Until these new concepts of freedom and fearlessness wrapped themselves around my brain, I couldn't part with the little iron I had left. I'd transferred it to a napkin and tucked it inside my pants, but my mouth watered for it. Every time I patted it, my insides squirmed. Just as I attracted ghosts, iron attracted me.

But I was still alive, even without it. The ship had been strangely quiet since Mase's brain-scrambling performance, which worried me. I wore a target on my ...