The next morning, Valerie was shaken awake by Henry. She was surprised that she had slept at all, but her body seemed to sense that she needed to be fully charged for the battle that was coming.

"It's not too late to change the plan," he said. She saw the circles under his eyes. Unlike her, he hadn't slept at all.

"Yes it is," she replied. "And it's going to work."

"Damn straight," Kanti agreed. "Now let's get your costume on."

The girls walked behind a tree, and Valerie bound her chest and dressed in her brother's clothes.

Kanti looked her up and down and shook her head with a little grin. "You're even prettier than my boyfriend," she said with a smile.

"Thanks. And may I say you are stunningly beautiful today, as usual," Valerie shot back.

"Low blow, lady, low blow," Kanti said, raising her hands in mock surrender. Then she turned serious. "You ready?"

Valerie nodded, and surprisingly, it was the truth. As anxious as she usually was, she noticed that, in crisis mode, her fear and self-doubt seemed to take a back seat to her focus on accomplishing her mission. Her power tingled in her fingers, ready to be unleashed. For the first time, she could see why Gideon thought she had leadership potential.

Gideon was talking to the rest of the group, making sure they understood exactly where they were supposed to be. Everyone was nodding seriously.

"Ready?" Sanguina asked, appearing at her elbow.

Valerie nodded. "I trust you."

Sanguina's breath caught in her throat. "I never thought I'd hear you say that. You honor me, and I won't disappoint you."

"I know," she replied, glad that Sanguina couldn't see Henry glaring at his oldest enemy with pure revulsion in his eyes. She couldn't blame him, but she also couldn't help seeing the good in Sanguina that lived next to the evil.

Valerie turned to the group. This time she'd thought about what to say, and she spoke carefully. "Yesterday, we were a group of people with a shared mission. But today, we are a team with a plan that will work. Things may go wrong, but I have faith in all of you. If you think that the plan needs to be altered because of a complication, I trust you to do it without waiting for permission."

Gideon was thoughtful after her little speech, but he nodded at her with approval. Kanti gave her a subtle thumbs up as if she sensed that giving her a hug wouldn't help her friend's commander image. Henry was clearly worried, as if he regretted agreeing to her plan.

"Let's do this!" Cyrus shouted, and everyone laughed. It was the perfect start to the mission.

Sanguina led a disguised Valerie to the Black Castle shackled in the magical ropes that had bound Sanguina when she was being taken to the Justice Guild. They no longer worked, but appeared convincing.

The castle looked different than Valerie remembered, because the structure was constantly changing, entire turrets and wings appearing and vanishing, like it couldn't decide what it really was. The effect was ghostly and chilling, which was probably intended. She dreaded returning to the almost complete darkness of that horrible place.

She wished that she could grip Pathos' hilt for reassurance, but it was safely in a callbox where she could get it when she needed it, and it wouldn't be taken from her if she were searched.

The black drawbridge crashed down as they came closer. A hulking figure stood in the doorway beyond, and Valerie recognized the strange smell immediately—Venu's poison.

Her heart beat in double-time. If they couldn't make it past the first line of defense, the rest of the plan would fall apart.

Sanguina had a snarl on her face. "Let me by. I have a gift for Reaper."

"What is it?" Venu asked, sounding bored.

Valerie tried to shrink deeper into the shadow of Henry's hoodie as Sanguina stepped forward threateningly. "Not that it's any of your business, but I managed to finish the job you failed. I've brought him Henry."

Venu wasn't able to hide his shock and choked on his words. He stepped closer, trying to stare at her, but Sanguina stood between them.

"I was told you weren't to be trusted anymore," Venu croaked.

Sanguina paused, then her arm shot forward, choking Venu's throat. His hands scrabbled against her arm, covering it with poison, but she didn't even flinch.

"Your poison can't touch me, or didn't they tell you? Now that I'm human again I've regained my power to repel attacks, and you aren't even close to strong enough to overcome my magic. Perhaps they're not telling you as much as you think they are," Sanguina said, her tone cold and commanding.

Venu wasn't the only one who was surprised. This was the first Valerie had heard of Sanguina's power.

He wrenched himself away from Sanguina and stepped back. "Reaper isn't here." Valerie had to physically stop herself from sighing in profound relief. "But Zunya is." Her heart dropped.

Sanguina nodded. "I want Henry secure in a cell right away. Then I'll talk to Zunya about what to do with the little brat. We always work him over together."

Venu moved aside to let them past.

"Come along," Sanguina snapped, pulling at Valerie's bound hands.

They walked over the threshold, and the door slammed shut, leaving them temporarily blinded by the darkness. More than anything, Valerie wished she could call for Pathos for a little light, but it wasn't time yet.

"We'll take her to the isolation cell," Venu said.

"The dungeon will be adequate," Sanguina replied.

Valerie's eyes began to adjust. There were tiny lights that cast an eerie glow over Venu, and the other Fractus she could see were guarding the threshold.

"No," Venu said with more confidence now that the rest of Reaper's army safely surrounded him. "There is no reason to object to extra caution, given how valuable the boy is to our master."

"Very well," Sanguina said in clipped tones, and led Valerie roughly down the hall ahead of Venu.

"Don't panic. I will return to release the lock once the guards are taken care of," Sanguina whispered urgently.

"Where are you taking me?" Valerie asked, unable to restrain the fear creeping into her voice and turning the Laurel Circle cold.

Sanguina didn't reply. They had reached a tall door, which Venu shoved open. Inside was nothing but a trunk. It was too dim to make out much about it other than the huge lock sealing it shut.

Venu hauled the lid open. "In you go," he said. Valerie shook her head, her terror overpowering her logic.

"Do it or I'll make you," Sanguina said, but gave Valerie's hand a brief squeeze.

Somehow, Valerie forced herself to put one foot in the trunk, and then the other. Rough hands forced her to her knees, and the lid slammed shut. After that, her reason left her and she began to scream.

The memory bubbled up in her mind, no matter how hard Valerie tried to force it away. Curled up in this dark, tiny space, her fear was unleashed. She had been nine years old when the new foster family had taken her in. The first time she had seen her foster father's face, with his cruel eyes and calloused hands, she had known that he enjoyed others' fear. She made up her mind then never to show him any.

Maybe that had been the wrong decision, because as soon as he realized that he couldn't frighten her, he had been determined to break her. If she spilled her milk or walked too loudly or for no reason at all, he would lock her in the upstairs closet for hours—even overnight. There was no light, and sometimes she wondered if she really existed.

But somehow through it all, she had held herself together, and he was always infuriated to find her eyes still defiant after leaving her alone for hours in the darkness. That was when he rigged up an even smaller space under a sink where she had to curl up to fit. It was dark and dank and smelled of mold. Her stomach would cramp from hunger, and her mind would play tricks on her, so she'd see things that weren't really there, like cockroaches and snakes that would try to climb in her nose and ears.

But the torture came to an end when Valerie saw him planning to put one of the new foster kids, a little boy, into the closet one day. Something in her snapped, and her magic was unleashed. Even though her foster father was twice her size, she had beaten him bloody and fled. After that, she had lived on the streets for months until she was picked up by Child Services when she was getting food at a shelter.

All of the screams that Valerie had swallowed all those years ago welled up inside her, ready to choke her to death. She couldn't think of anything except getting out of this place, and she clawed at her cage until blood ran down her hands from her broken fingernails.

The box was filled with a horrible sound that was coming from her own mouth, but she couldn't seem to stop it. She beat her fists against the walls of the trunk, until she finally collapsed. Her mind was slipping away, ready to release her into sweet unconsciousness, when her hand brushed an object that must have fallen out of her pocket—Thai's charm.

Without meaning to, Valerie was with him in an instant. He was writing at his desk, concentrating hard and biting his lip. When he saw her, he leaped out of his chair, which fell to the ground behind him. He didn't even notice.

His hands hovered near her, helpless to touch her or comfort her. She didn't care about anything he had done. The sight of his face restored the piece of herself that had been slipping away, drowned by fear.

"It's okay. This is part of the plan," she said, more as a reminder to herself than as an explanation to Thai.

"Tell me how I can help you," he said gently, though she could see murder in his eyes for whoever had done this to her. Some part of him still cared.

"Remind me...remind me who I am," she said, too distraught to be embarrassed by her words.

"You are Valerie Diaz, and you are a living, blazing contradiction. A warrior and a giver of life, the strongest and most vulnerable person I know. But you are unbreakable."

"Unbreakable..."she echoed him.

"And you are loved," he said, his eyes burning with repressed emotion.

"I am loved," she said, and she gave him a fierce smile. "I will survive this."

She let her mind return to the Globe, even though she was back in her horrible dark box.

"Pathos," she whispered, and her sword was in her hand. It glowed, infused by Cyrus with enough light to last for years.

She wedged her weapon into the crack where the trunk was sealed shut and used all her strength to pull it down. But the power of Pathos and her own magic were not enough. The trunk remained sealed. To keep herself from slipping back under a tidal wave of terror, she counted her own heartbeats.

Not too many passed before she heard soft footsteps enter the room. The lid was wrenched open and Sanguina pulled her out. "You okay?"

A rush of gratitude and relief made Valerie's knees shake as she stood up. She had to fight the urge to throw her arms around Sanguina, the woman who had once terrorized her and her brother. She forced herself to take a shuddering breath and let her mind return to the mission at hand.

"I'm fine," Valerie said, but she saw Sanguina notice her fingernails, which were broken and bloody from trying to claw out of that horrible box. Valerie quickly shoved her hands in her pockets, glad that no one other than Thai had witnessed her breakdown. "Is everything going according to plan?"

Sanguina nodded. "So far, yes. The Empaths' distraction outside called away several dozen Fractus, and I was able to sneak back here while they were distracted."

"Let's move," Valerie said, and sheathed Pathos. The light would attract too much attention if she held it in front of her as she wanted to, but she also couldn't bring herself to send it back to the callbox.

Valerie raced through the halls toward the throne room, which was where Sanguina guessed that Darling's hair and the scrying tool would be kept. Unfortunately, Reaper hadn't trusted Sanguina with the exact location.

Inside the room, the sight of the blood red throne brought back a taste of the panicked adrenaline that had coursed through her when Valerie fought Sanguina here. She shook off the memory and began her search.

"There are hidden cabinets built into the walls," Sanguina said, pulling a lever next to the throne that made a stone in the floor swing aside. Valerie knelt beside the hole and felt around. She pulled out something soft. It was an ancient piece of cloth with a very old, inaccurate map of Earth on it.

She touched it gently with her finger and immediately zoomed in on rolling hills. "This must be what Reaper uses to scry with!"

Sanguina nodded. "There aren't many of these left on the Globe. Let's try to get it out of here unharmed."

Valerie carefully wrapped it up and handed it to a surprised Sanguina.

"You trust me with this?" Sanguina asked.

Valerie nodded without meeting her eyes. She wasn't sure that she'd be able to hang on to her anger for the ex-vampyre after being rescued from that horrible box by her.

"Let's keep searching," Valerie said, and they ran their hands over the walls and the sparse furniture, looking for any cracks or buttons.

"What's this?" Venu's hoarse voice interrupted their search.

Valerie spun around, and Venu's eyes widened in surprise. "You're not Henry. You're that girl—Henry's sister!"

He leaped toward her in one graceful jump, catching her off guard and tackling her to the floor. In the corner of her eye, Valerie saw that Sanguina was fending off two slender, shadowy figures. But she didn't have a chance to give it much of a thought as Venu's poisoned hands reached for her throat.

Her magic surged up inside her, and she wrapped her leg around his and flipped him on his back. A bead of poison dropped from his finger toward her face, but she was so focused that it seemed like it was falling in slow motion. Moving faster than she ever had before, she rolled away from Venu and his poison fell harmlessly in her hair, sizzling as it evaporated.

Venu grunted and flipped onto his stomach in a move that was more frog-like than human. But Valerie's magic had never made her more graceful or swift. Her mental training with Gideon allowed her to block out everything but her fight, and she directed her full focus and fury at Venu.

Before he made it back to his feet, she kicked him in the stomach, sending him sprawling across the room. She followed up with a punch to his jaw, choosing to hold back some of her power so the blow didn't kill him. But he slumped to the ground, and she knew it would be a long time before he recovered. For once, she didn't have any guilt about soundly beating her enemy. If anything, she had shown mercy by leaving him alive after what he had done to Henry and Thai.

Sanguina's attackers lay at her feet. "We have to move to the next part of our plan. There's no time left to search."

Valerie nodded. "Go ahead. I'll be right behind you."

Sanguina didn't question her, and she left the throne room. Alone, Valerie forced herself to take a breath and clear her mind. She remembered Gideon's instructions and put all of her emotions in a box in her mind to process later. Pathos hummed at her side, and she drew it from its sheath.

Like a magnetic pull, her blade drew her to a stone in the wall directly behind the throne. She didn't think and instead let instinct guide her. Pathos slid into a crack in the wall like a key fitting into a lock. The stone shifted aside, and behind it was a dark space that was filled with cobwebs.

She reached in and touched a smooth orb. At her touch, it lit up, turning all of the cracks in the walls of the throne room blue. Then, just as quickly, the light dimmed to a faint glow and the stone slid closed, shutting the orb behind it. Valerie tried to use Pathos to open it again, but it wouldn't budge.

She smacked the wall in frustration, not daringto take any more time searching for Darling's hair or any other clues thethrone room might hold.