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I turned slowly, holding it out in each direction. “Where next?” I asked, prompting the crystal.

The chain went slack, and the crystal stopped swinging.

I glanced around, but wasn’t sure where it was indicating. I gave it a shake and tried again. But nothing.

“Wonderful,” I muttered.

I shoved it back in my pocket. Goosebumps rose on my arms despite the temperature, and the relics began vibrating against my ribs once again.

No, I thought. I can’t.

My mother’s ghost tapped me on the shoulder and began pointing down one of the streets. I turned away from her. “This is what it feels like to be ignored,” I said under my breath, trying my best to keep my mouth from moving, lest anyone watching think me mad. “Get used to it.”

I whistled for Della, hoping to call the stubborn familiar back to me. Her wings would be useful right now. She could get a bird’s-eye view of the area, and we could find the buyer together; however, she didn’t come.

It was just me and Mama.

Her ghost glided in front of me and held out her hand.

“Don’t,” I said, intent on stepping around her and continuing on my way. “I’m not doing this with you anymore.”

Mama drew her hands through the air, as though pulling back an unseen curtain. I started to walk past her, but stopped again when I realized the world around me had darkened as if another world had appeared over mine, like warm breath against glass.

From that darkness, a figure formed. At first, it was little more than a ghostly shadow, like her, but then it became more solid, revealing…

My breath caught.

It was the sailor I’d been looking for. His crutch clacked as he made his way toward a crooked door in the direction Mama had been pointing. My pulse quickened as his shade checked to ensure he wasn’t being followed, then pushed the door open and slipped inside.

When I glanced back at Mama, she had her arms crossed and was wearing a satisfied look. Her red hair billowing around her pale face like flames.

“You’re not supposed to be able to do that,” I told her.

She narrowed her eyes, as if to say, please. Mama had been a powerful witch in life. Maybe, as a ghost, she could summon shades of the past. If so, she was pointing me in the direction of the buyer the sailor had told me about.

Despite my reservations, I asked, “Are you really trying to help me?”

She nodded.

I really shouldn’t trust her. Death couldn’t have done that much to her morality. But if I wanted to leave Valemer, I needed to sell a relic. Della would likely argue the point that pursuing a seedy underground magickal object dealer was unwise, but she was off being a sulky baby.

I glanced back in the direction I’d come, wondering if it would be best to take my chances in another town. Find a dark magick coven in need. One who hadn’t been able to charge their magick without paying a more influential coven to use their relic. As much as that appealed to me, I didn’t think a small family would have the kind of money I required.

I was stuck between pursuing the path my mother was guiding me down and chancing our future in the hope of finding someone new to sell a relic to. Turning back, I contemplated the door again. If my mother was correct, then the buyer was right here. If I made the sale now, I could take the money and start a new life. I wouldn’t have to keep running. All I had to do was take the next step.

I made my decision and crossed the street, chin lifted high. Mama floated beside me, grinning wide from ear to ear, looking almost cheery. Which really wasn’t like her.

“Don’t think this means I won’t bind your spirit,” I warned her. “I’m not following your orders. I’m just following him.”

Before I reached the stoop, a large man wearing leather greaves and a dark wool tunic stepped into my path, cutting me off. I had to abruptly stop lest I run into him. He had a nasty scar that ran down one side of his face.

“G’day,” he said.

I tried to keep my expression light and devoid of nerves. “And what a good day it is, kind sir.”

His eyes slid over me, slow and assessing, lingering long enough to feel like he’d just grabbed my backside. “If you wanna play, I need to see your coin up front.”

Play? I cut Mama a look, then tried to recover. “What sort of establishment charges before the game is even played?” I asked, adding a flirty laugh.