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echoing in my mind was all too easy to bring back. My father’s hands were clenched, white-knuckled. He didn’t want to be wrapped up in this. But the woman he was courting was forcing him to confront what we’d been dealing with for months, and better it come from her than from me. Mrs. Northe continued:
    “Spiritualist friends of mine in three major cities have begun to seek out the weed at its heart and rip it from the ground. There is much work to be done. We must pinpoint the epicenter of the Master’s Society’s New York operation, confiscate any paperwork, and track down the source, laboratory, and masterminds of the latest assault.”
    Jonathon chimed in, directing all his words to Mrs. Northe, a heavy weight about his generally powerful carriage. “Last week, I received a missive from the London ‘Master’ with instructions to look in on Doctor Stevens, purveyor of the chemical in Miss Kent’s incident, and report back, just as I was instructed to do with Doctor Preston. This is presumably before any news of what happened to Preston reached them, though I’m not sure by what channels it could have; Preston’s operation was small and his demonic aide was bested.” Jonathon gave Reverend Blessing a small, grateful smile. “However, the address of Stevens and the address of the supposed ‘New York Office’ were both vacant. Either I was being fooled, or the events surrounding Preston made Stevens disappear. So I’ve no longer the lead I hoped I had.”
    I stared at Jonathon. This was news to me, both the missive and his having inspected the premises on his own. I felt betrayed. He knew I wanted to be involved, for him to never undertake playing a demon doppelganger on his own. That a demon had once worn his face was enough to set anyone on edge, but his hiding things only undermined the type of partnership I thought we’d been building. He did not meet my gaze, and I wondered just how much he hadn’t been telling me in our past weeks of laying low.
    Maybe he felt it was only the little lady who should keep her head down while he was out playing double agent. I balled my hands into fists in the lap of my skirt. Perhaps he wanted revenge against my refusal of his proposal and was reasserting his own ability to take actions apart from me. Would he go meet Brinkman on his own? No. I’d seen the route. I was not about to let him edge me out of this. I hadn’t saved his life, risked my life, nearly died twice, and undergone a host of nightmares that would make Poe envious for their morbidity. I realized my soup spoon was loud against the bowl, that I’d merely been turning it, not eating it, and thankfully it was cleared for some sort of poultry in a fine glaze that I’m sure would have smelled and seemed delicious were I in a mood to enjoy it.
    “We’ll have to face them eventually,” Jonathon declared. “With what weaponry, I’ve no idea. But I feel the pall. I know their demonic forces are poisoning the city. I’ve seen flickers of red-gold fire across the jagged skyline, treetops, bridge spires. The city will fall to the whispers of demons if we’re not careful.”
    “Yes, it will,” Lavinia said, in a frightfully certain murmur.
    “Only if you stop being vigilant will the city fall,” Mrs. Northe countered. “You, yourselves, have always been the weaponry. Guns or blades may not help you. You know your best arsenal. You must be blindingly bright,” she commanded. “Defiantly radiant.”
    I scowled. “How can I after all we’ve endured?”
    Mrs. Northe’s nostrils flared, and she pounded her gloved fist upon the table, rattling all her fine china settings. “Because now, right now is when you need to shine the brightest! Now is when the enemy expects you to be dim, broken, helpless, and afraid!” Her passion was sudden, her words tremulous, eyes hard as she drove a rapier point home to its target.
    “If you do not blaze like a dying star, my child, then you might as well be