Cissy rattles one of the boxes on the countertop. “We found even better stuff this time around.”
Erik rubs his palms together and scans the table, his mismatched eyes glittering with excitement. “Here’s what we’ve figured out so far.” He picks up a plate-looking thing made out of metal. “This is a torquetum from the 1400’s. It belongs in a museum, not a warehouse. It’s the first step in a magical path that leads to this.” He sets down the torquetum and picks of a pair of old-fashioned wire-rimmed glasses. “And then, the spectacles are connected to yet another enchanted thing.” He holds up a wound-up piece of plastic shaped like a figure eight. “This one’s from the Earth.”
I can’t help but laugh. “That’s a Thigh Master. I’ve seen commercials for them on the Human Channel.”
“Crazy, right?” Erik sets the item back onto the tabletop. “The connections go on and on and on. It’s like a long magical chain that links every item in the warehouse. The Orb is at the end of the line, but it could take months to find it end by hand. Maybe even years.”
I rub my neck with my right hand and frown. “So, any options?”
“Yes, we have an idea right here.” Erik picks up a little tin bird from the 1800’s. It’s blue with mechanical wings and a winding key in its side. “We think we can alter the spell on this toy so it will fly through the exact path the magical signal takes to reach the Orb. Should only take a matter of hours to find it.”
Cissy bobs up and down on her heels. “That’s awesome, guys!”
“Great work.” I do my golfer’s clap.
A silly-slash-pleading look crosses Erik’s face. “Great Scala, I mean, Myla. Since you’re so happy with my work, I was wondering if I might ask a favor.”
“Sure. What is it?”
Erik gestures across the table. “Some of these things you clearly won’t need, and I might have a use for them.”
Lincoln’s face warms with an indulgent smile. “More of your pranks, Erik?”
“You know me, Linc. Man’s got to have a hobby.”
“That’s for Myla to decide.” Lincoln turns to me. “What do you say?”
Have Erik clean out some of this magical garbage for me? That’s a big yes.
“Sure, have your fun.”
Erik pumps the air with his fist. “Yeah.”
“Back to the warehouse, though.” I pick up the tin bird from the tabletop. “When can we try out your idea?”
Erik glances up at the clock. “Not until tomorrow morning. We’re due back in Antrum in a few minutes.”
“Let me grab my stuff,” says Walker. “I’ll portal you.” He steps out of the room.
I pull Lincoln aside. “Should we really have Walker portal these guys? I don’t want his backdoors to get discovered. Don’t you have some old transfer stations in Purgatory? Maybe Octavia could turn them back on for us. It’s less obvious than using the official ones.”
Lincoln shakes his head. “I don’t want anyone knowing what we’re up to. Adair is bad news and she has too many allies in Antrum. I’m already under a lot of scrutiny, but my parents have it much worse. We can’t be too careful.”
I rub my forehead, considering. “If you feel strongly about it.”
“I do. And don’t forget, Walker knows how to be stealthy.”
“Good point, although he’s not as stealthy as you are.” Ever since I was nine, Walker’s been trying to sneak up on me, but he never can manage it.
Lincoln’s mouth rounds into a toe-curling smile. “Well, that goes without saying.” He gently pulls my back against his chest, wrapping his long arms around my waist. It’s a comforting position. I survey the kitchen, feeling some worry melt away. The Alchemists made huge progress today. Now, we have an actual plan to figure out how to find the Orb and restart Soul Processing.
Things are looking up.
The old rotary phone rings on my kitchen wall. Mom’s working to upgrade technology in Purgatory, but we still don’t have cellular service yet.
“I’ll get it.” I set the receiver to my ear. “Myla Lewis speaking.”
The other end of the line is a cacophony of screams and crashing. “Great Scala, you’re needed right away.” It’s Ramone, the Lead Warden for Ghost Tower One. “We’ve got a code-red failure.”
“Be right there.” I hang up the phone and frown.
Things may not be looking that up, after all.
Chapter Seven
Lincoln and I rush over to Ghost Tower One. After a great day with the Alchemists, we launch into a not-so-great all-nighter. It takes ages to pinpoint what’s wrong with the Tower. At last, we figure out that the electricity levels in the containment fields were off kilter, zapping all the ghosts awake and angry. One spirit even broke out of the Carrier, but the Tower went on lock-down before he got too far.