Paul gave me the keys to his car before going to bed, and Caitlyn and I headed off to the nearer of the two remaining buildings. I probably could have created the ritual without the second look, but, considering that I had already failed once, I didn’t want to take any chances this time.

On the way, I gave Caitlyn an overview of the principles of aura reading and had her take a stab at reading me. Not surprisingly, it didn’t work the first time she tried.

“What happened?” she asked. “I’m sure I did it exactly as you said.”

I forced myself not to chuckle at her frustration. “I’m sure you did. As I said, it takes some practice to get it right the first time.”

“How many times did you try before getting it?”