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has them,” she said, leaning back against the pillows. “Had them.”
    “Them?” I stared at her, not comprehending. My eyes widened. “Them? Them them?”
    “Yes. I gave them to him for safekeeping,” she said, tapping a photo in which Mr. Wainwright stood next to a packed motorcycle, giving the camera a sad little wave. “On the day he left.”
    “Nana, the whole family has wound themselves up over this for decades . How could you— why would you? Why in God’s name would you—”
    “Don’t curse at an old woman on her deathbed.”
    “Stop calling it a deathbed!” I exclaimed.
    “That’s what it is, sweetheart,” she said, squeezing my hand between her dry, brittle fingers. “No use pretending it’s not. It’s my time, you see, it’s run out. And your time is just coming. I’m sorry this has fallen to you, the responsibilities, the burden. But it couldn’t be helped.”
    “Nana, I don’t want to talk about this.”
    “Promise me,” she said. “Swear that you’ll go to America to retrieve them.”
    “How do you even know he still had them? He could have lost them on the way back to America. What if he sold them?”
    “He swore he would keep them safe. He knew how important it was. I contacted him every few years, to check on him. The last time I called, they told me he was gone.”
    “And what if his family has sorted through his effects and sold them off?”
    “He had no family.”
    “He had a daughter and a granddaughter,” I snapped. I was immediately sorry for my tone and pushed a stray lock of hair away from Nana’s face.
    “It was better this way, Nola,” she assured me. “There was no reason to tell him about your mother, although I know it caused her pain. I had all of the best bits of him, right here. How could I ask him for more? I couldn’t ask him to spend his life with someone he didn’t love. And if he knew there was a baby, he would have come back.”
    “I’m sorry, Nana, I really am, but maybe it’s best just to leave the past in the past. There’s no reason for me to go halfway around the world and open old wounds—”
    “If you don’t go to America and find the Elements before they do, the whole family will be bound. No magic, no healing, no more help for our neighbors when they need it. Have you seen what happens to a village when they’re suddenly without magic after generations have lived under its care and protection?”
    “Let’s not talk about this now,” I told her.
    “Oh, yes, we’ll talk about it some other time.” She sighed. “Let’s schedule an appointment next week. It will be so much more convenient after I die.”
    I groaned, pressing my fingers against my eyelids. She pulled my hands away from my eyes and gave me a stern look. As weak as she was, it was still enough to make me sit up and speak plainly. “I don’t know if I’m up for this, Nana. I don’t know if I can do what you’re asking of me.”
    “Magic won’t tolerate a practitioner who dances around it. You use your talents as you see fit, but there’s a price for it, Nola. And the price has to be paid. If you continue to live as half a witch, you’ll lose your gifts. Promise me that you’ll find them.”
    “Nana . . .”
    “Promise. Me,” she ground out, as if the very effort exhausted her. “Unless you want my spirit stuck on this plane with unfinished business. It won’t be pleasant haunting. Lots of flies. Portents of doom. Midnight wailing.”
    “Fine. I promise,” I said. “Just lie back and get some rest, all right? I love you.”
    “I love you, too, darling.” Nana closed her eyes and leaned back. Her breathing evened out, and her pulsewent steady. Just before she fell asleep, her eyes fluttered open. “Nola, your mother . . .”
    “Shh.” I leaned against the bed and whispered against her temple. “Don’t worry. Get some rest.”
    When her breath evened out and faded into light snores, I went into the parlor to assure my family that she