been able to come earlier and see this place in the daylight. He did so much work to it.”
Dawes’s hand brushed against Alex’s, startling her. It was a little thing, but Alex let her
knuckles do the same. Darlington had been right about the need for Lethe, about why they
were here. They weren’t just mall cops keeping a bunch of unruly kids in line. They were supposed to be detectives, soldiers. Michelle and Sandow didn’t get it.
Do I? Alex wondered. How had she gone from barely getting by to holy warrior? And
what was going to happen when they pulled Darlington back to their world from wherever
he’d been cooling his heels?
Maybe her work on the Tara Hutchins case would be a mark in her favor, but she very
much doubted he was just going to say, Way to take the initiative; all is forgiven. She would tell him she was sorry, that she hadn’t known what Hellie intended that morning at
Ground Zero. She would tell him whatever she had to and hold on to this life with both
hands.
“Where do we think he is?” Michelle was asking as they took the stairs up to the second floor.
“We don’t know. I thought we’d use a hound-dog casting.” Sandow sounded almost
pleased with himself. Alex sometimes forgot that the dean had actually been in Lethe, and had been pretty good at it too.
“Very nice! What are we using for his scent?”
“The deed to Black Elm.”
“Was it bound by Aurelian?”
“Not that I know of,” said Amelia. “But we can activate the language to summon the
signatories.”
“From anywhere?” asked Michelle.
“From anywhere,” Zelinski said smugly.
They went through a long description of the mechanics of the contract and how the summoning should work so long as the commitment to the contract was made in good faith and the parties had some emotional connection to the agreement.
Alex and Dawes exchanged a glance. That much at least they could be sure of:
Darlington loved Black Elm.
The second-floor ballroom had been lit with lanterns at the four compass points.
Darlington’s exercise mats and gear had been set off to the side.
“This is a good space,” said Zelinski, unzipping his backpack. He and Amelia drew out
four objects wrapped in cotton batting.
“We don’t need someone to open a portal?” Alex whispered to Dawes, watching Josh
unwrap the cotton to reveal a large silver bell.
“If Sandow is right and Darlington is just stuck between worlds or in some kind of pocket space, then the activation of the deed should create enough pull to bring him through to us.”
“And if it isn’t?”
“Then we’ll have to get Scroll and Key involved at the next new moon.”
But what if the Locksmiths had been the ones to create the portal in the basement that
night? What if they wanted Darlington to stay gone?
“Alex,” called Sandow, “please come help me make the marks.” Alex felt strange
warding the circle, as if she’d somehow fallen backward through time and become
Sandow’s Dante.
“We’ll leave the northern gate open,” he said. “True north to guide him home. I’ll need
you to be on the lookout for Grays on your own. I would take Hiram’s elixir but…. I’m at
an age when the risk is just too high.” He sounded embarrassed.
“I can handle it,” said Alex. “Is there blood involved?” She at least wanted to be ready
if a flood of Grays came on.
“No,” said Sandow. “No blood. And Darlington planted the Black Elm borders with
protective species. But you know strong desire can draw Grays, and strong desire is what
we need to bring him back.”
Alex nodded and took her position at the northern compass point. Sandow took the southern point; Dawes and Michelle Alameddine faced each other at east and west. With
only the candlelight to give shape to the space, the ballroom felt even more vast. It was a
big, cold room, built to impress people long since gone.
Amelia and Josh stood at the center of the circle with a sheaf of papers—the deed to Black Elm—but they would have nothing to do unless Sandow’s casting worked.