“Ah, is that so?” Crystal asked. “Here, come sit. I think there’s a clear space somewhere here.”

“Costume stuff, apparently. And we’ve got the munchkins on the screen,” Tristan observed. He bent down and waved for the camera that was built into the corner of the laptop. A tiny Kenzie waved back. Chris existed only in text.

“And this is Natalie,” I introduced Natalie. I wasn’t wholly sure why she was here, but Tristan had wanted to invite her, and I wasn’t about to object if he was trying another way to get her more onboard. “Mom recommended her. Natalie, this is Crystal, my cousin.”

“Pleasure,” Crystal said, half-standing to extend a hand.

Natalie shook it and gave Crystal a tight smile back. Crystal gave me a momentary glance as she sat back down.

“I’m sorry we’re such a mess right now,” Sveta said. “The apartment is usually nicer.”

“I totally understand,” Natalie said. “Don’t worry.”

“Food,” Weld said. “Help yourself, please. Sveta doesn’t eat much and it’ll go to waste otherwise. I think we kept track of the ones I ate from and put them away.”

“Why does it matter?” Tristan asked.

“I don’t have much sense of smell or taste. We’ve been exploring, and we’re getting further afield, trying things that are not so good for flesh and blood.”

“We started with capsaicin and citric acid concentrate,” Sveta said.

“Among other things,” Weld said.

“We’ll find something,” Sveta said.

“Hoping so. If it tastes funny, don’t keep eating it,” Weld said. “I think we removed all of the dishes I tried.”

“I’ll pass, thank you,” Natalie said.

Tristan sat down on the floor next to Crystal, grabbing a spare bowl, before portioning out contents.

“Any more word from our absentee?” I asked.

“Nothing except a string of seemingly random words left in case he disappears for good. It’s cryptic enough it would take some trying to find him, which I think is what he intends.”

“It might be a good thing,” Crystal said. “If they’re after him.”

“Tactically? Yes. But he’s a friend. He told me almost everything,” Tristan said. “Not this.”

I looked at the screen of the computer. Rapping my fingers against the edge of the laptop twice, I said, “C says it’s unusual for our missing member to use something that cryptic. He’s not wrong.”

“There’s a lot of unusual happening with him lately, I don’t know what conclusions to draw from that,” Tristan said. “He gives himself a hard time because he doesn’t realize that he has a lot of inner strength and a lot of general talents the rest of us don’t have. I think he’s capable enough to come out of this intact, barring the worst-case scenarios.”

“I worry about the people around him, too,” I said.