Conjured

resources. They’ve invaded twice, and we’ve fought them back twice. But thousands have died. And I believe—I know—we are losing.”

“So?” Zach said. “I mean, I’m sorry, I am, but what does that have to do with Eve?”

“Two years ago, I left school and enlisted,” Aidan said. “I used my power to help my country … but when word spread about a serial killer who was targeting the young and powerful, I was ordered to let WitSec hide me.”

Zach crossed his arms. “Okay, so you’re a war hero in hiding.”

Aidan ignored him and focused on me. “I was also ordered to recruit others with power to join our cause.”

“Victoria and Topher,” I guessed.

“Yes. And I was ordered to find a weapon—the killer’s power source. My superiors were certain that WitSec had it. And they were right.” Aidan flashed his brilliant smile at me. “I found you.”

I felt cold. “I don’t want to be a weapon.”

“Would you rather be dead?” Aidan asked. “After the trial, they’ll kill you. Or they’ll try. If you agree to work for my government and to help us win the war, then we will ensure that WitSec can’t hurt you.”

Zach put his arm around my cloth shoulders. As a doll, I was smaller than he was, and his arm draped down, enveloping me. “I don’t trust him,” he declared.

“He’s still so innocent,” Aidan marveled. “Tell me, Green Eyes: Who exactly would you trust? Can’t trust your maker.” He pointed at the Magician’s box. “You ran from WitSec, so I doubt you trust them. Face it, I am your only reasonable option. Come with me, and we will keep you safe in exchange for your cooperation.”

“And Zach?” I asked. “Will you keep him safe too?”

Aidan hesitated. “He belongs in his own world. He said it himself—you’re the special one, Evy.”

“You want to use me, like the Magician used me,” I said.

“It’s not the same! Our enemies are like the Magician. Unscrupulous. Evil. You’ll be able to save hundreds, potentially thousands, of lives—”

Zach snorted. “By being a weapon?”

“For a just cause!” Aidan said. “Yes, we will use your power against our enemy. Yes, some people— evil people—may die. I won’t lie to you. War isn’t pretty. But with your strength … we could win, end the war, stop the violence, save the day! Eve, you’d be a hero to millions. Please, Eve … consider it. And be ready when the moment comes.” He then fetched a cloth and wiped away the final symbols on the floor with a flourish, as if he were making a point.

I didn’t know what to think of that decision and the possible future he offered. But I knew I was done with the past. Holding the Magician’s box, I surveyed the wagon, my home and my prison. The candleflame in the lantern flickered, causing shadows to dance over the bottles, bones, and boxes. “I want to leave.”

“The marshals are outside,” Aidan said. “Ready to take you to the trial.”

“Outside? I thought that was a bluff! They’re really …”

Zach’s eyes bulged, and his face tinted pink. He looked as if he wanted to explode. He gulped in air like a fish. “And they didn’t help because … why? You were nearly killed! I was … And there was help outside?”

“As soon as I obtained proof that Eve was here and that this was the right magician, I was to pop out and signal for help. An impenetrable wagon was not part of the plan.”

“You had a crappy plan,” Zach said. “You could have been killed.”

“It was a risk I accepted,” Aidan said.

“I could have been killed!” Zach said. “She could have been killed!”

Aidan tilted his head and smiled his dazzling smile. “Seems to me your plan had flaws too, library boy. Yet you chose to come as well. You weren’t forced. In fact, I believe the agency tried enthusiastically to prevent you. And when Lou realized that he couldn’t stop you, he gave you the tool you’d need to succeed.” He nodded at the box. Aidan’s words made sense. Maybe he wasn’t lying anymore.

The box in my hands felt like a weight. “I want this to be over,” I said.

“Then let’s end it, Green Eyes.” Aidan held out his hand to me. I ignored his hand and instead took Zach’s. His fingers closed tightly around my cloth fingers. Aidan lowered his hand, and I thought I saw his expression twist … but no, the smile was plastered on his face again. “You really do have green eyes. Don’t you want to change back to human before we go out there?”

“This is who I am. What I am. Anything else is a lie, and I’m done with lies.”

Zach and I walked to the door. He released my hand so I could unlock it. I cradled the Magician’s box under my arm. As I ran my fingers over the swirls in the wood, I heard the familiar click, click-click- click. The door swung open, and weak sunlight filtered inside. I looked back once more—the bottles caught the sunlight and cast colored shadows across the boxes, skulls, and feathers. I held the box containing the Magician tighter, and then the three of us stepped outside.

Guns were trained on us. On either side of me, Aidan and Zach raised their hands as if in surrender. I didn’t. I was holding the box tightly in my cloth hands, clutched to my chest. The guns were held by agents in flak jackets—Malcolm, Lou, Aunt Nicki, and dozens of others that I didn’t recognize. Behind them, in a semicircle, I saw the acrobats and contortionists and animal trainers from the carnival. Squeezed between them, a kid ate a caramel apple, as if this were just another part of the show.

I must have looked strange to them, even compared to the circus performers. A living doll. I wondered what they thought, if they even knew who or what I was. Holding up the box with the Magician, I said, “He’s here.”

Malcolm lowered his gun.

He walked forward. His eyes were fixed on the box. He doesn’t recognize me, I thought, and I was surprised at how much that thought hurt. Approaching me, he held out his hands. My grip on the box tightened, and the fabric of my fingers strained. I didn’t know what the agency planned to do with him—or what I wanted them to do with him. One twist, the Magician had said, and you could crush a box in one hand. One twist, and he would never hurt anyone ever again. As if this thought were visible in my eyes, Malcolm stopped. He didn’t touch the box. He looked down at me. As a doll, I was much shorter than he was. “Eve.”

He knew me! Even like this …

“He’ll stand trial,” Malcolm said quietly. “He will be held accountable for what he has done. Your testimony will make it possible.”

“Did you let me escape?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said.

“Because you needed more evidence? Because you needed me to stop him? Because you couldn’t find him without me?”

“Yes,” he said again.

“I could have died.”

He nodded.

“Zach could have died. Aidan almost did.”

He looked down at his feet.

“You were supposed to keep me safe,” I said. “And Aidan too. You were supposed to keep everyone safe. It’s your job. It’s who you are, who your past made you.”

Malcolm half smiled. It was a sad smile. “I can’t keep you safe from yourself. It’s true we let you escape, but stopping you would have required deadly force. Lou … tried to salvage the situation.”

“How did you find me?”

“Pieced together clues from our notes about your visions, plus you and the boy were spotted several times by our contacts as you passed through their worlds. But finding the carnival took longer than we wanted. There are many worlds.” He looked up at me, met my green marble eyes. “I wanted to keep you safe, if that counts for anything.”

I didn’t know if it did or not, but I handed him the box.

“Thank you,” he said. “We will talk more back at the agency. I am … glad you’re alive.” He looked as if he wanted to say more, but he didn’t.

I watched him carry the box to a steel briefcase. It was lined with foam inside, cut to fit the box.