13 My heart hammers as Peregrine and Chloe grab each other’s hands and then mine, so that we’re standing in a circle of three. “I can feel it already,” Peregrine says, a dangerous gleam in her eye. “Power.” Chloe turns to me. “Just relax, Eveny, we’ll do all the work. Clear your mind and think of this as a two-way street back and forth from the spirit world. It’ll just be an easy little ceremony.” Like I saw them do in the cemetery, Peregrine and Chloe call out three times to Eloi Oke to open the gate. Chloe stomps her right foot and the room suddenly goes still. The air feels thick and heavy, as if we’re underwater. It’s hard to breathe for a moment, but when Chloe and Peregrine release my hands and begin to dance slowly, the air thins out again. Their feet move in a steady right-left-right, left-right-left sashay, with their hips swaying gracefully. I try to follow, and although I feel clunky, I’m sort of getting the hang of it. As the three of us move in time to Peregrine’s voice, I feel a breeze picking up.
