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“It’s very useful,” Rowan said with a shrug. “Say someone kidnapped a child in the Swallows at sometime between four and eight last Wednesday,” he said, making up another hypothetical time and place. “You could find that child and see who took her by using the memories of your claimed who happened to be in the Swallows at that time. Even if they weren’t aware that the girl was being kidnapped, if it
occurred somewhere in their field of vision, you can filter it out and find it. Mind mosaics can save lives.”
“But it’s like being Big Brother,” Lily sputtered, horrified. Rowan obviously didn’t get the reference. “I’m not asking permission, and my claimed never know it happened. That violates their basic right to privacy,” she explained. Lily couldn’t understand how Rowan could be so accepting of this.
“Absolute privacy is one of the things you agree to give up when you let a witch claim you,” he replied, a little confused by Lily’s outburst. “Lily, you saw some of my most intimate memories when you claimed me. You knew this was how it worked.”
“Yeah, but that was unavoidable. And claiming is a one-time thing.”
“Most witches don’t see it that way. If they want general information—not an entire specific memory, okay? We’re just talking about snapshots in time. If a witch wants to see what a group of her claimed has seen, she usually just takes it from their minds.”
“Well, in the world where I grew up that’s totally wrong.”
He stared at her for a while. The look he had on his face made him seem younger than usual.
“What?” Lily asked, half a smile tugging at her lips. “Why the goofy look?”
“You’re just cute,” he said, wrapping an arm around her neck and kissing the top of her head.
“A-hem,” Breakfast said, fake-clearing his throat to interrupt. “Rowan? Did you send the three of us out to scout around so you could get some nookie?”
They had no idea Lily had used them like spy-cams while they were trekking through the woods. For a moment she felt bad. She only managed to let go of her guilt by promising herself she would never use that skill again.
“Actually, I’m teaching Lily something,” Rowan said, moving away from her. He was blushing a little, which Lily found quite amusing.
“Uh-huh,” Una said, crossing her arms and cocking an eyebrow. “I bet you got a lot to teach her, teacher-man.”
“He is a fountain of knowledge,” Lily said, grinning.
“He must be taking pointers from me,” Breakfast said, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulder. Una gave Breakfast a skeptical look. “I’m just getting warmed up with you, numero Uno,” he told her confidently. “I got mad skills coming your way.”
“Okay, okay,” Rowan said, smothering his grin and trying to get serious. “What did you three find?”
“There’s a stream on the other side of the forest and a path,” Tristan replied briskly. He was the only one who hadn’t joined in on the laugh, and he seemed to be looking anywhere but at Lily.
“Good,” Rowan said, all business now. “Lily? Can you feel Caleb and Tristan?”
Lily concentrated on them and made contact. She felt a spark of recognition and then relief from both of them. A dozen questions flooded her way—not clearly enough so that Lily could discern actual words, but she got the gist of what they wanted to know and answered back in kind. She sent images of Rowan standing next to her, and one of the outside of the walls of Salem so that they knew she was in the woods near the city.
“Yes. They’re still really far,” she mumbled to Rowan.
“Where?” he asked.
“Someplace warm. Warmer than here, anyway,” Lily answered. “I see a huge wall. They’re outside another city?” Lily answered uncertainly when the images ended.
“What color are the walls?” Rowan asked urgently. “The rock—what color is it?”
“Kind of a blue-gray,” she said. “They’re paler than the rocks in Salem, but I could still see quartz glinting in them.”
“Virginia,” he said. “They’re outside Richmond.”
Tristan, Una, and Breakfast shared worried looks.
“Can we make it that far on foot?” Una asked.
“No,” Rowan replied. “But we won’t have to.” He looked at Lily. “Summon them. Have Caleb and the other Tristan start riding north with extra horses.” Lily nodded and called to them, adding a feeling of urgency. She wanted them to hurry.
Breakfast raised his hand. “Ah, Rowan? You mentioned horses,” he said through a nervous laugh. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a real horse, let alone ridden one.”
