There was no stopping her, Joe. She paused, then added, This is something she needs to do. You know that. If she doesn’t, she’ll never be free of her brother’s curse. You’ve said the same thing to her.

“I never—”

The only difference here is that you didn’t know the specifics.

“You’re right,” Joe said after a moment. “But I’m just so damned worried about her. Have been ever since the accident. There was a dimming of that light she casts after the car hit her, and it never really came back.”

It has now, Honey assured him.

“Well, that’s something.”

I’m worried, too, Honey said, but I also have faith in her. She will prevail.

She seemed to believe it. Joe wanted to believe it, too, but he knew better than her how quickly things could go wrong in the otherworld. Especially in a situation such as this. A world that existed inside her own head? How could she possibly go there? The physics were improbable, even for the otherworld.

But that didn’t mean it wasn’t true. The problem was it was all new territory, new rules.

“The others are still waiting for her on the mesa?” he asked.

Honey nodded. Joe, if there’d been another way . . .

“I’m not laying blame on anybody,” he told her, “except on me. I should have handled this differently. What was I thinking, setting some ordinary safety spell on her? If there’s one thing I should have learned over the years, it’s that Jilly’s anything but ordinary.”

“So, maybe she knows what she’s doing,” Jack said.

“Right. That’s why, when she went back in, she was still stuck in the body of a child.”

Have faith in her, Honey said.

“I . . .”

He was about to say that he did, but if that was the case, then why was he so worried?

“I’ll try,” he said.

He started to get up, but Jack put a hand on his arm.

“Wait,” he said.

“Wait? For what?”

“Well, for one thing, to get centered again. I’ve never seen you like this, Joe. If you don’t get focused, something is going to get screwed up.”

“And how are we going to get centered?”

Jack smiled. “For starters, we’re going to sit here a moment and let the night fill us. We’re going to appreciate the beauty and the stillness. Then we’re going to offer some smoke to the four directions and the Grace.”

Joe gave a slow nod.

“And then,” Jack said, “we’re going to see what needs to be done. And if we need to kick some ass, we’ll be ready for that, too.”

He waited until Joe nodded again, then pulled out his tobacco and started to build a smoke.