I made it to Paul’s house at 5:03, pretty much exactly when I had said I would. Not bad.

Paul met me at the door with the suitcase. “We need to get going.”

“I know, but you need to take the potion first.” I glanced over my shoulder through the still-open doorway. “The sun is pretty low, but it’s still high enough to mess you up but good.”

“True,” he said as I opened my backpack and pulled out the small Deer Park bottle. I handed it to him.

He gave it a questioning look.

“No, it won’t taste great,” I said. “Sorry. This one doesn’t have the most harmonious combination of herbs, but it’ll get the job done.”

He nodded and drank it off the way he always does, by sinking his fan...

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