Daniel Johnston's words reminded me of Evelyn Barnes. I was used to people making me feel guilty about things I hadn't done. I was feeling responsible for Alice already. I should have looked for her for a longer time, I shouldn't have gone to bed.

"Don't beat yourself up," Edgar said. He always tried to cheer me up. He couldn't even understand how many different things I was feeling. I had never exactly told him the extent of what I went through in my childhood.

"Yeah," I commented sarcastically. "I have just been blamed of an homicide that hasn't even happened, yet, and I'm looking for a baby who's been held hostage, hoping to find him still alive. But yeah, I shouldn't beat myself up."

"Do you think the baby is already dead?" Edgar asked me. He looked very worried.

"I hope not," I said. 

We followed the instructions Thomas Johnston had given us, until we found an abandoned shelter. It was outside of the centre of the underground city.

"Thomas Johnston is even crazier than I would have guessed. A truly evil person," Edgar commented. "With no regrets at all. Almost makes you wonder if there's something going on."

"Do you think there's some sort of magic messing with him...?" I asked.

Edgar shrugged. "Who knows," he commented. "Something's definitely wrong with him."

"Some people are just born wicked," I replied.

"Yeah, well, I'd rather not think about it that way."

Edgar found the light switch, and light invaded the little shelter. A baby was there, in a cradle. His hair were the shades of pale yellow, gold and a cold light brown. His eyes, though almost closed, were heavy lidded and his pupils were light blue. He was an incredibly cute baby. I could not believe someone could have been so evil to kidnap him.

"Now," I said decisively. "Let's get the baby out of here."

I sighed. "I just wish I knew a way to help Alice too."

Edgar smacked his forehead, as if he just had an idea. "I know a way to make sure she's alive!"

"Well, what is it?" I asked. I shuddered at the thought of Alice not being alive --- but, perhaps, it was better to know the truth.

"An Emphatic String," he said.

I had already heard about the Emphatic String. Agnes and Raegan shared one.

"It works this way," he explained. "You must perform this spell on two people, to connect them. But if one person is missing, you can use one of their objects."

"Who's going to connect to Alice?" I asked. What I didn't say was that if no one felt up to the task, I could do it.

Instead, Edgar replied, "We'll see."

I took the boy in my arms. I looked at his golden hair. He was so sweet, so innocent.

"I wish I knew his name," I said, almost absent-mindedly.

While we were walking towards the city centre, I told Edgar, "I read he was staying with a nurse, an Enlightener, until someone adopted him. I don't think she will be happy to see us --- two infamous Enchanters walking into their house with the baby in their arms."

"She's going to be happy we brought the baby back," Edgar said. "Even though the fact that no one's adopted him yet really bothers me. I almost wish we could... you know..."

There was a moment where I thought he was gesturing at the two of us and the baby. I even felt the tip of my ears go red. But, of course, I must have been mistaken.

"Maybe she'll think we have kidnapped the baby in the first place," I said. "Unluckily, it would make sense, if people think of us what Thomas Johnston thinks of us."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Edgar said. "I'm sure she doesn't believe the rumors once she sees us for herself."

I shivered. I had been so worried about Alice and the baby, that I almost forgot about Johnston's nasty rumors.

Edgar noticed my sour expression. "I know it's not the same thing," he said softly. "But after my father saw my powers in action, he kept telling me I was dangerous, volatile, out of my head. That people shouldn't come near me."

I felt sick to my stomach. Somehow I found it easier to be concerned about him than to be concerned about me.

"I just wish people would use their energy to hate the evil people, if they feel the need to hate at all," I said simply.

"Some people are hated because they're assholes," Edgar stated matter-of-factly. "Like Thomas Johnston. But other people, like you and I, are hated because they're powerful. People without power tend to despise it. In our case, we didn't ask to be gifted. We would even give it all up. It's what makes people hate us the most."

I was content with his explanation, but I felt like I had something to add.

"I don't get it when people hate you, out of all people," I said.

"Just because I'm a straight A student, it doesn't mean I don't fuck up as much as anyone else," Edgar said, almost defensively. 

"Listen to me," I said. "You fuck up sometimes, true. But you're righteous, you're loyal. You always want to do what's right by others. Somehow, you don't even compromise yourself in the process. You're worthy of admiration. I admire you, Edgar. I look up to you."

There had never been any bad blood between us, not exactly, but still Edgar looked at me as if he couldn't believe my words. Like he couldn't afford to accept my praise.

We walked until we found the house pictured on the newspaper, the one where the nurse lived.

"Why do you think they were keeping the baby in a shelter?" Edgar asked. He always noticed the details. Sometimes I looked too much at the bigger picture.

I tensed. I wasn't expecting that question. "No idea," I said.

"Maybe it was simply a way of keeping him away from stranger's eyes," he said hopefully. "They could not keep him in the Senate Palace, after all."

I hoped he was right, but I feared there was something more to this. Something we weren't even considering.

When the door opened, we found the face of a woman staring at us. But she looked familiar, with dark hair and freckles. So familiar, in fact, that I noticed she was Luna Torres.

"How... are you the nurse..."

"Stop it with the idiotic questions already," she rolled her eyes. "I simply knew the woman and told her I would keep watch during the evening when she went grocery shopping. I had an inkling you could turn up. I found out many things while you were gone, some I'd like to tell you, and some I'm keeping to myself."

Then, Luna looked at Edgar, displeased. "You brought him along?!" 

"You know I like to keep him with me at all times," I replied sternly.

"I suppose his presence was justified, this time," Luna said cruelly. "It was a matter of lost children, after all."

Edgar flinched. I moved without noticing, as if often happened when the two of us were fighting together.

I coughed. "We brought you the baby," I said.

Luna looked impressed, but not as much as I hoped. "That's good. I heard you blamed yourself for the little girl who disappeared. Good boy. The Circle will reward you."

"He did not blame himself," Edgar said. He was almost growling. I had never heard him being so loud before. "It's Thomas Johnston. He does nothing but lie. Ryan would have never taken the fault of something so horrible. Alice was, is, our friend."

Luna waved her hand dismissively. "Bring the boy inside," she said. 

I looked down at the boy. I didn't know why, but I didn't like the idea of giving him up. Maybe because I knew his life was bound to be hard. Edgar looked at him as if he was feeling the same way.

"You can go now," Luna added. "My friend and I will take care of the baby. You should consider lucky I'm talking to you in the first place. But, you see, for you I always make an exception."

I felt reluctant at the idea that I had to give away the baby so soon, but I knew it was the right thing to do. I exchanged a quick glance with Edgar, and passed the baby in Luna's arms.

Luna looked at Edgar as if he was a poisonous plant. "Off with you," she commanded.

I thought about the secrets Luna was keeping. About the fact that it seemed that some of her recent discoveries had something to do with Edgar, judging by the way she was treating him. And I thought about the fact that in her private room, in her headquarters, there was the Enemy Mirror. The one that had never been cursed. The one that one of my ancestors had given to the hers as a gift.

I found myself wanting to ask something about the Mirror, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I knew it was stupid. I already knew all I needed to know about that old story.

Edgar and I excused ourselves and we decided to regroup something more practical --- in the garden of the Academy.

"I'm thinking we should use this for the Emphatic String," Edgar told me. He showed me a second hand Sherlock Holmes book.

"Is it Alice's?" I asked. "When and where did you get it?"

Edgar blushed lightly. "Yesterday, when you went to bed, I went to Flora's house. To comfort her."

I was angry, but couldn't find the words. Why did he have to go alone? I wanted to be there for Flora as well.

"You were too tired," Edgar said, reading my expression. "You never know when to stop pushing your limits, but you were exhausted. The argument you had with your adoptive parents... I think it brought back all the pain you felt living with them."

I didn't know what to reply. Just like every time somebody mentioned my past, all I wanted to do was to change the subject.

"So, you took that book from Alice's room," I said.

He nodded. "It was the day I came up with my idea for the Emphatic String. And then, I forgot to tell you. Either way, if I were you, I'd wait a few days before I go to Flora's house."

"She can't possibly think I murdered her daughter," I said, uneasily.

"Let's start off by proving she's not dead at all," a voice behind us said.

Edgar and I turned around, startled. He put himself in front of me. But there was no need to protect me --- the person who'd spoken was Risa.

"How did you...?" I asked.

She shrugged. "We don't have any time to lose. But, if you insist, I knew you went to visit someone important and who keeps anonymous because of the things you told me when I had to solve that case at your house. And I deducted that it had to be the head of the Circle. Of course, the government doesn't know that. Which makes one wonder why Mister Johnston hates you so much he is doing everything he can to frame you, including kidnapping that baby."

"How can you know that too...?" Edgar asked. "No, wait, don't tell. Just like you said, we have no minute to lose."

"What are you doing?" Risa asked us.

"Emphatic String," Edgar said.

"I've heard of it," she said. Suddenly, she saw the Sherlock Holmes book.

"Did this belong to your friend?" she asked. She sounded delighted. "If that's the case, I wish to be connected to her."

"What?" Edgar asked.

"The Emphatic String. Use it on me and her."

"You barely know her," I said. I trusted Risa, but one could never be too careful.

"What's the worst that can happen?" she asked. "We'll only feel if the other is alive, or how they're doing."

When she saw we still had doubts, her eyes shone, as if she just had an idea. "If your friend is alive, I'll ask her to become my assistant. Just like Dr Watson for Sherlock Holmes. I've always wanted an assistant!"

"I'm not sure she'll accept," I said, thinking about how Alice had always been very independent. "But if you wish to be connected to her, come here. We'll perform the spell."

Risa was excited about it. More excited than one had any right to be. "That's awesome," she muttered to herself. "One should try anything once."

When we put the spell on her, Risa went numb for a few seconds. She closed her eyes. At first, I feared something went wrong.

Then, she opened her eyes wide and took a deep breath.

"She's alive," she confirmed finally. "She's alive and, judging by how she feels, I think I might know who kidnapped her."

We went to Flora's house as soon as we heard Risa's words. It wasn't much, but it was all we had.

As soon as we opened the door, Flora threw her arms around me. She told me, between sobs, that she would have never blamed me for Alice. She didn't believe any of Johnston's words.

"We come bearing good news," Edgar said. "We tried the Emphatic String. Alice is still alive, and she's conscious. Our friend here, who connected to your daughter, has seen a glimpse of Alice's emotions. She thinks she knows who might have kidnapped her."

"Alice is alive..." Flora repeated, tears still running along her face. We gave her a moment before she could concentrate on the rest of Edgar's words.

In the meantime, Edgar asked, "Do people really blame Ryan of what happened?"

I wanted to tell him that it wasn't as important as proceeding with our investigation, but he shut me up with a glance. The look in his eyes conveyed that it was important, to him.

"Not everyone," Flora said, to my relief. "What politicians like Johnston don't know, is that it's not so easy to brainwash an entire country. Those who did not think highly of Ryan because he's a hybrid or because he practises black magic, may believe his words. The people who love him and know him don't."

"Also," Risa said. "I heard on the radio that a member of the senate, Selina Cooper, said Johnston had no real proves. Now, some people are starting to believe her side of the story."

"Well, back to you," Flora said, eyeing Risa. She looked more suspicious than I had ever seen her. "I don't believe we met. I'm glad you accepted to be connected to my daughter, though I can't say she knows you either. Who do you think kidnapped her?"

"Ryan told me a few things, others I had read in the articles. I believe it was her former boyfriend, Jake."

Flora looked dissatisfied with the reply. I didn't know she still trusted Jake. I thought Lucretia was the only one. Then again, Jake was in prison and I trusted him not to be powerful enough to get out every time he wished. Maybe that was the kind of trust Flora had in him, too.

Of course, Jake might have had the idea and sent others to do it. I could not put that past him.

"Get out," Flora told Risa. "You say you know Ryan well, but there are some things even you don't know. Jake would never hurt Alice, or scare her on purpose. He cheated on her, he betrayed her trust. That's because they were never a real couple. Alice told me it was play pretend for both of them. But other than that, they've always been best friends. He would never make my daughter go through something like this."

"I just said what I thought," Risa stammered, ready to storm out the house.

"Risa, wait," I said. "With all due respect, Flora, the Jake you described does not seem like the person I've known last year. He does not seem like the person who hurt Alice, when he had to reveal her he had been a spy and a member of the Reapers all along."

"He did bad things," Flora said, not so patiently. "But he would never take Alice away from her family, because we have been Jake's family too. If there's something he values, it's that."

"What?" My throat felt dry. I was beginning to understand there were things about Jake's childhood nobody had told me yet.

"Just so you know," Flora said. "Jake is not an orphan. Jake's mother was an incredibly skilled and beautiful Enchanter --- Jake's father was smitten with her. Unluckily, she was not interested in having a family. She left Victor, her husband, when Jake was a few months old."

"I'm sorry," I told her. I really was. I just couldn't see what this had to do with any of us, or with Alice.

"Jake has spent most of his life without knowing if his mother was dead or alive," Flora continued. "Growing up, he soon became friends with Alice. Alice knew what it was like to be abandoned by one of her parents. They bonded over that. At first, it was the two of them against the world. They couldn't relate to Jeff, because they were the children who had been left behind on purpose. But then, their friendship grew. They became those best friends who are always together no matter what, who could not leave each other's side for a minute. Just like Ryan, Jeff and Raegan."

She looked at Edgar curiously, as if to say that something had changed in the meantime and she wasn't really sure of what it was.

Then, she added, "When they got together, Alice told me from the start she wasn't sure what to make of it. She thought she couldn't love Jake in the way she was supposed to. He seemed oddly cold too. They went on with it, but it was a mistake. Then, what happened after, Jake being a spy and joining the Reapers, was a tragedy. But Jake would never take Alice from her mother, because he has always respected the bond we had. The one he never had the chance to have with his own mother."

"Did he ever meet his mother?" Risa asked. It seemed as if she was sensing Flora was holding something back. Maybe she really was a good detective, after all.

"Once," Flora replied. "Months ago. Do you remember, Ryan, when you went to London to look for Sean? Jake left the group as well, to meet his mother. She told him that she had a new family, and didn't have any interest in meeting him again or keeping in touch. He was devastated. Only Alice was able to comfort him. Jeff tried, but Jake never liked him much. This was, and is, Jake's biggest flaw. He thinks too highly of himself. Mr Winter often treated Jeff like he was dimwitted, like he wasn't worth much, and Jake began treating him the same way."

For a moment, I thought about Jake mistreating Jeff. Of Jake telling me that he hated me the most, because I always ruined things. Of how his words reminded me of my adoptive mother. For that moment, I let a chilly rage take control of me. I was almost happy, satisfied, that Jake was in prison. Then, I decided not to hold on to grudges.

"I really hoped you would believe me," Risa said. She looked like she was close to tears. It was very important for her that people took her deductions seriously. "But if you don't, it's all the same. Your daughter is alive. If she dies, I'll know. Those are the most important things. I'll leave, now."

I watched Risa leaving, my mouth agape. I could not believe she would give up like that.

Then, Edgar said, "Let's give Flora some time to process this information," and gestured for me to follow him.

I followed Edgar out of the door. We could have taken separate paths, but he was reluctant. Like he didn't want to go.

"With all the things that are happening recently," he said. "I hate that I can't be of any more help. I've thought about it, and I decided that I should let you know what Ana Summer told me."

I blinked. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Let's find ourselves a place we can be alone, and I'll tell you of the vision."