“Who are you talking to?” Oliver asked, stopping to place a kiss on my forehead.

“I am talking to Colin,” I said proudly. “And we both think we should get out of the way of all of these witches for a while.”

“Well, Mr. Colin,” Oliver said. “I figure that you are about the luckiest soon-to-be-in-the-world boy for having such a beautiful and understanding mother. I hate that you are being chased out of here,” he said, meeting my eyes. “But you saw what happened at the drawing of the lots. We like to pretend that everything is cut-and-dried, but things can easily go wrong when you have ten strong personalities playing volleyball with a nuclear bomb.”

“How can this be safe for Maisie?” I asked. “She was sent off for less than two weeks of training, and now she’s expected to come back and anchor our end of the line.”

Oliver smiled. “Gingersnap, this may seem like a strange concept to you, but even though she’s only been gone for a few days on our timeline, she’s been gone for years on her timeline. She’s had plenty of training, and the training has been with the anchor. Maisie has received very special treatment. Gudrun does not make herself available to just anyone.”

I wasn’t in the mood to get into how well acquainted I was with time’s capriciousness. Suddenly I realized that the loud ticking of Ginny’s discount store clock had served some purpose for her. The incessant and repetitive noise must have been like a subconscious metronome that had helped her keep the line in sync with our dimension. I wondered if Maisie would find such a tool useful, and whether I should get one for her. Or maybe the other anchors would include one in her welcome basket. Congratulations on your investment and good luck with taking on the weight of the world!

“Will this Gudrun be part of the investment ceremony?” I asked instead.

“No, she no longer exists on our plane,” Oliver said. I could tell that there was a lot he wasn’t saying.

“I saw her once,” I said.

Oliver’s face turned gray. “That can’t be,” he said.

“No, I did. I saw her and Maisie through the mirror when I was borrowing your power.”

“Did she see you?” Oliver asked, his usually smooth forehead crinkling.

“Yes, but only for a moment. She waved her hand and broke the connection.”

“I see,” he said. “Listen, Mercy, it would be best if you didn’t even think about Gudrun again.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said unimpressed. “Ellen already warned me. Force of nature and all that.”

“No, sweetheart, you need to listen. Don’t do anything to draw Gudrun’s attention.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Listen, Gudrun is not where she is by choice but as punishment. She won’t be a part of the investment because she isn’t allowed back into our world. Working with Maisie was less of a goodwill gesture than it was an act of penance on her part. And,” he added, “a warning on Maisie’s part. For your sake, for Colin’s sake, leave this one alone.”

“Okay,” I said, appropriately chastened. “I won’t pull any more loose strings.”

“Good,” he said, relief transforming his face back into a youthful mask. “And while we’re on the subject of people you should stay away from, I don’t want to hear about you hanging out with Jilo again.” He pointed upstairs. “We’ve broken her link to the linen closet. You should have never kept it secret from us.”

“I know,” I said. “I’m sorry.”

He looked at me through narrowed eyes. “Nothing about her is real, you know? It’s all a show,” he said. “And I don’t just mean that she has to borrow her power. I knew her granddaughter, remember, and I know things about her. She might go around acting like some backwoods Hoodoo priestess who can’t use a personal pronoun or conjugate a verb, but it’s all an act. It’s good for business. It’s what people expect. Truth is, the woman’s a graduate of Spelman College. She holds a degree in chemistry. If she’d been born twenty years later, she would have most likely ended up a medical doctor, not a root doctor.” He read the surprise on my face. “That’s right, nothing’s real about Jilo other than the trouble she can land you in if you don’t keep clear of her.”

“I’ll stay away,” I said, somehow knowing it was a lie. I was connected to the old woman now. Even if everything about her was a lie, there was some ineffable link between us, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to shake it off. I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

“Good,” he responded, too distracted to read me as he usually might. “Your sister comes home in a few hours. You ready for that?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“She’s going to want to talk to you, but I’m afraid you two won’t have much time together. The representatives from the rest of the families will be arriving just before she does, and they’re going to keep her busy.”

“Does she know about Connor?” I asked.

“Yes, she’s aware of what he did. She knows about Wren as well. I know she’s desperate to lay eyes on you, to see for herself that you’re okay.” He paused. “We haven’t mentioned the baby. We figured you’d want to tell her yourself.”

“And Jackson?”

“She knows he’s gone,” Oliver said. “Remember, Gingersnap, from her perspective, she’s been gone for a very long time. She’s had time to grieve for Connor, in whatever form that grieving might have taken. And she’s had time to get over Jackson too. I think that both of you girls have realized that although he came in a very nice package, there wasn’t much substance there. If there had been, he would have at least waited to tell Maisie good-bye face-to-face.”

I just nodded my head in agreement. “Okay, my girl. I have to get back to business,” he said and started to walk away. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks, and swiveled around. “Wait!” he said. “I have a surprise for you first.” I looked at him warily, and he laughed. “No, this one is good. Your aunts and I made a reservation for you at the Mansion tomorrow. While we’re dealing with the families, you’ll spend the day at the spa and then enjoy a night in your very own park view suite,” he said, doing his best imitation of a game show host.

“That sounds wonderful,” I said. “Thank you.”

He winked at me. “Anything for my favorite niece,” he said blithely. He paused for a long moment, and when he finally spoke, his voice had taken on a more serious tone. “And I want you to know that I mean that. Maisie has always been the apple of everyone’s eye, and don’t get me wrong, I love that girl to bits, but you’re my little Gingersnap, you hear me?”

He was the black sheep, and I was the dud. Deep down I’d always known I was his favorite, but it felt good to hear it anyway. I smiled. “Yeah, I hear you,” I said. “Now get out of here before we both start crying like little girls.” He laughed and left the room. I followed him out a few minutes later and went outside to sit on the side porch. The past few weeks had caught up to me all at once, and I felt a thousand years older than the age on my driver’s license. I sat quietly, focusing on controlling my breath. The cicadas did a wonderful job of drowning out the sounds coming from inside the house, and the warmth of the sun lulled me into a mercifully dreamless sleep.