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My gaze drops to the illustration in the book. “If what this says is true, Vera wasn't just messing with our memories.”

Granger's face hardens. “She was feeding on us.” His brow furrows again as the words seem to trigger something else. “But… I knew it mattered to her,” he says slowly. “I knew she never let it out of her sight. And I knew taking it would hurt her somehow.”

“So you stole it,” I say.

“Apparently.” His mouth twitches. “That does sound like me.”

"Where is it?" Toto asks.

Granger opens his mouth. Nothing comes out.

His brow furrows. “I hid it.”

My pulse jumps. “Where?”

“I…” He closes his eyes. “I don't know.”

“Think!”

“I'm fucking trying.” He presses his palms against his temples. “I remember taking it. I know I hid it somewhere. Then there's just… nothing. Until Vera.” His breathing turns ragged. “She knew.”

Where is it?

The words from his earlier memory suddenly make horrible sense.

Toto goes very still. “She was trying to make you tell her.”

Granger looks at her. “And when I wouldn't—or couldn't…” He trails off.

Understanding hits me. “She went into your head.”

Granger goes still.

Toto's face pales. “And erased the one thing she needed to know.” She looks at Granger. “Where you’d hidden it.”

I look down at the illustration again. “If she needs this thing to draw magic from us…”

Toto finishes the thought. “And Granger took it away from her…”

“So she can't feed on us anymore,” I finish.

Granger nods. “Which explains why she's suddenly losing her shit.”

Vera has spent centuries hiding what she is. Now she's attacking Dottie, manipulating Toto, and taking risks that have finally put the police on her trail. She hasn’t suddenly become careless—she’s become desperate.

Granger looks up, and a slow grin spreads across his face. “Wait. Vera doesn't know I don't remember where I put it. As far as she knows, I still have her precious amulet.”

I stare at him as understanding dawns. “Leverage.”

“Exactly.” His grin widens. “We convince her we're willing to trade it. She'll be so focused on getting her hands on that damn thing, she won't see us coming.”

“And what exactly are we planning to do when we get close enough?”

“I'm the distraction. I keep her talking while Nick uses his fancy new speed to get behind her and take her wand.”

“And me?”

Granger grins. “Have you seen the size of yourself? If Nick can't get to her, you can. And now that you can fly, Vera won't know what hit her.”