. She lowered her voice to a hoarse whisper. “What for?”

Dee grinned. “I am going to use it to take control of this earth myself.”

Virginia blinked in surprise, and then she suddenly laughed delightedly. “Doctor, you are mad… which must make me even madder, for associating with you. Do you think your Elders will allow you to take over this, their favorite Shadowrealm?”