“Yes, sir.” I put the tobacco tin and the flask in my pocket with the map. “And thank you.”
I started down the stairs and stepped off the porch. I turned back to take one last look at the Greats, gathered around a card table, sewing and fussing, scowling and drinking whiskey, depending on which one of them you were talking about. I wanted to remember them this way, like regular people who were great for reasons that had nothing to do with seeing the future or scaring the hell out of Dark Casters.
They reminded me of Amma and everything I loved about her. The way she always had the answers and sent me off with something strange in my pocket. The way she scowled at me when she was worried, and reminded me of all the things I still didn’t know.
Sulla stood up and leaned over the porch rail. “When you see the River Master, you be sure to say I sent ya, you hear?”
She said it like I should know what she was talking about. “River Master? Who is that, ma’am?”
“You’ll know him when you see him,” she said.
“Yes, ma’am.” I started to turn away.
“Ethan,” Uncle Abner called, “when you get home, tell Amarie I’m expectin’ a lemon meringue and a basket a fried chicken. Two big, fat drumsticks…. Make that four.”
I smiled. “I will.”
“And don’t forget to send my bird back. He gets ornery after a while.”
The crow circled above me as I made my way down the stairs. I had no idea where I was going, not even with a map and a tobacco-eating bird that could cross over between worlds.
It didn’t matter if I had my mom, Aunt Prue, a Dark Caster who had escaped from the very place I was trying to break into, and all the Greats, with Twyla thrown in for good measure.
I had one stone now, and the more I thought about Lena, the more I realized I’d always known where to find the other one. She never took it off her charm necklace. Maybe that’s why Twyla had given it to her when she was a little girl—for some kind of protection. Or for me.
After all, Twyla was a powerful Necromancer. Maybe she’d known that I’d need it.
I’m coming, L. As soon as I can.
I knew she couldn’t hear me Kelting, but I listened for her voice in the back of my mind anyway. As if the memory of it could somehow replace hearing her.
I love you.
I imagined her black hair and her green and gold eyes, her beat-up Chucks and her chipped black nail polish.
There was only one thing left to do, and it was time for me to do it.
CHAPTER 14
Messed-Up Things
It didn’t take me long to retrace my steps to the Confederate Needle, and I found my own way to The Stars and Stripes this time around. I was crossing like an old Sheer now. Once I got the hang of it—a certain way of letting my mind do the work for me without focusing on anything at all—it seemed as easy as walking. Easier, since I wasn’t actually walking.
And once I was there, I knew what to do, and I could do it myself. In fact, I was actually looking forward to it. I’d done a little thinking ahead of time. I could see why Amma liked crossword puzzles so much. Once you got the right mind-set, they were sort of addictive.
When I found my way into the office—past Swamp Cooler City—the mock-up of the current issue was on one of the three little desks, right where it had been last time. I fanned open the papers. This time I found the crossword puzzle without much trouble.
This puzzle was even less finished than the last one. Maybe the staff was getting lazy, now that they knew there was a chance someone else would do it for them.
Either way, Lena would be reading the crossword puzzle. I picked up the nearest letter and pushed it into place.
Four down.
O. N. Y. X.
As in, a black stone.
Nine across.