Winnie gave a grim smile, nodding in understanding. She knew all too well what they’d endured during their final moments on Earth. Maybe it was best that they didn’t trust humans — that might serve to protect the magic they made here.

  “This place is changing the world outside, Seelie. Do you know why others cannot see it?” she asked. “Why haven’t other humans noticed the clear skies and come to investigate?”

  “The Lady doesn’t allow others to see what is happening. Only the invited may come, and only they can see what is happening.”

  “What is happening, Seelie?” Winnie asked.

  “This is an opening to Avalon. It is both what was and could be again.”

  “So that’s Avalon down there?” Winnie pointed to the crater, then stepped over the edge, tuning her senses to the magic around her.

  She felt the difference immediately. The magic here was pure and unfettered. Compared to the magic in this place, the rest of the world was like forcing her way through wet cement.

  Winnie kept walking towards the pool. As she approached, the landscape expanded. By the time she reached the water’s edge, the tiny pool from above had expanded into a broad, mist-covered lake. The shores were lined with trees as far as the eye could see, trunks swallowed in the haze.

  Winnie recognized this place: the shoreline from her dream. The place where she met Brigid. She looked around, searching the mists on-shore and across the water.

  No sign of the lady in white.

  “She’s not here, Momma,” Seelie said from behind Winnie. “The Lady only comes when someone she deems worthy is in need of instruction. She will not return. Few are those who see the Lady. Fewer still are those who see her more than once.”

  “But I don’t know what to do, except find others like myself!”

  “She must have offered you counsel,” Seelie said. “Just as she did for Victor.”

  “She spoke to Victor?” Winnie spun around to face him. “What did she tell you?”

  “That I was your protector, meant to help you find a great talisman.” He shrugged. “I don’t understand it all, or how exactly I’m supposed to help, but I’m trying, Winnie.”

  “A talisman? What talisman?”

  “A sword perhaps?” Victor said. “I’m not sure what’s real and what isn’t. Seelie showed me the time when magic was offered to mankind. There was a great sword, a king’s gift. It seemed somehow important, but I’m not sure I understand how a sword could help us today.”

  “It doesn’t make any sense to me either,” Winnie agreed, her voice bitter. “And it doesn’t help me find what I’m looking for. I was hoping there would be some clue, some link, to the ones I search for. Instead I find this strange place full of riddles.”

  Winnie was getting angry and she didn’t know why. She looked back at the lake before turning to Victor, Danny, and Seelie. “Sorry. I need to think about this for a while before coming back.”

  “It’s alright, Momma. It’s not always the right time to reveal what is sought. Your search will bear fruit if it is meant to be. I hope you return soon.”

  Winnie looked at the tiny fairy child and smiled. “I will try.”

  With that, Winnie started back towards the crater’s edge, her view shifting as she walked, narrowing with every step until she reached the edge and was again standing at the side of a grassy crater with a small pool of still water at the bottom.

  “Winnie,” Danny spoke for the first time since their arrival. “Was that tiny girl really our—”

  “Daughter? In some way, yes. I think she was. But she’s much more than that now. I feel like she’s connected the present with eternity.”

  She kept ascending the gentle slope until her feet touched the metal tread. The moment it did, her phone bleated and buzzed in her pocket — a slurry of missed messages loading all at once.

  Same for Victor, judging by the dig at his pocket. The area must mask their signals. She pulled out the phone and saw several missed calls from her mother, along with a single voicemail.

  Feeling a sudden ugly dread, Winnie tapped her phone to play the message, already running toward the parking lot.

  Chapter 15

  Elaine dialed again and again while looking out her kitchen window.

  Police, Red Legs, and soldiers lined the street outside her building.

  They were grabbing at people as they ran by, tackling them to the ground then herding their captives into waiting buses with barred windows.

  Elaine could hear the screams from captive chanters and the shouts from the officers rounding them up.

  She couldn’t believe what was happening.

  Kane was really doing it.

  He was going to take them all to camps somewhere.

  She had to warn Winnie.

  She dialed again, frustrated that she couldn’t get through.

  There was a banging on her apartment door.

  Someone was demanding that she open up, let them search her place.

  She knew she didn’t have long.

  This time she went to Winnie’s voicemail.

  “Winnie, it’s Mother,” Elaine said, taking a deep breath to calm her voice. “Kane did it. He’s rounding up all the chanters in the Enclave and taking them to camps somewhere outside the city. They’re at the door now. I have to open up or they’ll break it down.” She paused again, took another breath. “Winnie, honey, they are looking for you, too. And all your friends. Run. Hide. Get somewhere safe and stay there—”

  The wooden jam splintered.

  Red Legs in riot gear rushed into the room.

  Elaine dropped the phone and hobbled as fast as she could toward the bedroom.

  A pair of hands grabbed her shoulders from behind and yanked her to the ground.

  Elaine only heard herself screaming for seconds under their swinging clubs before she lost consciousness.

  Chapter 16

  “Damn it, Danny,” Winnie cursed. “Drive faster.”

  “I can’t go any faster, we need to stay behind Victor so he can escort us to the Enclave.”

  The car lurched as Danny downshifted to navigate a curve before accelerating on the other side. She felt sick. They were too late. She could feel it in her gut. Her mother needed help, and Winnie was about to fail her.

  She’d played the phone message over and over again, hearing her mother screaming at the end: run, Winnie, run until she was silenced by what sounded like a sudden blow. Loud shouting followed by a dead connection.

  She switched her view to an app Tris had installed, allowing her to track her mother’s phone. It was still in her apartment. Even if she wasn’t there, her phone was.

  The car slowed. Winnie looked out the window toward some sort of police roadblock ahead. Victor had turned onto a side street. Danny turned to follow. Then Victor stopped his cruiser and Danny pulled up behind him.

  “What is he doing?” Winnie sounded desperate, even to herself.

  “Hold on, Win …”

  Victor jogged back to their car. Danny rolled down the window.

  “There are roadblocks surrounding the Enclave,” Victor said. “No one is getting in or out without official approval.”

  “But you’re the city’s Chief Inspector!” Winnie shouted.

  “Yes, and I can get through. You cannot.” Victor stood, looked around, then leaned back to the window. “Park here. You two can ride inside with me if you follow my lead.”

  “We can do that,” Danny agreed. “Right, Win?”

  “If we hurry. Mom still isn’t answering. I think they already got her.”

  “If they did, there’s a chance I can still get them to turn her over to me,” Victor said. “It depends on who picked her up. Come on. We’d best get moving. I don’t want another unit to spot us talking in the open like this.”

  On their way to Victor’s cruiser, Danny squeezed Winnie’s hand. “It’s gonna be alright.”

  “How do you know? We could already be too late. You heard the message. She was yelling. And then nothing. I’ll hunt every one of the bastards down and show them what an angry chanter can do if they hurt her.”

  Danny gave Winnie a worried glance then opened the passenger door.

  Victor shook his head. “Get in the back. It has to look like I have you in custody when we go through the roadblock.”

  Winnie and Danny got in the back as requested, sitting behind a Plexiglas panel. There were slots permitting conversation and air flow, but it was clear that this was for detainees. Winnie tried the door from inside. The handle moved but the door didn’t open.

  They were trapped in the back with no way out.

  “I hope you’re not trying to double-cross us, Victor,” Winnie said. “This would be quite a coup, capturing us yourself and bringing us in during the big raid. Seems like that might be a feather in the cap of your career.”

  Victor glanced at Winnie in the rearview. “Don’t be silly. You’re safer back there than anywhere else in the city. Trust me. I’m on your side.”

  Winnie didn’t answer. They’d reached the barricade. Several squad cars and officers blocked the road. Victor pulled up to the opening and lowered his window.

  “Hello Inspector,” the sergeant said. “I didn’t realize it was you.”

  “That’s alright, sergeant. How’s the operation going so far?”

  “Beats me.” The sergeant shrugged. “We were ordered to choke the perimeter and keep everyone from crossing either way. Your Red Legs and the Army are running things in the Enclave.”

  “Good work. Give me your card and I’ll drop a line to your captain, tell him I was impressed.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” The sergeant reached in a pocket and handed Victor his business card. Winnie could see the city police logo and the sergeant’s name, Wilson. She was getting increasingly anxious and wanted Victor to cut his small talk short, even though she knew he had to play this on his terms to ease them through without suspicion.

  The sergeant waved to one of his officers.

  A squad car pulled forward to open a path through the roadblock.

  “Have a nice day, sir. Good luck on the operation.”

  The sergeant saluted. Victor returned the gesture, rolled up his window, and pulled away.

  Winnie said, “They have the Army in on this?”

  “Seems that way. I had no idea. It must have come in from the capital this morning while I was at the crater with you, straight from Kane.”

  “It did.” Danny was looking at his phone, scrolling through an article. He read aloud while Victor entered the Enclave.

  “The Director of the Department of Magical Containment this morning ordered all non-essential chanters to be rounded up and placed in what he called ‘safety camps’ in order to protect the general public from the adverse effects of magic. It is believed that the continued use of magic by the chanter community in the nation’s enclaves has caused the climatological changes and earthquakes. Special units of the Army’s military police division and anti-magic warfare division were attached to Red Leg task forces for this operation.”

  They were passing buses being loaded with captured men, women, and children. They must have belonged to prisons and jails. One such bus was being loaded a block from her shop.

  Winnie gripped her door and yelled to Victor. “Stop!”

  Victor looked around, slowing to see the problem or threat. “What’s wrong, Winnie?”

  “They had Cait back there. They must’ve picked her up at the shop. You have to turn around.”

  Danny shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. We’re here to get your mom. We can’t do both.”

  “Danny’s right. I only have room for one more of you in the back seat. I can get your mother. They’re still loading the buses, so we should be able to get them before they leave. I’m afraid that once they start for their final destination, I’ll be unable to intervene.”

  “Cait first. Then Mom. We’ll think of where to put her when we get there. But we have to get Cait now.”

  Victor sighed and put on his turn signal to circle the block and retrace their path. The bus was loaded and Red Leg officers and uniformed soldiers were milling nearby when Victor pulled up.

  “Stay here and keep quiet. Remember: you’re prisoners. Sit on your hands so it looks like you’re cuffed. I’ll be right back.”

  “Hurry, Victor. We can still get to my mom. We just have to hurry.”

  “We’ll see. One thing at a time. Sit tight.”

  Danny and Winnie sat on their hands as instructed, though Winnie thought it was needless since the windows were heavily tinted and no one could see inside. They watched Victor approach the soldiers. He pointed to the bus then back to his car. There was a brief discussion, then one of the Red Legs walked over to the bus and stepped inside. A few moments the officer disembarked, leading a handcuffed woman toward them.

  She shuffled forward, her ankles shackled, trying to keep from tripping.

  Victor pointed to his cruiser, traded salutes with the group, then led the single officer with Cait back to his vehicle. Danny and Winnie made room as Victor opened the car door.

  “This one resisted capture and injured quite a few of our men, Inspector,” said the Red Leg. “You sure you don’t want me to ride along with you?”

  “No, I’ll be safe enough with the prisoner barrier in place,” Victor answered. “Besides, she’s cuffed and shackled. She won’t be any trouble.”

  “What did you need her for, anyway?”

  “She’s a member of this city’s biggest charm running crew, and may be of use in capturing any compatriots who may have gone into hiding during this raid. Throw her in the back with the others. I’ll accept full responsibility.”

  “As you wish, sir.”

  Cait was shoved into the car.

  Her face flickered with surprise as she saw them, but Cait quickly recovered her scowl. Fresh bruises were being born on her face, and while she’d never admit to being in pain, Cait had clearly been beaten badly.

  Victor gunned the engine. The bus began to pull away.

  They were just in time, but still, was stopping a mistake?

  Would they be able to rescue Elaine?

  Victor passed something through a slot in the Plexiglas — a key to Cait’s handcuffs and leg shackles. Danny grabbed it, then leaned over and removed Cait’s cuffs and shackles while Victor drove.

  “You all showed up just in time,” Cait said. “I wasn’t sure what was happening. Red Legs and soldiers came pouring into the shop from nowhere. I managed to fight a few off, but there were too many. Have you heard from Tris?”

  Winnie pulled out her phone and tapped out a message. She’d been so focused on her mom, and then Cait, that she had yet to check on Tris.

  “She’s probably alright,” Danny assured. “I read that they’re rounding up non-essential magic users. The reporter stated that all Sable techs were being sequestered to keep them safe so they could repair failing city systems during the current emergency.”

  “I can check on that later,” Victor said. “Let’s get to your mother’s. It’s not too far now.”

  They drove the final blocks in silence.

  Winnie’s heart sank when she saw that there weren’t any buses and only a few Red Legs walking the otherwise-deserted street.

  Victor drove past the building and glanced back at Winnie.

  “Is there a back entrance that’s hidden from the street?”

  “Yeah,” Winnie said. “Turn left on the next street, then take the first alley on the left. That leads back to the rear courtyard.”

  Winnie checked her phone tracking app — Elaine’s phone was still somewhere in the building behind them. Victor followed her instructions and soon pulled into a spot beside a large dumpster, behind her mother’s building.

  Winnie tried the door handle, forgetting she couldn’t get out from the locked cruiser. She fidgeted, biting her lower lip while waiting for Victor to circle around and open her door.

  Once free, she darted from the car and up the concrete stairs.

  Victor and Danny called for her to wait, but she didn’t listen.

  She had to find her mom.

  Winnie raced up the stairs rather than waiting for the antiquated elevator.

  Her mother’s door was hanging askew.

  She slowed as she approached.

  Winnie entered her mother’s apartment.

  The place was trashed. Whoever had come to take Elaine was obviously looking for something. She called her mother’s phone and heard it ring from the hallway to the back bedroom.

  The phone was on the floor in the hallway. Her mother must’ve dropped it during her capture.

  Winnie sank to the floor and started to cry.

  Sobs wracked her body with violent heaves.

  And that was where the others found her.

  Chapter 17

  Winnie watched the now-empty buildings pass as Victor drove his cruiser through the mostly deserted Enclave. She saw the occasional police, Red Leg, and military car or truck, with officers and soldiers standing nearby, but the buses were gone and with them her mother and everyone else she’d been trying to help.

  Winnie felt empty, helpless to do anything to repair the hole inside her. She heard the others talking, but she didn’t really listen to the words.

  “So where to next?” Victor asked. “I can’t keep you in my car, so we need a place to hide you while we figure out who else escaped the roundup from our crew.”

  Danny held up his phone. “Cricket checked in. He was looking over a shipment at one of the safe houses. He’s holed up there, waiting for Winnie’s orders.”

  “Tell him to hold tight. We’ll give him a meeting place soon,” Cait said. “Tell him that Winnie’s busy with something else. Let’s send a general message, get everyone to a safe location, hunker down until the sweep for stragglers is finished. Then we’ll consolidate our crew and figure out what we need to do next.”

  “Good idea,” Victor agreed. “Once we’re past the roadblocks and into the city proper, I’ll need to drop you three somewhere safe, then report in to HQ. People are already starting to miss me. Morgan is covering for us, but there’s only so much she can do at her level.”