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At least until the ghost said, “Just be careful. If you push too hard on the veil between dimensions, you could get sucked into Oblivion.”

“Is that like Shadow Fall?” I asked her.

“Yes, except Oblivion is much, much worse. It’s deeper in the dimensional divide.”

“And has anyone ever escaped Oblivion?” I dared to ask.

“It’s best not to think about that,” she said breezily.

Well, when she put it like that, how could I not think about it?

“Ok, Savannah, are you ready?”

Who could ever be ready for this? I didn’t say that. I only nodded.

“Imagine your own energy is like a gigantic hand, and all the dimensions of our universe are the many strings of a magic harp. And now you’re going to strum that hand across those strings, searching for where these kids are trapped. When your energy touches that dimension, you’ll know it.”

I nodded, lifting my hands in front of me.

“Ok, kids, link hands,” the ghost told them. “Savannah is going to get you out of there, but she’s going to need your help. Pick a song, and thenallof you sing it. Try to stay in sync. It will help her find you.”

The kids started singing a silly lullaby about a bear who fell in love with a butterfly. And I started strumming my supernatural senses up and down the dimensions of reality.

Now that’s something I never thought I’d say.

“You can do this, Savannah.” Nixi’s words of encouragement melted into the kids’ song.

And then, like a spring bouncing up, her voice and theirs snapped apart, to opposite ends of the dimensional divide. I focused on the kids’ song, trying to block out everything else. I felt my energy rippling from my fingertips, moving across layers of reality. Some dimensions were heavy, others light. Some tasted sweet, others sour. And some didn’t taste like anything at all.

The song continued to echo in my head, sometimes quieter, sometimes louder. Until I found the kids’ dimension. There, the song was blaring like a marching band on full volume. And when I opened my eyes, I saw them standing there, holding hands, smiling at me. I grabbed the hand of the kid on the end, a girl who looked like a younger version of Violetta, and I pulled. I pulled and I pulled and I pulled—until I’d freed every last one of the kids from that dimension.

And we all tumbled back into our own, heaving and smiling and laughing and crying.

Young Taya threw herself at her big sister, hugging her fiercely. And the ghost in Violetta’s body looked as pleased as if she’d truly been Violetta herself.

“This is nice,” Nixi told me. “I’m not sure I can give it up.”

The joy of our victory soured in my stomach. “You promised,” I reminded the ghost.

“Don’t be such a party pooper, Savannah. I was just kidding,” she laughed. “I had a marvelous time having a body again, but I have much more important things to do than pretend to be a teenage girl again. Besides, I’m holding out for a more powerful body.” She winked at me.

I shifted uncomfortably. “I thought I was immune to being possessed by a ghost.”

“Nothing is set in stone,” she said lightly. “And, hey, if you ever want to team up again, come and find me.”

The ghost passed out of Violetta’s body, her transparent form dissolving before my eyes. The real Violetta blinked once in confusion, then squealed in delight to find her sister in her arms.

“Oh, thank you, thank you!” she told me. “I don’t remember a thing, but you did it! You saved my sister! You saved all these kids. You’re a true hero, Savannah Winters.”

The kids shot me a collective grin, then started singing that weird lullaby again. I quickly said my goodbyes and hurried off, clutching my shopping bag. I had an urgent delivery to make, and besides, if I had to listen to one more verse of that song, insanity might just drive me into Oblivion.

CHAPTER8

THE INQUISITION

Though we managed to get our shopping bag back to the Castle before the unicorn hair’s magic sizzled out, we were the last team to finish our Discovery Quest. Bronte and Dutch both gave me the stink eye about that, but Kylie and Asher didn’t seem to care. Or maybe they were just too busy eating. A feast had been laid out in the Castle’s grand banquet hall, and all the Apprentices were invited.

“Whoa, what is this? It’s so good!”