"No visitors that checked in with them. That doesn't mean there weren't any."
"Or that the old girl wasn't imagining it."
She nodded, conceding the point even if she didn't believe that was the case. "What, exactly, did you see when you climbed out of the car?"
"I thought I saw something move—something that was human in shape and yet it held no substance."
"And later, when you gave chase?"
"A raven, as I said."
She blew out a breath. "A raven is one of Joshua's shapes, apparently." But it was also one of Joe's.
Was that a mere coincidence? Or perhaps a clue that Joe and Joshua were one and the same? But how could they be, when Joshua wasn't a shapeshifter? Joe and he had entirely different body shapes. Entirely different facial structures.
"So this Joshua of yours is Blaine?"
The sudden edge in his voice surprised her, though, as usual, there was little emotion to be seen in his expression. She shook her head. "Not unless he can be in two places at the very same time. Mary was talking to Joshua when Blaine appeared.
Blaine apparently recognized Josh and ran. Joshua gave chase."
"So if it was Joshua I was chasing, what happened to Blaine?"
"Who knows? But Mary called him a day shadow— apparently he could creep around without being seen."
His eyebrows rose. "Meaning he could still be here? Can you feel him?"
She extended her senses, searching, but there was no sense of the shadowy evil she'd felt earlier. Blaine—if it was indeed Blaine she'd sensed—had gone. She shook her head.
"So, the question is," Gabriel said, "why were both men here today?"
"If you believe her—and I do—then Joshua was here to tell Mary that it was okay to tell me everything. He apparently told her the military could no longer stop her."
He studied her, face unreadable. "And Blaine?"
"As I said, I think he was here to confirm his suspicions.
Mary worked in the nursery. She's probably the only one left alive who has any true knowledge about me and Joshua."
"Did you ask her about Sethanon?"
She nodded. "She didn't know anyone by that name. But she did say Joshua was punished once for reading a book with that title."
"A book? He called himself after a book?"
"Well, if Sethanon is actually Joshua, then yes. But it's a bit of a long shot, isn't it?"
He shrugged. "We've never been able to find a birth record for someone with that name, so it has to be an alias. And there's no rule stating an alias can't come from a work of fiction."
"But if Joshua is this Sethanon of yours, then how has he managed to remain unknown? According to Mary, Joshua is a shapechanger. She's seen him take on various bird shapes, but never another human shape. I thought you said it's not possible to be both?"
His frown deepened. "Generally, it isn't. But that doesn't mean Hopeworth couldn't have made the impossible possible."
True. "But surely the military would have known about the talent. They knew about our other talents." Though not all of them, apparently, because if the dreams were to be believed, they'd always thought she was the fire starter. It had always been Joshua's skill rather than hers.
"I think the only people who might be able to answer these questions are Blaine or Lloyd," he said. "Both of them were involved in the Penumbra project."
"And I think neither of them will be forthcoming with any sort of answer."