Cadence made it through the door almost as quickly as she had at Barbarosa's house. Once it was shut tightly behind her, she leaned back against it for a second, catching her breath. It took her a second to realize that she wasn't alone. "Mom?" she said, peering into the dim light of the living room.

Liz was sitting in her husband's chair, curled up under a blanket, the only light the soft glow of her Kindle reader. "Hi, honey. How was the party?" she asked, setting the Kindle down as ...