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look angry; that was a relief. Of course, that was before she knew he could freeze her, and might not be able to unfreeze her.
    He glanced up and down the street. Luckily, he had ducked into an alley and the girls had followed, so there were no cars, no people, no witnesses. He wondered—if there had been, would they all be frozen, too? He had no idea how wide a range this freezing power had.
    He took a deep breath. He was afraid to try toundo what he’d done because he didn’t know how he had done it. What if he made things worse?
    But he had to do something. He worried that the longer they were frozen in time, the harder it would be to undo. Or that there would be side effects or something, if they stayed this way too long. And even worse—if he kept Molly out too late her dad would kill them both.
    â€œI’ve got to quit rabbiting around and get to work,” he declared. Every time I try to play it safe , he realized, things turn out worse. Well, there’s no one here to help me, so this is up to me to fix.
    He remembered his first real magic, the time he had kept the snow from falling on Kenny, Tamlin’s friend. The secret to that had been concentration, focus, relaxation, and will.
    He stood in front of the girls. “I’ll undo Marya first,” he decided. “She’ll need less of an explanation. And she can get me up to speed on what Molly already knows.”
    What had the Trenchcoat Brigade told him? Magic answers need. He needed a moment to think when the girls came after him. He felt it really strongly and it happened. In Free Country, he was angry at being used, and that energy nearly blasted the world apart. What he had to learn was to use his brain, not just his chaotic feelings. That’s whythe snow trick worked. All right. Focus.
    He waved his hands in front of Marya. “Undo!” he declared.
    Nothing happened.
    â€œGreat,” Tim muttered. “Just great.”
    Â 
    Underground London
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    Slaggingham clapped his hands. “All right, all right, comrades. The sideshow is over. Back to work. Every last Jack and Jill of you.”
    Without a murmur or question, the factory workers turned and shambled their way back to their stations.
    Slaggingham grinned at Daniel. “Now, I believe we were about to have tea.”
    About time , Daniel thought. For a while there it looked as if the tea was merely a figment of the reverend’s imagination.
    Slaggingham pushed open a door, and ushered Daniel into a small office. A hot plate sat on the counter and shelves lined the walls, full of dented canned goods. It seemed as if Slaggingham had decorated his office with discards and found his supplies in the rubbish.
    No matter , Daniel decided. Food is still food, even if the tin it comes in is dented and the labelpulled off. He’d had far worse in his life.
    Slaggingham set about getting the tea. “So, that sly dog Hunter stole your girl, did he?”
    â€œShe ran off to London to find him and I ain’t seen her since,” Daniel replied. “Some might not call that stealing, but I ain’t such a fool.”
    Slaggingham placed the cup of tea and a box of dusty biscuits on the table in front of Daniel. “I could do with a spot of refreshment myself,” he said.
    Daniel’s eyes widened in amazement as Slaggingham pulled off the skin on his hands, revealing machinery underneath. What Daniel had thought were fingers were actually metal contraptions.
    â€œYou—you took off your skin!” Daniel blurted.
    â€œMy gloves , Dan,” Slaggingham corrected. “Bless you, you can’t expect a man to eat while he’s got his gloves on.”
    Slaggingham stuck the tips of his metal fingers into a little box. Daniel heard a crackling, buzzing sound and watched in awe as Slaggingham shuddered, electric current shooting through his body.
    Daniel was speechless. He took a sip of tea, his shaking hands rattling the