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I tug on my sweatpants, glaring at my friend for interrupting our incredible moment together.

Granger simply winks, then points excitedly at a large blue book in his hand. “I found something. The green stone—the one Vera always wore. It’s not just a necklace.”

He drops the book onto the table and flips through the pages until he finds what he's looking for. “Here.”

I lean over the illustration of a sparkling green gem encased in a delicate web of gold.

“According to Alice, it's some kind of siphoning amulet,” Granger says. “It can draw magic from one person and store it for someone else to use.”

Toto frowns. “Steal magic?”

“Pretty much. But that's not the fucked-up part.” Granger taps the page. “If it's bound to the same source for long enough, whoever owns it can keep drawing from that source again and again.”

A cold feeling settles in my stomach.

“Like a battery,” Toto whispers.

Granger's expression loses some of its excitement. “A battery that recharges.”

A memory stirs as I stare at the page—Vera's fingers curled possessively around the stone.

“Yeah,” I murmur. “I remember that.”

Granger has gone completely still beside me. Then his hand rises slowly to his temple.

“Green,” he whispers.

Toto moves closer. “Green? The memory from Dr. Karloff’s?”

His eyes squeeze shut. “Green. And gold.” His breathing changes. “Vera screaming—”

A memory slams into me. Vera’s face twisted with rage, her voice shrill enough to cut through the fog in my head.

“Where is it?” I finish.

Granger’s eyes snap open and lock onto mine. “Yeah.”

For a second, neither of us says anything.

Then Granger's eyes widen. “Holy shit.”

“What?” I demand.

He stares at me. “I fucking stole it.”

“You what?”

“The amulet.” He points at the page. “I took it from Vera.”

“Why?”

Granger presses both hands to his head. “I don't know. Not all of it. I remember her wearing it. Her hand around the stone. And I remember feeling…” His expression twists. “Weak. Like everything had been sucked right out of me.”

“Yeah.” I nod, searching through the fragments of memories, trying to hold on to them. “Not normal tired. Weak. Like I'd been sick.”

Granger looks at me. “Exactly.”

Toto looks between us. “And you think the amulet was doing that?”