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“I honestly don’t know what happened back there,” Esta said, using this truth as an anchor for the lies that were sure to come. “But I think it’s tied to what happened back in St. Louis.” She glanced up at them, trying to gauge their willingness to believe her. “Or maybe it began even before that.”
Esta started slowly, picking her way through the minefield of her story, giving them enough of the truth to make her lies and omissions believable. She couldn’t tell them about Harte or the other stones, but maybe she could tell them enough to ensure their continued help.
“The stories are true,” she told them. “Two years ago, I did manage to break into the Order’s vaults. We were trying to steal their most prized possessions, but instead, we unleashed something we weren’t expecting.…” Esta told them about Seshat, about the power of the ancient goddess and how she had possessed Harte. And she told them about the threat that Seshat’s power posed to the world itself.
“Maybe Ben thought leaving us was for the best,” Esta said with a stiff shrug. “He must have believed he could use the stones to take care of the danger Seshat posed on his own. But maybe something more happened that night. Maybe part of Seshat’s power is connected to me now.”
She explained to them about the darkness that had appeared as they ran from the train, about how she’d lost hold of the seconds and woke up over North’s shoulder. She told them, too, about the shadows that had pulled her under before the explosion. By the time Esta was finished speaking, Maggie’s rapt and serious expression told Esta that she was on the hook. But North’s mouth was still twisted with suspicion.
“That sure is some story you spun there,” he said, not giving an inch.
“It’s not a story,” Esta assured him. Not completely. “You know what I can do with time. If I only wanted to distract you, I would have been long gone, not passed out cold waiting for the marshals and the rest of their posse to find me.”
“She has a point,” Maggie told him.
“You don’t actually believe this story she’s spinning?” North said to Maggie.
“I don’t know what I believe.” Maggie seemed to be measuring each of her words carefully. “But I know this much: Something did happen back in the Festival Hall. I was there. I felt it,” she said before turning to Esta. “You’re sure you don’t have any idea where Ben went?”
“No,” Esta lied. She paused, pretending to be nervous, and when she spoke again, she made her voice as soft as a secret. “But I do know where we might be able to find another artifact.”
Maggie’s expression brightened immediately, but North’s brows bunched together, like he still didn’t want to believe her. Still, Esta could sense the yearning behind his doubt, and she knew he was more interested than he wanted to be.
“You’re telling us that you’ve known all along where another of the lost artifacts might be?” North asked.
“Possibly,” Esta said. “Ben and I had a backup in case the necklace turned out to be a fake or in case we couldn’t get it away from the Society. There’s a dagger called the Pharaoh’s Heart that holds a stone every bit as powerful as the Djinni’s Star.” She allowed the moment to settle around them, giving them the space to start believing that such a treasure could be theirs. “If you help me retrieve it, we can perform the ritual to break whatever connection I have with Seshat before she can do any more damage. Once we do that, the Pharaoh’s Heart would be yours. I know it’s not the necklace.…” She bit her lip a little, like she was sorry about this fact.
Maggie looked ready to accept, but North spoke first.
“You’d up and give this artifact to us?” He waved his hand dismissively. “Just like that?”
“The Antistasi need it more than I do,” Esta said, telling them the exact thing she knew they wanted to hear. “And anyway…” She looked to Maggie now and spoke the words she knew would sink the hook. “Aren’t we all on the same side?”
“Yes, of course,” Maggie said, giving Esta a small, relieved smile. Then suddenly the pleasure drained from her expression. “But if you’re telling us the truth about this Seshat creature and her possible connection to you, we have a bigger problem right now.” She lifted her eyes to the ceiling of the boxcar as it rattled down the track before meeting Esta’s gaze again. “If you weren’t in control of whatever it was that happened back there in Texas, what makes you think you could stop it from happening again?”
Her meaning was clear to Esta. “You think I’d do something to this train while we’re on it?”
Maggie shook her head. “I’m not saying you’d do it on purpose, but you have to admit, you don’t have the best record. First the train in New Jersey and then the one in Texas.…”
“But if I don’t use my affinity—”
“What makes you think you’ll have a choice?” Maggie asked. “I did see Ben back in the Festival Hall. He had his hands around your neck. I believe you when you say that it wasn’t him in control, but what will you do if this Seshat creature does the same to you?”
Esta’s stomach twisted. She wanted to argue that it wasn’t possible, but she couldn’t make herself form the words to lie.
Maggie took Esta’s hand. “If Seshat is as powerful as you say she is, what would stop her from using your affinity against you?” Her voice went even softer, like she was afraid Seshat herself might hear. “What if Seshat makes good on her threats before we can find the other artifact?”
Esta felt the train rumbling beneath her. The cadence of the wheels meeting the track was so much steadier than she felt. Maggie was right. Harte hadn’t been in control back in St. Louis. If Seshat’s power was still somehow affecting Esta’s affinity, they had no idea what they were dealing with.
“You’re right,” Esta said softly. “I shouldn’t be here. I’m a danger to both of you—to everyone.” She wasn’t sure why this clear way out of her entanglement with the Antistasi should feel so unsettling. And so depressing.
“Maybe you don’t have to be,” Maggie said, pulling a small leather pouch from her skirts.
“What do you mean?” Esta asked, frowning.
“Seshat wants your affinity, right?” Maggie asked, and Esta reluctantly nodded. “She can only use you through your magic.”
“As far as we know,” Esta admitted.
