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Abbey and I can ’ t do anything at this point in time. You ’ re the only one of us who isn ’ t in lockdown. You could call Dr. Ford yourself, or ask Mom or Dad to get you a copy of the map. ”
    Mark blinked. “ I do not use the telephone. ”
    Simon gave a wry smile. “ I ’ m with you on that one. You could go by Dr. Ford ’ s office and see if he ’ s there, while we ’ re at school tomorrow and Mom and Dad are at work. ”
    It occurred to Abbey then that she had no idea how Mark passed his time during the day while they were out. She knew he had been asked to start walking Farley around the block in the midmorning on school days, and just this past week, she had seen him head out tentatively on Sunday with Farley firmly latched to a leash. It seemed a bit odd, really, that Mark was living with them instead of with another relative, especially since Mark somehow possessed the energy that fueled the stones. If he wasn ’ t present, then the stones wouldn ’ t work, and her mother wouldn ’ t have to worry about her kids — or anyone else — using them.
    But then again, if her mother was using the stones herself, it made sense to keep Mark around. Abbey wished she could stop feeling so uncomfortable about the motives of the adults around her.
    “ Going to Dr. Ford ’ s office would require taking public transit. I am not allowed to take public transit alone, ” Mark said.
    Simon went to place a hand on Mark ’ s shoulder but then seemed to think twice about it. “ Mark, you ’ re twenty-six, and I know you can do it. We can give you directions. I think it would be good for you. ”
    “ Germs, ” said Mark.
    “ You could take some hand sanitizer, ” Abbey said.
    “ Dr. Ford is not a trusted adult, ” Mark said.
    “ True, but the college is a public place. He ’ s going to be careful in a public place, ” Simon replied.
    Mark held his eyebrows in a knot. “ Think about it, ” Simon said. “ I ’ ll leave written directions on your desk tomorrow morning. ”
    Mark nodded silently, retrieved his papers from the desk, and backed out of the room. He darted a slightly panicked look at Ocean, who had settled on the bed and was cleaning her face with slow deliberate licks to her paws. Abbey scooped the fluffy cat into her arms and buried her face in Ocean ’ s delicate grey fur, then followed Mark to the door and set Ocean down in the hall beside him. She smiled at Mark and thought she saw a nervous upward turn of his lips in reply before he turned and trudged down the hall to the stairs to the crypt.
    Abbey closed the door and turned back to Simon.
    “ What are we going to do about Caleb? ”
    Simon shook his head. “ I dunno. Let ’ s sleep on it and decide tomorrow after school. ”
    The music in Caleb ’ s room abruptly ceased and Abbey looked at Simon ’ s bedside table clock. Eleven o ’ clock. Their absolute “ lights out ” time. Within a few minutes, the TV would go off downstairs and their parents would check to make sure they were in bed.
    She dropped her voice to a whisper. “ I still have to talk to you about the list. ”
    Simon crowded her in the direction of his doorway, the faint pulse of teenage sweat and manhood always around him. “ Tomorrow, ” he said.
     
     
    Abbey floundered around in her bed all night, drifting in and out of sleep. Her first lesson in witchcraft. Tomorrow. She should decline it. Say “ thanks but no thanks ” to Ian. Besides, how would he really instruct them without her parents catching them? Was what Ian had told them really true? And what should they do about Caleb? She rolled back and forth in her bed, fretting about all of it, while Wallace, alarmed by the unusual amount of nighttime activity, scuttled about in his cage.
    Yet somehow the fierce pull of the stones, or witchcraft, had her in its thrall, and she wanted that first lesson.
     
    Coventry still lay in the deep dark of a November morning when Abbey heard the slight click of the