For the first time since Gordy could remember, Max acted like a legitimate lab partner. He tucked in his shirt, rolled up his sleeves, and nodded at Gordy with grim determination.

“Just tell me what to do,” Max said. “I won’t let you down.”

With the door closed, and the others elsewhere in the house, Gordy and Max went to work. Most of the ingredients Sasha had used to brew the Seeking Serum had been wiped out. Despite not having the necessary materials, Gordy began thinking up alternative solutions. Images of substances and ingredients formed in his head, cycling through as though his brain was a computer and he had access to elite potion-making software.

“Keep the heat steady if you can,” Gordy whispered.

Max grunted as he heated the fire beneath the cauldron and kept the temperature smoldering within the bowl. He combined the iskry powder and ogon oil, per Gordy’s instruction, into a sparkling paste, and fanned the flames with one of the ripped magazines.

Closing his eyes and blocking out all other sounds and distractions, Gordy began to Blind Batch.

Every potion needed at least one form of the four main elements: liquid, mineral, chemical, and herb. In Sasha’s mixture, she’d used the pickling solution of the piranha scales, but they still had half a jar of the pale-green liquid dappled with bits of fish. She’d used all of the shark teeth for the mineral; not a single piece remained. While Gordy stirred the liquid with the dousing rod—providing the necessary herbal component—he asked Max for the container of smashed quartz to use as substitute. Three of the four elements were done, but Gordy wasn’t finished yet.

Though he knew it was risky, he didn’t have much of a choice. Sucking in a breath, he inserted his finger into the boiling liquid in the cauldron. He heard Max gasp in surprise, but Gordy ignored him.

A minute passed and then two, and Gordy sensed an approving tingle under his skin. He immediately removed his finger and dabbed a couple of drops of Oighear Ointment on the flames to extinguish the heat. Gordy then funneled a ladle of the potion into the empty Eternity Elixir vial. The mixture smelled like rotten eggs and instantly transformed into smoke. Before any of it could escape, Gordy plugged the opening with a piece of cork and placed the bottle on the counter.

“Are you feeling okay?” Max asked, his voice unsteady.

Gordy grinned, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. He knew how it must have looked. “I’m fine.” He held up his finger. Not even the tip looked red or burned. “It doesn’t hurt, I promise.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about. You . . . uh . . . you looked different just now. Weird.” Max averted his eyes. “Really weird.”

“I was Blind Batching,” Gordy explained.

“Yeah, I know, but I’ve seen you Blind Batch. I was there when you nearly blew up B.R.E.W. headquarters, and you’ve never looked like that before. Did you even open your eyes once this whole time?”

The question caught Gordy off guard, and he laughed. “Of course I did.” He had paid careful attention during the whole brewing procedure. Judging by Max’s look of awe, however, Gordy wondered if he actually had. Maybe that was why the skill was called Blind Batching.

The smoke within the vial swirled. Gordy reached for the atlas, glancing at the closed laboratory door. “Should we call the others?”

Max considered it for a second. “Let’s see if it worked. Just the two of us. Mono e mono.”

Gordy didn’t think that was the right way to say that phrase, but he agreed. It should just be the two of them testing it out.

“Just don’t do that again, okay?” Max smiled at Gordy awkwardly. “I’ve seen enough stuff to give me a lifetime of nightmares already. I’d rather not see anything more.”