Words spilled from Newberry's voice recorder. Some files ranged from a few seconds long to several minutes of on and off conversation.

Jim skipped to the last file—Newberry's talk with Claire—then backed up two. It was the conversation Newberry had with him at the bridge, followed by the one with his mom outside the shelter.

When they reached the fifth file, the hair on the back of Jim's arms bristled.

"I've got to find those kids," Newberry said. "The 109th has no idea who they have in custody. If I can get them out, they'll lead me straight to… it."

Two-second pause.

"Looks like someone took a bulldozer to the front of the precinct building. Not surprising with that huge green brute those kids had with them. I am so not getting paid enough for this."

Another pause.

"This is worse than looking for Fuente de la Juventud, or Xirang. At least then I had historical records for reference. This time, it's just some pictures on the internet and a crazy old man's letters." Newberry gave a frustrated growl. "This stupid box!" She rapped two knuckles on something wooden. "What good is magic water with nothing to nurture, or magic dirt with nothing to put in it?"

The file ended.

"What was she looking for?" Claire stopped the playback. "And what's this about magic water and dirt?"

"More importantly, who's paying her? I found her car," Jim said, then recounted his investigation of the vehicle. When he told Claire and his mom about the car's behavior, they both did a double take.

"Hold on. What now? Cars that old don't drive themselves. Or fly," said Claire.

"It had something on the back window, but it didn't appear until I held the amulet over it. Ex animo volo," Jim said.

"With all my heart?" Barbara Lake still held The Book of Ga-Huel, hand on the open pages.

"I didn't realize you knew Latin, Dr. L," said Claire.

"Took a couple semesters in college." She shut the book and kept it close.

"I can put that in my bag." Jim pointed to The Book of Ga-Huel.

"That's okay, kiddo. I'd… like to keep it for a while. If that's all right."

"Yeah, sure. We need to get back to Camelot. Maybe Douxie knows what Newberry was looking for, or who might have hired her."

Claire prepared to make yet another shadow portal, but before she opened it, the employee bathroom door creaked open, and NotEnrique came out.

"Hey," he said in a loud whisper. "That crazy lady gone? I've been listenin' off an' on. Sounds like you lot are in quite the pickle. Wherever you're goin', I'm comin' along." He leaped atop Claire's shoulder before she could protest. "Go on. Portal away, sis."

The group crowded into Merlin's workshop and presented Newberry's recorder along with The Book of Ga-Huel.

Excalibur still lay on the table, right where Jim had left it.

Once Douxie had listened to file five and seen the new book pages, he sat at the table, elbows propped on the lip, folded hands bridged just under his nose. "She's a Legend Stalker. They sift through folklore and myth to find what bits of truth they can. Wizards the world over employ them to find rare artifacts. Even Merlin hired a few in his time. If I'd known she wasn't really a reporter, I'd never have given you that charm to plant. It won't keep her away long. The second she finds it, she'll know what it is."

NotEnrique tsked. "She's gonna be upset."

"Not as upset as me if she comes back and steals something," Claire said. "From that recording, it sounds like she's after a seed, or a root—something you can grow in soil."

"We don't have anything like that," said Jim.

"I have no idea what she's after," Douxie said. "It might not even be something we're aware of. As for who could have hired her, that could be anyone who knows magic exists."

"Well, that narrows it down," said Claire.

"Then, there are the new pages." Jim opened The Book of Ga-Huel. "Mom says there's something written right here." He pointed to the blank spot spanning the center of the two pages. "But my amulet can't see it. I had her write it out for me, but it's not much to read." He presented the crumpled notebook paper, complete with a translation he'd scrawled beneath the Trollish letters.

Douxie opened Merlin's Grimoire and paged through the entire thing. "Nothing in here to help. Which is surprising. This has to be a recent development. When exactly did the message appear?"

"I touched the book to get a better look at it," Barbara said.

He held an open palm out to Jim's mom. "May I see your hands?"

Barbara stepped closer.

Douxie examined both palms before turning them over. "This ring is lovely. Your engagement band?"

She nodded.

"How long have you had it?"

"Only a couple of months."

"And this tome, it belonged to your betrothed?"

"As much as a magical book belongs to anyone," she said.

"It's possible this message was written to you specifically," Douxie said.

"But these pages only appeared earlier today," Jim protested. "Mr. Strickler's been… gone. He couldn't have arranged this."

"Who said it was her betrothed who wrote the message?" Douxie pulled out the little box containing Nari's heart. "Nari's spoken to us through the sword and the lily. What's to stop her from leaving a message in The Book of Ga-Huel?"

"Life magic was never intended to be used for making entries in this book. Of course, the words would be faded," said Claire.

"But why am I the only one who can see it?" Barbara said.

Douxie took her left hand and tapped her ring. "Like Excalibur, life magic is fueled by two things. One," he pointed to one of the two emeralds set to either side of the diamond, "is love. And the other," he pointed to the second emerald, "is hope. Both have taken hold of you, and so, you are the one to whom the message shows itself." He displayed the box containing Nari's heart. "She believed in us." He set the box atop The Book of Ga-Huel. "This is proof."

Jim's heart skipped. He took a quiet step closer and studied the open pages.

But no matter how hard he stared, the message his mother had seen refused to appear.