‘You two are up early,’ said Vaughn, pouring himself a cup of coffee and sitting next to Em at the small kitchen table upstairs in the church’s living quarters.
‘Anxious to get on our way to London, I guess,’ said Em, sipping the tea she’d hastily made as soon as they’d returned from the Guthrie painting.
Her tall boots stood beside her chair. Vaughn’s eyes narrowed as he leaned over and tipped one of the boots upside down. ‘Sand?’
Em grabbed the boots and quickly tugged them on.
‘Do you remember when I was younger and my dreams sometimes animated into reality when I was nervous or scared?’
Vaughn relaxed. ‘I remember. Jeannie was always destroying handsome vampires or flying wizards with her frying pan at breakfast. So what was this one about?’
Em projected embarrassment as strongly as she could. ‘Do you really want to know?’
‘Nope,’ said Vaughn, following the twins downstairs and into the church. ‘I do not. Now, don’t forget these.’ He handed two new sketchpads from his desk drawer as the twins prepared to fade through the Vermeer to London. ‘Use discreetly.’
Em shoved her sketchpad into her Emily the Strange messenger bag she wore slung over one shoulder. Suddenly guilt and longing pinged through her, and her stomach twisted. The bag had been a Christmas present from Zach.
‘Ready?’ asked Matt, opening his pad, charcoal in hand. Em could feel his excitement wash over her, chasing away the crazy butterflies in her gut.
‘Check the statue for any residual evidence of animation,’ Vaughn told them as Matt sketched. ‘Then interview the clerks in the shop. If you get any leads on our Conjuror, that would be great too. But no more than that, OK?’
Matt was already outlining the main elements in the Vermeer, using the side of his hand to smudge and create texture.
‘Oh,’ Vaughn added, ‘and if you need a direct line to Orion, use the phones I’ve given you. The operator will tell you where your nearest possible fade might be, in case you get lost or stuck.’
Em gripped her brother’s shoulder as he drew, his hand flying over the page, lines of light shooting from his fingertips, coiling chimneys of mist building around them. Em’s feet broke into particles of light and ribbons of shimmering colour. She felt her body tilt, and her limbs became weightless. In a burst of brilliant blue, she and Matt faded into Girl Interrupted at Her Music Lesson.