His smile mocked her. “It’s not really up to you, is it? The choice is his. But I suppose that is why you drugged him, to make the decision on his behalf. I understand the urge to protect those we love when there is nothing else we can do in the face of an implacable world. You would do better to help me—”

“No!”

“—yet fear not, fierce one. The moon has reached the net, and I can manifest here no longer. So be it.”

The faint tolling faded. In its wake, a fragrance of rose oil wafted in the air so strong it made Elen’s eyes sting. She blinked. The scent vanished.

The haunt was gone.

She stood alone on the pavement under the gleam of the moon, Kem dozing beside her.

6 THE MOON-BRIGHT MIRAGE

Although Elen hadn’t noticed time passing, the moon had climbed all the way up the sky, nearing its zenith. Moonlight shone through the lacework scaffolding. Was the scaffolding the “net” that the haunt had mentioned? For whatever reason, the lacework through which the moonlight now filtered had dispersed the magic that allowed a haunt to enter the courtyard. She looked down at her shaking hands and realized she was completely unbalanced, almost dizzy. It was terrifying to wonder if she was losing her toughness, the agility that allowed her to cope with anything and everything life threw at her.

But she’d brought Kem here for a reason, and she cursed sure wasn’t going to let any haunt throw her off balance. They had only enough time as it would take the moon to cross above the scaffolding.

She nudged Kem, shaking his shoulder. He sat up with a loud, waking snort that made her jump and then laugh out of sheer nerves. He’d always been a fast and alert waker, a useful trait. But then, horribly, she wondered if the haunt had managed to get inside Kem anyway, had been able to cross the holystone pavement and slide into his sleeping body.

The youth’s gaze flew up to where the moon had risen high enough to appear inside the halo made by the scaffolding. “Oh hey! Look! Wow! Wow!”

As her trembling subsided, Elen was able to smile. “Yes, it’s beautiful.”

He stared in awestruck delight, gaze tracking along the three hanging bridges and down the length of one of the spires back to the ground. The knobless doors set into the outer wall of each spire had curled back like a spring leaf.

He jumped to his feet. “The doors are open! Are we … are we going up?” he cried in a tone of choked excitement.