Sitting across from each other at the small table in the library’s basement, Lester and Amanda stared at the paper inside the plastic bag.

“What do you think it is?” Amanda asked, prodding it with her finger.

“I can’t be certain, but it looks like the note my father showed Bernard,” said Lester.

“And my father, before they went into the pub. But why? There’s nothing on it.”

Lester watched Amanda hold the bag up to the light, turning it around while she squinted, trying to make out what was clearly not there. He was sure she hadn’t gotten any more sleep the previous evening than he had. Still, she seemed energized and oddly upbeat.

“Listen, Amanda,” he said. “I don’t know if this is such a good idea.”

“What do you mean?” Amanda asked, dropping the bag in front of him. “It’s a puzzle. You love puzzles.”

“Yeah, word puzzles and, like, Sudoku. Not, what’s up with the creepy piece of paper puzzles. This is something else. Something maybe we shouldn’t mess with.” Lester pushed the bag back to the center of the table.

“What other choice do we have?” asked Amanda, getting to her feet. “Because I don’t know about you, but I can’t forget what we saw last night. I wish I could, but there’s no going back. So unless you have some better idea, this is the best we’ve got. Besides, this whole thing is your fault.”

“My fault?” asked Lester.

“Yes. If you had just let it go, if you had listened to me, we wouldn’t be here now!” She slapped her hand hard on the table, making Lester jump, and knocking the bag with the paper to the floor.

“Is that so!” Lester said, feeling his own anger rise.

He sprang out of his chair, knocking it over with a loud crash. Glaring at Amanda, he opened his mouth but bit back the harsh words forming on his tongue at the last minute. Lashing out at her might, for the time being, distract him from the deep well of fear he could feel in his stomach, but not for long. Anyway, she was right. Right about their lack of options and, more importantly, right about who’s fault it was that they were in their current predicament.

“I’m sorry,” Lester said, exhaling loudly and letting the last of his fizzling temper go.

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With Lester unwilling to fan the flames of an argument, Amanda’s taste for a fight quickly faded as well. She reached across the table and took his hand.

“So am I,” she said.

They sat, letting the bad feelings dissolve into the mounds of dust that covered everything in the basement.

“When I got back last night, I couldn’t sleep,” Amanda said. “I lay awake in bed, feeling like my whole world had just been torn apart. Then I heard my dad come home. It’s not unusual for me to go days without seeing him. They’re always working, you know? My mother was waiting up like she does every night, no matter how late. After, she came upstairs to kiss my forehead. I pretended to be asleep.” Amanda’s eyes welled up. “This isn’t just about us.”

Lester thought of his own mother and the sadness that had crossed her face at breakfast. Then there was Bernard. They didn’t get along, but he was still his brother. Mostly, though, he thought of Amanda. How she’d always been the one person he could count on, and how quickly her next birthday would arrive.

“Look,” Amanda said, dabbing her eyes. “It’s scary and weird, and all kinds of who knows what? But no matter how big, it’s still a problem. And problems have solutions, right?”

Lester thought of Mrs. Q and shuddered. “Depends.”

“Okay, enough,” said Amanda. “Are you in or out?”

Lester looked at her and smiled. “I do love puzzles.”

“Good,” she said and leaned across the table to punch him hard in the shoulder.

“Ow!” cried Lester.

“That’s for making me ask.”

Amanda stood and began to walk in circles around the small table.

“Alright,” she said. “First, we tell no one about what we saw. Not Bernard. Not our mothers. No one. Until we have a better idea of who’s involved, we can’t risk it. And, since practically everyone we know is somehow connected to The Council, we’re pretty much on our own. You’re going to have to act like nothing has happened, even with your father. Do you think you can do that?”

“Yeah, I guess,” said Lester.

“Let’s start with what we know. You saw something strange at the Drawing-In ceremony. That means we’re dealing with Noxumbra. Then you overheard a conversation with Bernard about some sort of plan. After which, we both saw our fathers — ”

Amanda’s recitation faltered.

“Raise a fire tornado with their hands?” suggested Lester.

“Okay,” Amanda said, wrestling back some of her optimism. “Admittedly, that part’s bad.”

“Amanda?” Lester asked. “Last night in the alley, it almost seemed like — I mean, I know it sounds ridiculous, but — Just for a moment, did you see —”

“Did I see what?” asked Amanda.

“You know, the red eyes, the hands, the flames.” Lester was having trouble saying it out loud as if naming it would make it so. “For a split second, did our father’s almost looked like —”

“Demons?” asked a voice from the dark.