and went to sleep.
She frowned up at me. “Did you think I was going to kill him?” We started walking again.
I glanced back at Kripke. He was watching me, his face pale and sweaty in the chilly morning air. He turned around and went back inside.
Catherine started to follow us.
“What did I hear about a spell?” Annalise asked. All trace of the tiny smile she’d greeted me with was gone. “You didn’t ransom that investigator—”
“No,” I said. “No way. I know better. I gave him a fake.” I explained how I set up the arson, then got Yin to believe me when it came time to give him the spell.
Annalise nodded but still didn’t smile. “That’s all right, for this time. But don’t do it again. People do crazy things for spells, Ray. If word started to spread that someone bartered with you for a spell, it could cause trouble for you.”
I could imagine. “Gotcha. Can I ask a question?”
“Is Zahn a primary, whatever that is? Are you?”
“That’s more than one question, but okay. No, Zahn isn’t a primary. He’s a quaternary, at best, but probably isn’t even that high. And before you ask, I’m a senary. Now I’m guessing you want to know what that means.”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“There are only three real spell books in the world. They’re the source of all the magic on the planet, but they don’t have any actual spells in them. They’re also not really books, but never mind that. When you read one, you have visions. Dreams.”
She fell silent for a moment. “After the visions are over,” she continued, “the primary writes them down as clearly as possible, and that becomes what most of these idiots think of as a spell book.”
We turned the corner. Annalise’s battered Dodge Sprinter stood on the shoulder of the road. I was glad to see it again. I said: “So, if the primary passes the written-out spell book—one named after him, like,
“Right.”
“And the secondary casts the same spells, but they’re weaker. Because, I guess, you can’t pass on a vision to another person without having it change a little.”
This time Annalise did smile, just a bit. “Very good.”
“And the Twenty Palace Society doesn’t have those three original spell books anymore, so you’ve been slowly losing power.”
“We had two, but that’s right. Several centuries ago, they were stolen. It’s an ugly part of our history.”
We reached the van. Annalise gave me the keys, and I got behind the wheel. It was just like old times.
Except I wasn’t thrilled the way I had been when Catherine picked me up. It wasn’t an adventure anymore. It was a job. An ugly job. I couldn’t understand how I’d been so excited to come back to it a few days ago. “Are more peers coming?” I asked.
“No. Why would they?”
“First Pratt, then you—”
“Pratt was assigned by the peers. He won’t be replaced until his death is confirmed.”
“Then why did you come, boss?”
“Because I’m checking on you, Ray. You’re my wooden man. You belong to me.”
Catherine pulled the driver’s door open. “Are you going to leave me behind?”
“Yes,” Annalise answered.
“You can’t. Not after all this.”
“Hey,” I said, “what happened to
“I can’t walk away from all this,” she said. “Not now. All these years that I’ve been snooping around, making a phone call and then bugging out. I’ve been hiding, making the easy choice.… Last night, with the horses and that little girl … and I was watching those people set up for their festival, but I couldn’t feel anything at all because of the ghost knife. They were working so hard in the dark and the cold—sometimes stopping to hold someone while they cried.
“But I couldn’t feel anything, not until I woke up this morning when the effect had worn off. I haven’t … God, that little girl
Annalise leaned across the center of the van toward Catherine. “Will you be my wooden man?”
I mouthed
Catherine frowned at me. “Pratt was a quinary, wasn’t he? And Zahn killed him.”
“Pratt was an arrogant ass,” Annalise said. “He thought everyone would tremble at the sight of his big hat and long coat. I’m not as precious. And I have help.”
“I want to help, too. I won’t be a wooden man, but I’ll do what you ask me to do.”
