Maren pointed to the piles of nightmares, and Obscura gave them a satisfied nod. “You’re much more cooperative than your sister. I should have tried you first.”

Maren tugged so hard on her needle that the thread broke. She needed to stay calm, keep moving forward with her plan, and not cause trouble.

“When I first started giving nightmares out, I wanted dreams about a wicked and beautiful dancer who lurked in the shadows.” Obscura’s dark eyes glittered. “I waited until Hallie was alone and I—” She let out a dainty cough. “Very kindly asked her to make some for me.”

A black tunnel filled Maren’s vision and grew until she could only see a tiny pinprick of the world.

“Alas, I made some foolish mistakes,” continued Obscura. “I gave away a few too many details, and your sister started to figure out my game. She’s much smarter than you. Correction: She was much smarter than you. That car crash was a lucky accident…for me.”

Maren’s urge to throw herself at Obscura and pummel her was unbearable. Instead she gripped the edges of the table and took ten, slow breaths. If she lost her temper, she’d ruin her plan. She glanced at the duffel bag and rearranged her expression into something close to a smile. “Did you use the whispering dust last night?”

“I did.” Obscura swept to her barre and dropped into a lunge. “It’s frightfully convenient how many people sleep with their windows open at this time of year. Just a pinch of dust on the sachets and my moths carried them in while I waited outside. I paid a visit to the police commissioner and told him there’d be a few things happening soon that he needn’t trouble himself with investigating.”

If Obscura used whisper dust on all of the police, there’d be nobody to help Maren. Or arrest Obscura, even if she managed to escape. There’d be nothing stopping Obscura from kidnapping Maren all over again. Maren fought the wave of panic rolling over her. Panicking never solved a problem.

“Then I stopped to see the owner of Stonemasters Construction,” said Obscura. “Oh dear, I’ve forgotten his name again.” She shrugged and swiveled her hips into a side lunge. “At any rate, he’s woken up this morning with an overwhelming urge to rebuild this theater for free. And a sudden infatuation with a beautiful ballerina who rescued him in a dream.”

Obscura’s gloating grin made Maren want to vomit. “Who’s that guy who was here last night?” she asked. “The one who’s helping you open all those new businesses in town?”

The smug smile slid off Obscura’s face. “How did you know about that?”

Using tweezers, Maren extracted a spider leg from a tiny jar. “I talked to him the other night outside the pharmacy.”