Timepiece (Hourglass 2)

I handed the school records to Lily. At least Dune finding a location narrowed things down for her.

“The bad news is, this was all I could find,” Dune said, tapping on the folder. “So if we’re going to focus the search, we’re going to have to go to West Tennessee to do it.”

“So someone needs to go to Memphis,” Michael said when Dune finished explaining his results.

I’d been standing in the corner, watching Lily not look at Dune.

“Yes. Maybe more than one of us,” Dune said. “Someone there might still have a memory of him. I think it would be worth asking around, since at this point, any information would help.”

“I don’t think a lot of us popping up somewhere and asking a bunch of questions is a good idea,” Em said. I’d been pretending she hadn’t been looking at me while I watched Lily. “The last thing we need to do is draw attention to ourselves.”

“Then we’d better not waste any time.” Dune leaned back in his chair. “We could map out the city, take it by section. Do you have your laptop, Kaleb?”

“Battery’s fried,” I said. “Michael still owes me money for the last one he and Em shorted out.”

“If no one has a map handy, I can pull one up on my phone.” Dune started to reach into his pocket. “But a big one would be easier for everyone to see than all of you trying to scoot in close and lean over my shoulder.”

“No scooting in close necessary,” I said, pushing myself away from the wall. “There’s an atlas in Dad’s office. I’ll get it.”

When I got back, I handed the map to Dune, who had just said something to make Lily laugh. She took the atlas out of my hands without looking at me.

Dune crossed his arms over his chest as he watched Lily flip through the maps of the states. He’d always been solid, but not exactly shredded. His biceps were more defined than I remembered. So were his pecs. Probably from working out with Nate, who was on a perpetual quest to build bulk.

I needed to get back to the gym.

“Liam is never going to let us go to Memphis without a fight.” Em looked at Michael. “You’re going to have to do a lot of convincing.”

“We don’t all have to go.” Michael was doing the superior thing. Em called it protective, but I didn’t need protection. Neither did she.

Em punched him in the shoulder. “Don’t you even, Michael Weaver. You aren’t cutting me out of this.”

“Or me,” I said.

Everyone started talking at once, arguing about who would go where and when.

Just as we were on the brink of a full-scale blowup, Lily dropped the atlas and gasped.

Shock. Disbelief.

“What’s wrong?” Em abandoned her argument and went to Lily’s side.

Lily covered her mouth with her hands. They were shaking. “The map …” She slowly lowered them. “I touched Ivy Springs. I was going to trace the route from here to Memphis.”

“Okay.” Em waited for the rest. The amount of concern she was putting out made me tense. Lily didn’t seem like the kind of girl to needlessly overreact.

“I was going to look for Kaleb’s sword from the masquerade earlier, by using my ability.” Lily took a deep breath. “We didn’t get around to it. But just now, when I touched the map, I saw the sword. Immediately, and exactly. In my mind—through my fingers. Like I was reading Braille or something.”

“Where?” I asked Lily, my palms on the table. “Where was it?”

“In your backyard.” She met my eyes. “In your fire pit, surrounded by ashes.”

“I tried to set the sword on fire,” I said.

“The costume, too?” Lily asked.

“Yes. The costume was the only thing that burned. I needed to do it.” I didn’t know how to explain further without talking about Poe slitting Em’s throat, and I didn’t know how much Lily knew. “It was … cathartic. But how did you find it?”

“I felt an instinct, and I knew I needed to put my hand on the map.” Lily’s voice was stronger now, and the color started to return to her cheeks. “There was a pull, the same kind of pull I felt earlier when Kaleb and I were practicing.”