Stewart Estate, study.

    Nathalie sat in the chair, quietly watching Almos from across the table. He was fussing with his little wooden box, carefully setting out his odd collection of treasures in a neat line.

    From left to right: a brass hand mirror, a silver pocket watch, an old abacus, a ss of mysterious dark drink, and a white candle.

    Nathalie shifted in her seat, a trace of worry in her eyes. "Almos, is there any chance hypnosis could go wrong?"

    Almos looked up at her. "What kind of ''wrong'' do you mean?"

    "For example, what if I''m trying to recover lost memories and end up losing even more?" She couldn''t stand the thought of losing Nathan again.

    Almos paused, frowning in thought. "Hypnosis is like running a science experiment. How well it works depends on the person doing it, the environment, and every little step. If anything goes off track, the results can get... unpredictable."

    Nathalie shot to her feet, hands nted firmly on the table, her whole presence radiatingmand. "Almos, you have to get this exactly right. If you make me forget someone important, I swear you''ll regret ever stepping foot in Stewart Estate."

    Almos shrank at her words. "You know, you''ve gotten way scarier thesest few years. When did you turn into such a hard-ass?"

    Nathalie sat back down, smoothing her sleeve, her face cool and serious. "Almos,st time you hypnotized me, I asked you to erase Cameron and Greta from my mind. But how did that turn out?"

    Almos kept his eyes on the table. "There was a... tiny error."

    Nathalie''s re was sharp enough to cut ss. She said each word with chilling precision. "If you screw this up again, I''ll make sure your little magic act ends here for good."

    Cold sweat broke out on Almos''s forehead. "Ms. Nathalie, I promise no mistakes this time."

    Nathalie nced at the doorway, where Lizzy stood guard. With Lizzy nearby, she felt a little steadier.

    "Let''s get started," Nathalie said, her voice light but firm.

    set

    Almos snapped into action, lighting the candle with shaking hands, then grabbing a pen and sketching a strange pattern on the desk. He the candle in the center and exined as he worked, "This candle will help guide your soul back to where you need to go. But you won''t have much time. Once you find what you''re looking for, you have toe back right away. If you stay too long, you might not make it back at all."

    Nathalie nodded. "Got it."

    Almos ced the brass mirror upright at the gate of the pattern. "When you step through, watch your reflection in the mirror. If you see your face change, you have toe back immediately. Promise me."

    He rattled off a list of warnings; Nathalie took them all to heart. As he arranged the other items in the

    pattern, he muttered something e

    under his breath. The objects

    seemed to melt into the lines which spread and stretched, turning into winding roads, then growing into towering green trees, and finally blooming into a dense forest. Rivers, little towns, fields-they all slowly appeared on the map.

    Nathalie stared, stunned, as a white light suddenly burst from the map and washed over her. She felt her body go weightless, as if she were floating up and away from the ground, drifting toward the gateway Almos had drawn.

    She peeked back and saw her own body still sitting in the chair.

    It was the strangest thing-her spirit and bodying apart like that.

    "Nathalie. Move. Go through the gate, now." A teasing, musical voice whispered right in her ear.

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