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"You'll probably feel a little weak for a few hours. You've put your mind and body through a lot."
"I need to go back to my aunt's house. I need to find her journal."
Marie stood up, walking towards me. "We'll go with you. You're in no condition to go anywhere alone right now, especially back to Brenda's house."
"Marie, you and Cecelia stay here," Lenore commanded. "I need you to contact our network, find out if any other seers have experienced what Caitlin has seen. We need to find out what the vardogers are using to overpower iridium."
"But she can't go alone! You know she's in a weakened state-"
Lenore put up her hand, cutting Marie off. "She's not going alone. I'm going with her."
Marie looked like she wanted to argue but Lenore's expression brooked no argument. She sighed with defeat and nodded her head. I got the feeling she was used to acquiescing to Lenore's demands.
"Let's go," Lenore said briskly, and I followed her outside to her car. I had an unsettling feeling as I saw Marie watching us through the window as we pulled away. I had wanted to insist that Marie come with us when they were arguing. I felt like she was on my side, which was strange because it wasn't as if Cecelia and Lenore were against me. They were trying to help me; they wanted to find Aunt Brenda just as much as I did. I reminded myself that Lenore had said she was my aunt's closest friend.
I tensed when we pulled onto Aunt Brenda's street. There was a black Audi in her driveway and I knew instantly whose car it was. It was empty and I wished Lenore had locked my aunt's front door when we had left. Then we wouldn't be in this predicament.
"Stop. That's Simon's car."
Lenore immediately hit the brakes two houses down from Aunt Brenda's. "Maybe we should come back later."
I was surprised by her reluctance. I didn't think she would be deterred by anything, let alone Simon, who was a victim in all of this. "No, I need to find my aunt's journal. But I don't want Simon to see me. It'll make everything more...complicated. He's safer not being around me since the vardogers seem to be following me." But even though I knew I should keep my distance, I couldn't help wanting to see him, to make sure with my own eyes that he was okay. "But I think I should check to see if he's okay. I left abruptly, without telling anyone where I was going."
Lenore lifted an eyebrow. "What do you suggest we do?"
I gave her a weak smile, trying to be braver than I felt. "We could try the spying approach. But why don't you stay in the car."
Lenore shook her head emphatically. "That's not a good idea. The last thing you should be is alone right now. Besides, I know Brenda's house like the back of my hand. I know what we can do."
I was grateful for Lenore's insistence on joining me, despite everything. She killed the engine and we walked quickly to my aunt's house. I kept expecting the front door to open, for Simon to step out and look at me with condemning eyes. But we made it to the house with no incident.
"Over here," Lenore whispered, waving me over to the side of the house. She bent down, peering through a small window that was just a few inches above the ground. She seemed satisfied with what she saw and looked back up at me. "This window leads to the basement. We can shimmy in this way."
"Is it open?"
"Brenda is terrible about remembering to lock her windows." Lenore pushed the window and it opened readily. "It's going to be a tight fit but I think we can both make it. There's a table directly under the window. Make sure you're balanced on it before you let go of the windowsill."
Lenore straightened and looked at me expectantly. I wanted to ask her to go first, but I was starting to realize that one didn't contradict Lenore. I kneeled by the window, looking at it a bit dubiously. It was the quarter of the size of a regular window and didn't open all the way. Instead, it was hinged at the top and only opened halfway. I sucked in my stomach as much as I could and carefully slid the lower half of my body through the window.
It was frightening going in blind, and I was sure that I was going to feel someone, or something, grab my legs. My legs flailed in the air as I tried to find the surface of the table. I was relieved when my foot caught the edge of the table and I moved my foot around until I was sure that it was stable. I placed both my feet on it and let my weight bear down.
"I found the table. I'm okay," I whispered. Lenore let go of my hand that she was grasping and I shimmied the rest of my body through the window. I slid off the table as quietly as I could and watched Lenore's legs appear through the window. I helped anchor her legs onto the table and soon she was beside me, having been a lot more graceful about the process.
I looked around the basement, although it was hard to make out anything since the only illumination was the shaft of sunlight coming in through the window. It was dusty and I had to control the urge to sneeze.
"Follow me," Lenore said softly. "The basement door is right by the living room. Hopefully we'll be able to hear something."
I followed Lenore's lead, being careful not to bump into anything. We were just about to walk up the stairs when my foot accidentally grazed a box. The sound seemed magnified in the quietness of the basement and I froze, sure that Simon heard it and was about to fling open the basement door any second.
"Quiet," Lenore hissed as she stilled as well. Seconds seemed like minutes as we froze, but no one opened the basement door. I breathed a sigh of relief as Lenore continued her progress up the stairs and motioned for me to follow.
I could see a crack of light beneath the basement door and Lenore sat down on the top step. I would have laughed at the ludicrous sight of a grown woman putting her ear against the door, straining to hear voices, if I hadn't been so tense and anxious.
"I can hear them," she whispered.
Them?
I sat down and put my ear close to the crack underneath the door and my heart jumped when I not only heard Simon's voice, but Sarah's voice as well. They sounded far away, but close enough that I could hear everything they were saying.
