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The room went silent

"How?" Ethan said

"Sorcha’s Trojan horse," Mallory said "The ic that didn’t dissipate after Towerline"

Catcher leaned forward "Think about the e around Towerline when the battle occurred People were freaked out by the fight, the supernaturals, the river, the possibility of the building falling over The city was in crisis, and that was in addition to all the other things they norathered together by Sorcha’s ic"

"It was distilled," Mallory said "Just like the scent of that o"

"We’re hearing the Egregore," Ethan quietly said, studying the picture, then lifting his gaze to Mallory "Magic creating life?"

"A form of it, anyway"

"And ould she do all this?" Ethan asked "Create this collective ore? To foster the delusions? To use them as a weapon?"

"I think the delusions are a side effect," Catcher said "There were thousands of people near Towerline, but the delusions have been relatively rare, sporadic, and geographically focused That’s probably because Sorcha’s ic didn’t disseminate evenly"

"The fact that she’s never been trained hurts her," Mallory said, nodding "She’s got skills, sure But it’s raer, untrained"

"And that’s erous," Ethan said "Not to mention the fact that she’s narcissistic and unpredictable She has changed the weather Endangered the lives of ht the city to a standstill because she could" He glanced at Mallory "Because you didn’t let her have her way at Towerline"

"She’s acting like a horer," Lindsey said "She is basically the worst Sweet Valley High novel ever written"

"Based on e know about her," Luc said, "that’s how she operated her entire life She gets what she wants, usually because someone paid for it"

I nodded "She doesn’t even fight her own battles She used alche for her She wants to win the war, but she doesn’t want to fight it She wants poith impunity"

"She wants a weapon," Catcher concluded, nodding at me "Just like ere supposed to be"

"The Egregore is sentient," I said "If she can control it, it can fight us on her behalf"

Mallory nodded "We think that’s where she’s going, too" She gestured to the book "But we haven’t had tiet further in the book, so we don’t knohat she’ll try next, or how the weather relates to it"

"Another question," I said "If the Egregore is going to be her weapon, why does she want us? Why the ultie," Ethan said, and the word hung in the air, heavy and dangerous