“That’s half the battle,” I said to Leif.

He wouldn’t meet my eyes. His face was flushed with shame. Irritated, I snapped, “Now is not the time for this.”

He nodded, but still wouldn’t meet my gaze. Fisk ran off to join his friends in the game, giving us a few more minutes to get into the house.

We approached the house from a side street. The door was locked. I pulled my diamond pick and my tension wrench from my backpack and began working on the lock. Once I had aligned the pins, the lock’s tumbler turned and the door swung inward. I heard a surprised huff from Leif. Then we stepped inside the foyer and closed the door. I shoved my picks into my pocket.

Walking without sound, we entered a living area. The normal furniture and decorations seemed out of place. I guess I had expected something wild and weird; something that reflected a killer’s mind.

Leif held his machete and I gripped my bow, but I knew they would not protect us. Magic filled the house. It pressed against my skin and I started to sweat. The sounds of the children faded and we heard the light tread of feet from the floor above us.

Connecting with Gelsi’s mind, I saw Ferde approach her. He held a brown stone bowl and a long dagger. He wore his red mask and nothing else. She had been fascinated with the tattoos and symbols on his sculpted physique, but now she eyed them with revulsion.

I’m downstairs, I told her. What’s he going to do?

He wants more blood. Wait or else he will kill me if he hears you.

I had to physically hold on to Leif when Gelsi started moaning with pain. Handing him one of Esau’s Theobroma pills, I motioned that he should put it into his mouth. I placed my pack on the floor and quietly removed Perl’s device from my backpack.

With my bow in one hand and the device in the other, I waited at the bottom of the staircase with Leif. Finally, we heard Ferde moving again.

He’s gone, Gelsi said with relief.

My stomach tightened with apprehension. I pulled power to me to strengthen my mental defenses. A mistake. Ferde felt the draw and I could sense his growing alarm.

“Now,” I whispered to Leif. We rushed up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

Ferde waited for us on the landing. We skittered to a stop on the top step. An amused smile quirked Ferde’s lips before he pressed them together with concentration. Revulsion and terror welled up my throat at the sight of him, and I thought I would vomit as Tula’s horrible memories filled my mind.

The wave of his magic crashed against us. I grabbed the railing to keep from plummeting down the stairs. Leif jerked beside me but remained upright. Was that it? I glanced at Ferde. His eyes were closed. Moving toward him, I raised Perl’s device.

“Yelena, stop,” Leif said. His voice sounded odd.

I looked at Leif in time to see him swing his machete. Jumping back, I dropped Perl’s device and blocked Leif’s weapon with my bow.

“What are you—” I tried to ask, but with the pill between my teeth made it hard to talk.

Leif spat his pill out and moved to strike again. “When those men took my perfect baby sister, I thought I would reclaim my parents’ undivided attention.” Leif’s machete sliced toward my neck.

I ducked. Had his shame and guilt all been an act? Was he working with Ferde this whole time? Pushing aside my stunned disbelief, I jabbed him in the stomach with the end of my bow. He hunched over and grunted. Magic pressed on my skin and Leif straightened with renewed vigor. But who’s magic?

“Instead, I had to compete with a perfect ghost,” Leif said and attacked.

Chunks of wood flew through the air as I blocked his wide blade. It was only a matter of time before he would destroy my bow and I was running out of room in the narrow landing. There was a hallway to my left, and an open doorway on my right.

“Mother refused to leave our house, and Father was never home. All because of you.” Leif puffed with effort. “And you stayed away just to spite me. Didn’t you? You’re my strangler fig, and now it’s time to chop you down.”

Ferde had disappeared. I felt Gelsi’s brief cry of alarm as Ferde entered her room. He planned to finish the ritual while Leif kept me occupied. And it was working.

With a loud crack, my bow splintered in two. Leif advanced and I formed a magical shield, but he walked right through. As a last-ditch effort I sent out my mental awareness, entering his dark mind.

Hate and self-loathing filled his thoughts. I felt another presence in Leif’s head. Ferde had Story Weaver abilities and he had brought out all of Leif’s raw emotions and used them against me.

As Leif sliced his machete toward me, I stepped to the left, bringing my awareness back. I couldn’t defend myself physically while mentally gone; I just wasn’t that strong. Leif pulled his weapon back and thrust at me again. I had nothing left to defend myself. Perl’s device was out of reach.

Gelsi’s pleas for help burned through my thoughts like a hot poker, energizing me. I projected myself into Leif’s mind, taking control of his body like I had done with Goel. Halting the tip of his machete a mere inch from my stomach, I made Leif step back.

Pushing through the darkness of Leif’s mind, I found the young boy who had watched his sister being kidnapped; untainted with the feelings of guilt and hate. At that moment he held only curiosity and disbelief. Two emotions that Ferde wouldn’t be able to use against me. I sent Leif into a deep dreamless sleep. He crumpled to the floor as I went back to my body. Stopping Ferde was paramount; I would deal with Leif later. I hoped.