Page 75 of Heir of Uncertain Magic

Dryness in Hulda’s mouth leached down her throat. “M-Mr.Hogwoodisa criminal.”

“He’s also a British citizen.”

All the more reason for Myra to go to such lengths to keep the Marshfield incident secret. Hulda shook her head, sick and cold and light-headed. The missing funds, then ... they were all going to Ohio, to this ... place. “Myra, where is the facility?”

“You take BIKER, and you’ll find it. I made sure you could find it. Ifhetakes BIKER—” She sighed. “I don’t know. I might have to destroy it. I’ll have no other choice.”

“Myra ... is it too late to stop all this? To let it go, to come back? Surely we can work around this—”

“I have to go. Do not tell anyone. Not even Merritt Fernsby.”

“Myra, wait. I have to tell you about Mr.Walker! I’m not sure if—”

The sound of breaking fizzled through their connection, and the stone went dead. Turning it over in her hands, Hulda noted that the communion rune was no longer on its surface. Myra had shattered her half of the spell.

Wrapping a fist around the stone, Hulda pressed the blanket to her face and screamed into it. Finally,finally, she’d connected with Myra, only to lose her again!

She released the stone and drew three deep breaths through her nose and let them out through her mouth. She hadn’t come awayempty-handed, at least. Leaning back against her bed, she attempted to sort through the information.

The facility. The facility was important. Illegal, and important. Surely a means to re-create, synthesize,growmagic was highly valuable to society ... but she suspected the cadaver restrictions weren’t the only laws being broken. She’d have to see it, learn about it, before making her call. Its value must have been extreme if it was indeed the motivating factor behind the actions of Mr.Baillie and Mr.Walker. That, or her theory about the Hogwood estate payout was correct and Mr.Hogwood had bequeathed an alarming sum to his associates.

Don’t fall down the well,she chided herself, thinking of Merritt’s earlier metaphor.

So.IfHulda became director, how would she find the facility? Myra had indicated she’d be able to find it if she secured the job, but Hulda had combed through all of headquarters for this audit. She’d found no evidence of the kind, except for the financial statements that had alerted LIKER. Yet surely Myra wouldn’t leave information about something so critical, so protected, out foranyoneto find.

Perhaps one of these “associates” would contact her, once it was official.Ifit became official. And what on earth would she do with it?

The idea of being able to create wizardry in a laboratory instead of a womb had appeal, yet to do it so furtively, against the law ... It was too much to contemplate.

“I have so many more questions,” she whispered to the darkness. Twilight begirded the world outside her window. She hadn’t lit a candle, and the sun set so early now. Her mind skated to Myra’s directive that she keep the information from Merritt. Why? What on earth would he even do about it?

How much more did Hulda not know?

She formed a fist around the stone. She could get it re-enchanted, but there was no way to connect it back to Myra. Yet, Myrahadconfirmed that one of Hulda’s missives had reached her. Hulda didn’t knowwhich method had worked, but if she were to repeat them all, surely she could reach Myra again. But would the insufferable woman respond? Was it all truly as dangerous as she claimed?

Hulda pinched her lips together until it hurt. Released them. Waited as the blood flowed back in.

Then she reached for the other communion stone and activated it.

“Merritt? Merritt, I need to speak with—”

“I’m here. Just jotting down ideas for a book. What’s wrong?”

The sound of his voice coursed through her like a soothing oil. She took a deep breath. “I spoke with Myra.” And then, in hushed tones, she explained everything. The time had passed for Hulda to protect Myra’s confidence, and she trusted Merritt.

After a moment of silence, he said, “We have to play this carefully, H. Not let Baillie—or Walker—know what we know. If Myra is scared, we should be, too.”

Chapter 17

November 20, 1846, Boston, Massachusetts

Hulda rose early the next morning to check on the azurite. It wasn’t difficult to do so, given the utter lack of sleep she’d had the night before. She’d spent several hours pacing the length of her room. Sometimes muttering to herself, sometimes lying down and staring at the ceiling, occasionally reading the same passage in a receipt book dozens of times because she couldn’t absorb a word of it. And at the first hint of dawn, she went upstairs, passed the empty reception desk, and went to the filing room to check on the azurite there.

This time she brought it over to the window, studied it. Was that spot a change? Not wanting to bias herself, she recorded the look, feel, and weight of the stone before reviewing her past logs. Had she mentioned a spot on her first entry? She flipped back a page—

“MissLarkin.”

The deep voice made her jump. She fumbled with the ledger, but it toppled from her hands, landing open, pages down, on the floor. Whirling around, she saw Mr.Walker standing squarely in the doorframe, and Mr.Baillie just inside it, his long arms folded across his thin chest, his pale lips curved into a subtle smirk.

---