The thought of someone trying to get into town haunts me for the rest of the day.

The worst part is that I can't tell anyone about it. I don't want to freak anyone out.

Now I have two problems on my hands and no idea how to fix either of them.

I stare out the window as buildings fly past.

"Are you sure you want to go back again?" Mom asks.

I nod.

We're heading to Madam Mara's so I can scour her books to find a solution to Neo's problem. I haven't told anyone else about it. So Mom thinks I just want to grab the books and bring them back home.

"And you'll be alone this time?"

I sigh. "No. Mia wanted to tag along." Mia's been insistent about helping Neo, and as much as I don't want her there she won't stop bugging me about it.

"It's... nice that you're making friends," Mom says hesitantly. "But make sure she's not using you."

I also haven't told her about Mia having magic. "I'm sure she won't."

"Just be careful, okay?"

I nod. "I will be."

We pull up to Madam Mara's house. "Thanks," I say as I get out of the car.

"Call me when you're done."

"I will."

I close the car door and watch as Mom pulls away. I turn around towards her house. The porch that used to be pristine is now covered in leaves and show prints. Did Madam Mara keep the porch clean with magic? If so then why isn't it still working to keep the porch clean? Does only some magic stay alive after its caster has died?

I look around. There's no one in sight. Mia must not be here yet.

I walk up the steps, pulling the key out as I do. There's no point waiting out here when I could get a head start.

As I'm putting the key in the lock my hands start to shake.

Do I really want to be going in by myself? Considering the last time I did?

I shake my head. No. It'll be fine. Nothing like that will happen again because it already did. And, if I avoid the study then I should be fine.

But as I twist the key and the door swings open softly my stomach flutters.

I'm not ready.

Maybe Mia was right to tag along.

I grab the door handle before the door can open farther and slam it shut. Then I turn and plop down on the steps as my heart pounds against my ribs. I rest my head in my hands.

It's fine. Once Mia is here we can go inside and scour the spell books. It will all work out. I just need to focus on the task and why I'm doing it.

I'm helping Neo.

And getting rid of Niko.

Once he's gone everything will be fine. The town won't be in trouble. Madam Mara will have justice and I can have a peaceful job.

I sigh.

I can't even lie to myself.

How will we be rid of him? Putting him in jail? There's no way that would work since he has Neo's magic. Or is there a spell that will both separate him from Neo and get rid of him at the same time? Or... will I have to do the dirty work myself?

I shudder.

I can't begin to imagine that.

"Lumi!"

My head snaps up.

Mia strolls down the sidewalk. Her short hair bounces around her.

"Hey," I say, giving a small wave.

When she gets closer I stand up and push the door open.

"It was unlocked?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

I shake my head. "No, I unlocked it and... thought I'd wait for you." It's not a complete lie.

She smiles. "Thanks."

I wait for her to walk through the door first. But she stops just before it and brings her hands to her chest.

"Is everything okay?" I ask when she doesn't move.

She looks over her shoulder and for the first time I notice her wet eyes. "I haven't been in here since my last lesson about four weeks ago."

"Oh."

I hadn't even considered the fact that this might be hard for her too. Even though she hadn't seen Madam Mara's body or the blood she also hasn't been here since her death.

"I'm sorry. I never even-"

She waves her hand. "No, it's fine. It'll just be a little hard."

I reach out and lay my hand on her shoulder. "We can do this."

She nods before turning and walking into the house. I follow behind her. Once inside I flick the light on and close the door.

I watch as Mia takes in the disaster that is still the hall. How has no one cleaned this up? I'm sure I'm not the only one with a key. Maybe when this is all over I can clean up her house like nothing happened.

Mia walks down the hall towards the study. Her hand trails along the wall. When she reaches the spot where the mirror had been she stops and turns to it. A ghost of a smile appears on her face.

I wonder if she has the same memory as I do of the mirror.

Mia tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear before turning back down the hall.

Part of me wants to follow her so she isn't alone. The other part is frozen with fear.

She reaches the study. Her hands fly to her mouth. I'm sure the room is still the center of the hurricane's mess. She stands there unmoving for a good few minutes.

"Mia?" I whisper.

It breaks the spell.

She turns back to me. Tear streaks trail down her face. "I never thought she would ever be gone," she whispers.

I nod.

She walks towards me. "Do you really think she didn't put up a fight?"

I shrug. "I'm not sure what to think anymore."

She nods as she wipes her tears away.

"Should we go do what we came to do?" I ask.

She nods.

I lead the way up to Madam Mara's office. Mia follows silently behind me. Once we reach it we both go to opposite sides of the room and start flipping through books.

"Any idea what we're looking for?" Mia asks as she puts a book down on the floor.

"No clue. Probably something that has to do with separating or getting rid of?"

"You mean possession?"

I nod as I put the book I was just going through down. "Yes. But it might be hard to find."

She sighs.

As we focus on the task at hand the only noise made is the flipping of the pages. It feels like forever has passed when a ringing fills the room.

I raise a brow as Mia drops her book and grabs her phone from her pocket. She gives me a sheepish smile before picking it up.

"Marie! Hi, I actually can't-" She pauses. "What?! No way?! Hold on, give me a second!" She drops her phone from her ear. Turning to me she covers the mic with her other hand. "I'm sorry! But like, Marie just got asked out and I need to go-"

I hold up my hand. I don't need all the details of something I don't care about. "It's fine. Go."

Mia brightens. She brings the phone back up to her ear, waves to me and leaves the room. "Yeah. I'm on my way! I can't believe..." Her voice gets quieter the further away she gets.

I sigh and look around the room.

We didn't even get halfway through the books. Some are sprawled around the room, either open or closed. Others sit in stacks that look like a light breeze could blow them over.

I pull out my phone.

I won't be able to get this done by myself. So, I'll call that it for today.

I send a quick text to Mom and then start grabbing books and bringing them downstairs.

I don't know what's going to happen to the house. Whether it's going to be sold or kept empty. But either way I want the books to be safe and continue to be used. And this way I can go through them at home instead of always coming here.

The place that was like a second home has become a nightmare.

Once Mom gets here we pile the books into the back. We don't grab them all just the ones me and Mia went through and a few others. It makes up about half of what there is in total.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Mom asks as we carry the books up to my room.

I sigh. "Not yet."

She gives me a small smile. "Hopefully you can find it soon."

"I hope so. Or who knows, we might end up being doomed."

***

The clock on my nightside blinks a glaring red at me. One o'clock in the morning. I sigh. One more page.

It's hopeless.

I flip the page anyway.

As it lands open in front of me I yawn. I really shouldn't have stayed up this late. But Neo and Niko just can't leave my mind. I want to help him and get rid of Niko, which involves a lot more reading then I would have thought.

Through blurry vision I try to read the title of the spell.

But I can't.

The letters blur together. As I squint harder they seem to move around the page. I rub my eyes as an attempt to see it better, but it doesn't work.

I groan in frustration.

Why must my vision fail me now?

I sigh as I get up from the floor. I grab the book and toss it on my desk.

I can't find it in me to care if it's still on the same page. I doubt I'll remember this when I wake up.

I make my way over to my bed. Before I plop down on it I turn my lamp off. Darkness takes its place instantly. I plop down face first and before I know it I'm falling into my dreams where blurred letters swim before me.