“The swamp coolers? Yeah. More or less.” I sighed.
I tried to explain my plan to Xavier. I wasn’t sure when he had been in the Mortal world last, but whenever it was, it was way before swamp coolers and newspapers. Which was kind of funny, given how much he liked lunch boxes, vinyl records, and sweets.
I picked up another ancient book, opening it to a cloud of dust and possibility—and uncertainty. I was frustrated, and sitting on the floor surrounded by Caster Scrolls in the middle of this strange creature’s cave made me feel as if I was back working in the Gatlin County Library on the first day of my summer break.
I tried to think. There had to be something we could do. “What about Traveling? Can Waywards use Casts that pertain to an Incubus?”
Xavier shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
I leaned back against a stack of books. I was close to giving up. Once again, if Link was here, he’d lecture me about being the Aquaman of the Caster world.
“A dead Aquaman,” I said to myself.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing,” I muttered.
“A dead man?” he asked.
“You don’t have to rub it in.”
“No, that’s it. You don’t need Casts that work for a Mortal. You’re not a Mortal anymore. You need Casts that work for a Sheer.” He flipped page after page. “An Umbra Cast. Sending a shadow from one world to the next. That’s you, the shadow. It should work.”
I thought about it. Could it be that simple?
I stared at my hand, at the flesh and bones of it.
It only looks like flesh and bones. You’re not really here, not like that. You don’t have a body.
What was the big difference between a Sheer and a shadow?
“I need to be able to touch something, though. It won’t work unless I can get the message to Lena, and I’ll need to be able to move some papers around.”
He cocked his head, twisting his face into a grimace. I hoped it was his thinking face.
“Do you need to touch something?”
“That’s what I just said.”
He shook his head. “No, it’s not. You said you need to move something. That’s different.”
“Does it matter?”
“Entirely.” He flipped a few more pages. “A Veritas Cast should allow the truth to appear. As long as you’re looking for the truth.”
“That’ll work?”
I hoped he was right.
Minutes later, any doubts I had about Xavier were gone.
I was here. I hadn’t flown across the Great River, or the Great Barrier, or any other supernatural seam. I hadn’t turned on the crow-vision. I was here, on Main, staring into the office of The Stars and Stripes.
At least, my shadow was.
I felt like Peter Pan in reverse. Like Wendy had unstitched my shadow from me instead of sewing it back to my feet.
I moved through the wall and into the darkness of the room, only I was even darker. I had no body, but it didn’t matter. I lifted my hand—the shadow of my hand—and thought the words Xavier had taught me.