First Dr. Davidoff, now Tori’s mom. Did anyone not see through my schemes?

Maybe one person. The one who might still see me as sweet little Chloe. The one who thought I hadn’t really meant to run away from Lyle House but just got caught up in the plots of those boys.

“Aunt Lauren?”

I walked over as she got out of the car with Sue. I felt like I was looking at a stranger who’d taken my aunt’s form.

“You’re freezing.” She rubbed my arms, being careful with the injured one. “Where’s your coat?”

I saw Tori’s mom watching. If I tattled to Aunt Lauren, she’d tell her why I wanted Liz’s hoodie.

“I forgot it. It was warmer last week.”

She looked around. “Does anyone have an extra—?”

The dark-haired man from Saturday night climbed from the front seat and held out a nylon jacket.

“Thanks, Mike,” Aunt Lauren said, and helped me into it.

The sleeves dangled six inches past my fingertips. I rolled them up, hoping the extra folds would keep me warmer, but the jacket was so thin it didn’t even seem to stop the wind.

“Do you have the insulin?” I asked.

“I do, hon. Don’t worry.”

As the group prepared for the search, I stayed close to Aunt Lauren. She liked that, and kept her arm around me, rubbing my shoulder, as if to keep me warm. I gritted my teeth and let her.

“Now, Chloe,” Dr. Davidoff said when everyone was ready, “tell us where to look.”

The real rendezvous point was the warehouse nearest the factory. So the goal was to keep them as far from that as possible, in case the guys decided now was a good time to check in.

“We started in the warehouse where you guys tracked us and I did this—” I lifted my injured arm.

“Climbing out the window,” Dr. Davidoff said.

I nodded. “I didn’t know I’d hurt myself, so we ran. Derek wanted to get us as far from that warehouse as possible. We seemed to run and run, going around all these storage buildings, trying to find a good hiding spot. I—I wasn’t paying much attention. It was dark and I couldn’t see. Derek could, so I followed him.”

“A werewolf’s enhanced night vision,” Dr. Davidoff murmured.

“We finally found a spot that Derek said would make a good place to hide and we should stay there until you guys left. But then he smelled the blood—”

Aunt Lauren’s hand tightened on my shoulder, as if imagining me seconds away from being devoured.

“So he helped me,” I continued. “He bandaged it up. But he said it was bad and I needed stitches. Then he smelled Simon. That’s why we left—because of my arm and Simon—but before we did, he said the spot would make a good hiding place, that we should remember it.”

“And you didn’t,” Tori said. “Nice going.”

“It was dark and I was confused. I figured he meant he’d remember it—”

“We understand, Chloe,” Dr. Davidoff said. “And you’re right. It certainly sounds more promising than your other suggestions. As for whether you’ll know it when you see it, though…”

“We had to rip up my T-shirt to bandage my arm. The rest of my shirt should still be there.”

“All right, then. Chloe, you go with Mrs. Enright—”

Aunt Lauren’s hands gripped my shoulders. “I’ll take Chloe.”

“No, you’ll take Victoria.”

“But—”

Tori’s mom cut her off. “Do you have blur spells, Lauren?”

“No, but—”

“Do you have any powers at all?”

Aunt Lauren’s grip on my shoulder tightened. “Yes, Diane. I have the power of medicine, which is why I should be the first on the scene when Simon is found—”

“You’ll be nearby,” Dr. Davidoff said. “I need Chloe to have an escort, but we can’t let the boys see her escort. Diane will take care of that.”

A BLUR SPELL TURNED out to be like something you see in sci-fi movies, where the villain all but disappears, camouflaged behind a magical force field. As an effect, it’s easily done. Apparently, it’s just as easy in real life, if you’re a witch.

Tori’s mom walked right beside me, nearly invisible. With no chance to take off, I had to play my role, searching for the rendezvous spot, which gave me the excuse to look for an escape opportunity. Maybe a hole in the wall too small for Tori’s mom to follow me through or a precarious stack of boxes I could topple onto her head or an abandoned hammer I could brain her with.

I’d never “brained” anyone in my life, but with Tori’s mom, I was willing to try.

From the front road, the place looked like a regular factory with a few outbuildings. Once you got back here, though, there were buildings everywhere, a lot of them not even being used. Prime real estate. Or it would be…without the smog-spouting factory to bring down the neighborhood.

Those spewing stacks were the only sign the factory was operational. Probably running well below capacity, barely hanging on, like a lot of industry in Buffalo. I had no idea what they made. Metal stuff, it looked like from the stock in the warehouses. Once, when we were darting between buildings, we had to duck behind some barrels as a trucker drove through the lot, but that was the only employee we saw.

The third building we checked was open, so Tori’s mom didn’t need to cast a spell to unlock it. As we stepped in, I thought, This looks promising. The last two had been filled with equipment and rolls of metal. This one seemed unused, and was scattered with crates. They weren’t stacked precariously, but there was a whole warehouse to search.

As we moved in deeper, I saw what looked like an off-balance stack. Near it was a pile of small metal pipes, the perfect size for braining someone.

I headed toward the pipes, my gaze on the ground, as if searching for my torn shirt.

“I think we can stop this charade now, Chloe,” Tori’s mom said.

I turned slowly, taking a moment to plaster on my best wide-eyed look.

“There’s no shirt here,” she said, “or rendezvous point. Perhaps there is, somewhere in this complex, but not here.”

“Let’s try the next—”

She caught my arm as I walked past. “We all know you’re trying to escape again. Marcel only hopes the real rendezvous point is nearby and that you’re laying a trail right now, one that will entice Derek back to investigate once he thinks we’re gone.”

Laying a trail? Oh, no. Why hadn’t I thought of that? I didn’t need to be here to get Derek’s attention. If he smelled that I’d been near the factory…

“I-I’m not trying to escape. I want to help Simon. We need to find—”

“The boys don’t interest me. You do.”

“Me?”

Her grip on my arm tightened. “All those kids had been at Lyle House for months, behaving themselves, working so hard to get better. Then you arrive and suddenly we have a full-scale mutiny on our hands. Within a week, four residents are on the run. Quite the little instigator, aren’t you?”

I’d been the catalyst, not the instigator. But it wouldn’t win me any brownie points to correct her.

She continued. “You took action while the rest swallowed our lies and prayed for rescue. My daughter didn’t even have the guts to join you.”

Umm, because you crushed any fight left in her? Because you made her think she had to play perfect patient to please you?

“The Fates played us a nasty twist, Chloe Saunders. They stuck you with dear Aunt Lauren, always fretting and wringing her hands. A perfect match for my spineless daughter. But where fate wrongs us, free will can make things right. I think you and I can reach an agreement that will benefit us both.” She released my arm. “Dr. Gill tells me you contacted spirits from Lyle’s early experiments.”

I said nothing, my gaze steady.

“I know she confronted you,” Tori’s mom continued. “Something of a fanatic, our Dr. Gill, as I’m sure you noticed. She’s obsessed with Lyle’s secrets. Ambition is healthy. Obsession is not.” She eyed me. “So what did these spirits tell you?”