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“Now isn’t the time to be cryptic. I’m putting my life in your hands here..”

He glanced at the rooftop across from us, then back at me. “I have a demon.”

“A demon?!”

“It’s trapped in a reliquary right now, behind several, potent, protective spells. When we get inside, I’ll release it, and it will find the crown for us. It will be drawn to its energy.”

I shook my head. “You lost me at the word release. A demon? Really? You said yourself, they can’t be controlled without the engine.”

“Normally, no, but I think I can control this one.”

“And if you can’t?”

“I won’t fail. You have to trust me.”

There it was again, the big question. Did I trust him?

I knew, now, that his mother had been able to control demons without the Engine, that he had been studying to do the same, but he hadn’t been able to get it to work yet. He was obviously confident in his own magical ability, but I hadn’t seen enough of it myself to agree with him.

“So much of this mission is already dangerous…” I replied. “The last thing we need is another unpredictable element thrown into the mix.”

“Do you have a better suggestion? Because we haven’t exactly been able to pierce the outer shell of that building with our equipment. Getting in is all well and good, but if we don’t know where the crown is, we’re screwed.”

I took a deep breath, then exhaled. “Maybe… I can help with that.”

He frowned. “Maybe?”

“I think I can. I’m not sure.”

“What do you think you can do?”

“I can’t… cross into the Ether. Not physically. But I may be able to throw my consciousness into it.”

“Astral projection?”

“Something like that. It’s tricky, though, and I’ve only ever done it once or twice.”

“Will they detect you while your consciousness is in the Ether?”

“I’m not sure. They shouldn’t, but I don’t know what kind of powers they have.”

Lucien’s look turned grave. “If they detect you, our mission is over before it starts.”

“Unless we figure out where that crown is before we get inside, our mission is doomed to fail anyway.”

Lucien looked over at the Recondite guard. “Are you up for a practice run?”

“I may be up for a bit more than that, but I’ll need your help.”

“Help?”

I nodded. “My body will be vulnerable while I’m projecting. I’ll need you to keep me upright… and safe.”

“I can do that for you,” he said, after a pause.

“Okay… let’s try it.”

Lucien moved into position behind me while I turned around and faced the building’s edge. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed his body against my back, holding me firmly in place.