My face heated. I barely stopped myself from fidgeting self-consciously as we veered off to the large staircase against the far right wall. What Daisy and Bria had said about my outfit took over my thoughts. Sure enough, someone paused, turned, and raised her phone, taking a pic. I pretended not to notice as we reached the stairs.

“Good,” Bria said, not sparing anyone else a glance. “He figured that since you didn’t call him out…”

“It was the middle of the night. I was tired.” I bent my head, letting my hair fall in front of it as another person lifted their phone, tracking us as we ascended the stairs. “I wasn’t in the mood to care what he was doing. Until he threw the knife at me, that is.”

“Lift your chin,” she murmured. “Don’t let them see how uncomfortable you are. That’ll only make them bolder.”

I gritted my teeth and followed her advice.

“That’s what I told him,” she continued. “He thinks everyone is as suspicious as he is. It’s annoying. Anyway—”

“I probably should’ve checked to make sure both kids were in bed when I first woke up. I didn’t notice Daisy skulking around the house until after I felt Zorn’s soul.”

“Don’t tell him that. You’ll get a lecture. Anyway, check it out. I have a friend that owes me several dozen favors. This chick was always getting herself in near-death experiences. It was a real fun time getting her out of them until she took a cushy job with a Demigod’s inner circle. Sabin’s a lesser Demigod without a pot to piss in. No one is threatening him. Anyway, she has a friend that knows a guy whose uncle does security for Demigod Zander. Turns out, they kept some of the last Soul Stealer’s stuff. You know, just in case they want to call him back someday. They haven’t, of course—they’re too terrified. With a well-placed bribe, I was able to get this.”

According to Kieran, the last Spirit Walker had been an assassin—someone who’d used his ability in service to the former pope. Demigod Zander had caught him and killed him, apparently a much more common fate in modern times than the Spirit Walkers of legend, who crossed battle fields with their magic and decided wars. Did I really want an assassin to train me, assuming he’d actually do it? I could theoretically force him to do my will, sure, but I didn’t like controlling spirits, and I suspected it would be harder to control a fellow Spirit Walker.

She glanced around as we reached the top of the staircase before pulling a black velvet bag out of her pocket. Holding it close to her body, somewhat between us, she extracted a badly worn gold pocket watch with a winder on top. Little cranks and wheels decorated the cover, the design dulled with time. A tarnished chain pooled on her palm with at least three links that had been soldered together at one point or another. It was clear the watch had been heavily used.

“It still works,” she said, flipping the cover open to reveal the watch face with a second hand ticking away and a peepshow of gears turning in the middle. “Old trusty. He never had to worry about a battery failing him. He could slip into the spirit world, and when he came back out, he could count on the watch telling him how long he’d been there. Or, if it had stopped ticking, he could monitor time that way, too.”

“So you definitely think I can leave my body behind and walk the spirit world without dying?” I asked quietly. We’d spent the last few months searching for information about my magic but hadn’t turned up much. Those who knew about it either existed before electronic records or didn’t want to share. Probably both, given the secret assassin nature of the last Spirit Walker.

Whom Bria wanted me to call back from the Line.

“No, I’m not sure.” She tried to pass the pocket watch, but I yanked my hands away. I didn’t want the “tap-tap no backs” rule to apply here. I wasn’t sure I wanted anything to do with this. “It’s still mostly a working theory.”

“Super,” I said sarcastically.

“The watch is promising, though. The Demigods of Hades all have assistants to tell them how long they’ve been wandering in the spirit world. So I’ve heard, anyway. A body can only live so long when the soul is not present.”

“But if they don’t know the time until they get back, what good is a watch?”

“No idea.”

“And how am I supposed to avoid staying away too long when time doesn’t exist in the spirit plane?”

“Not a clue.”

I blew out a breath, nodding hello to Mia as I passed the little alcove decorated with a large metal tree crawling up the wall and spreading across the ceiling. She was a ghost with a powerful telekinetic ability and a strong sense of loyalty. She’d helped us take down Valens, and although many of the other ghosts who’d assisted us had drifted across the Line, she’d returned to the little alcove that had become her home. She wanted to stay on hand in case I needed her again. It was a sweet sentiment that made me feel a little guilty. Sure, trouble seemed to follow me around lately, but I really wasn’t worth hanging around for. Not when she had to do it as a spirit no one else could see or hear.

I elbowed Bria’s hand, and the pocket watch, away. “When did you get that, anyway?” I asked her.

“Not that long ago. As soon as I realized what you were, I started trying to figure out how to get something of the old Soul Stealer’s. I don’t plan ahead often, but when I do…”