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Ren finished up and stumbled back out into the open air. She was feeling a touch light-headed. She eyed the open pasture and saw a moonlit figure. It had her heart pounding until she realized it was little Talia. The girl stood in the doorway of one of the cabins, eyes fixed curiously on Ren. She offered another wave, but the girl ducked back out of sight. Ren was struck by a brief terror that Clyde might come. Might find the girl unprotected. But according to Cora, the magic that had brought him back to life was focused. His hunger was not bent toward random children, like monsters from the stories. It was absorbed entirely with them.
She started back toward the porch, when a glow on the far end of the property caught her eye. Smoke hissed out of something. Maybe a boiler room? She watched the light of the stars and the moon fracture across the spot. It looked green and then blue and then silver. Like an aurora.
A throat cleared. Ren spied Lev on the porch, working to light a pipe. He smiled as she approached. It was the same look older men offered her down by the wharf. A lingering stare that crawled uncomfortably over her skin. Better to stay away from this one, she thought.
“Dell is serving up the pie,” he said, thumbing toward the entrance. “Go on and get a slice before the Mackie boys shovel it all down. Something sweet for someone sweet.”
That last line had the hairs on her neck standing up. She couldn’t duck back inside fast enough. The warmth of the kitchen washed over her as she did. Ren would just have to resign herself to the fact that she’d be sweating in front of the others. She dabbed her forehead with one sleeve before rounding the corner. Everyone in the room looked up at the same time.
Except for Theo and Cora. Both of them were facedown, heads set delicately on their own used handkerchiefs. Della was humming a little lullaby, running her fingers along Theo’s spine. He didn’t react at all. Ren felt her head spin again. Her first instinct was flight, but before she could turn, she heard a rustle at the door. Lev stood there with his arms folded.
She reached for her wand and came back empty-handed. It wasn’t at her hip.
“Looking for this?” Lev called, waving it in the air.
Ren’s wrist was empty too. She’d hidden her mother’s bracelet in their satchel. She had no access to either of her vessels. When she turned back, Della offered that slanted smile.
“Careful now, honey. You’re properly loaded at this point. Got enough of the breath in you to knock out a horse. Don’t beat yourself up for not noticing. It’s hard to smell it with all the cooking and whatnot.” That old-flower scent. She should have known. Ren’s legs threatened to give way. “Working with the substance as much as we do, all of us have an immunity built up to it. Except for Talia, of course. We never risk exposing the children.”
Ren stammered the word “why” and it sounded unintelligible even to her own ears. More of a garbled syllable than anything else. Della still answered.
“Let’s just say I’m not buying what you’re selling. We get lost pioneers coming through plenty. Explorers, hikers. No one comes down from that pass. No one. And look at you three. You don’t have the right boots for hiking. None of the right gear with you. A single bag in your possession. You said you’re lost?”
Della smiled as the rest of the world began to sway.
“If lost means you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, I’d agree with you. But don’t worry. We’ll find out exactly who sent you here. And why they sent you. We’ve got plenty of time to learn all your little secrets, honey. I’ll be seeing you again real soon.”
The light traded places with the dark as Ren fell.
36
Ren woke to a sharp kick. The room was dark. The right side of her head felt like it had been slammed into stone. She let out an involuntary groan as her eyes tried to adjust. There were shapes, shadows. A voice speaking her name.
“Ren?”
“Theo? Where’s Cora?”
“I’m here.”
There was a rattle of chains. Ren tried to sit up and finally realized how tightly she’d been bound. The inability to move more than a few inches had her chest heaving. She did not like tight spaces. She didn’t like being bound. She didn’t like anything that was outside of her control.
“Ren. Calm down. We’re here.”
But Ren’s mind felt as trapped as her body. Her thoughts were sluggish. Her wand and her bracelet were missing. Thinking of a spell to free herself didn’t matter, because for the first time in five years, she had no way to use the magic she’d dedicated herself to learning.
Theo’s voice cut her thoughts. “Ren. It’s going to be okay. Cora has a plan.”
Ren pulled again. Her chains rattled. She could feel the metal digging into her wrists and neck. Something feral guttered up her throat. Her entire body felt like it was falling through the earth. She barely heard Cora’s voice.
“I’ve got a devorium.”
There were very few words that could have broken through Ren’s mental barriers. “Devorium” was one of them. She could see that word highlighted in a textbook. The definition floating in the darkness before her. A devorium is a mass of concentrated time, gathered by illicit means into a singular vessel. The one-time use of this object allows its wielder to travel back as far as two hours, depending on the potency of the time stolen by the object’s creator. Ren read that definition, glowing in the dark air in front of her, over and over. Her breathing finally settled. The cramps in her legs faded. She wanted to believe Cora’s claim, but it didn’t seem possible.
“How?”
A deep breath. “I made one. For my final exam. Just in case.”
There could be no more shocking admission. Ren could hear Cora’s guilt written into every syllable. Bringing contraband into a final was the kind of thing that could end someone’s career before it ever started, but possessing a devorium? That was infinitely worse.
