Mino looks up at Janos, who hops off the shop counter. “If you’re ready to find out more about these flowers, let’s get this moving,” he says. He removes his glasses and chucks them aside. Mino can’t see whether they’ve broken.

  “If you don’t want to sign the contract, stay out here.” Janos gestures for them to follow him. Bee tries not to let Mino or Wilder follow, but Mino pushes her hands on his stomach to make him walk backward. After nearly tripping, he gives up, shaking his head. Iris stays behind.

  Janos takes them through a door marked JANOS AND TORIN ONLY that stands next to the main counter. Behind the doorway is a void of deep blue. Once they are all in, the door slams behind them and Janos stops.

  Mino looks around. It is difficult to differentiate the smooth, flat ground from the rest of the space, and impossible to tell if there even are walls or a ceiling. The longer she stares into the darkness, the more she begins to suspect that something in the air is moving. A faint, grainy shimmer, shifting all around. She waves her arm, struggling to see whether there is some kind of mist or fog.

  “What a strange place,” Wilder hums.

  Bee turns to Mino. “Sweetheart, I don’t want you signing this—”

  “The information is for me,” Mino argues. “I will help get the stardust.”

  Bee shakes his head firmly. “Neither of you should be on the hook for this. I’ll take care of it.”

  Wilder places a gentle hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Bee, you always look after us well,” he says warmly. “We don’t know what the consequences of breaking the contract are. They should not all fall on your shoulders!”

  “Exactly, we don’t know what they are,” Bee says hotly. “I’m not letting you two get mixed up in that!”

  “Um,” Torin interjects, a little awkward. Mino, Bee, and Wilder all look at her. “Sorry. Hi. The consequences usually aren’t… you know, life threatening, or dangerous…”

  “Yeah, I think you’re getting a little too worried about this, Beester,” Janos says.

  “Don’t call me that.”

  “We just can’t predict the specific consequences. Life determines what they are,” Torin says hurriedly, trying to smooth the tension.

  “How many people have failed to uphold contracts with you?” Wilder asks. Torin looks at Janos, twisting her hands together.

  “Almost all of them,” Janos responds. Mino’s eyes pop open wide. Almost all of them?

  “And how many of those people are still alive and healthy,” Bee asks, suspicious.

  Torin waves her hands like no, no. “Oh, all of them!”

  “All except one, but he died from something else,” Janos divulges.

  Bee looks over at Mino and Wilder, thinking. “So there’s a good chance we’ll fail too,” he says. Torin’s face falls. She looks… crushed.

  Mino won’t let that happen. She has to sign this contract.

  “We will not fail,” she says. Bee looks at her, meets her eyes. He searches her for a moment, then sighs. Good. He knows she’s not going to back down.

  “I’m signing first,” Bee says. If that makes him feel better.

  “Are you ready, then?” Janos asks. Bee nods.

  A warm light begins to glow. It is emanating from Janos’ outstretched hand. Soon a cool silvery light joins it as Torin puts her own hand atop his. The two of them look over. Is this the contract? Mino was expecting paper. One by one, Mino, Bee, and Wilder place their hands on the pile, each contact brightening the glimmering light. The others’ faces are lit from below, eyes shining in the darkness.

  “A contract between the customers of Janos and Torin,” Janos announces quietly. “Please state your names.”

  “Bee.”

  “Wilder!”

  “Mino,” Mino signs with her free hand, hoping it will be sufficient. Torin gives her a tiny smile and nod. It’s almost like she knew what Mino was thinking.

  “The customer party will receive information they are seeking, obtained from Life itself, in return for a quest to find stardust, to be delivered to Torin.” Janos continues. Mino cocks her head. Torin specifically? Why not Janos too? Does this have to do with why Torin looked so upset at the idea of them failing to find the stardust?

  “If you find this acceptable, please bind these life forces together along this path.” Torin speaks up. “If this is unacceptable, please dissolve our connection and show us another way to proceed.”

  Nothing happens for a moment. Then the light flares, impossibly bright, and Mino feels a sharp, deep heat spiking through her chest, right where her heart might be. Then it is gone, and the room is dark and shifting as though nothing ever happened.

  Wilder places a hand over his heart, softly rubbing. “So, it was accepted?” He asks, his voice abnormally hushed.

  Torin nods. “Now, we can seek your information.”

  “You don’t have it yet?” Bee questions.

  “It won’t take long,” is all Torin says. Janos takes her hand and the two walk out a little ways into the darkness.

  “Stay there,” Janos commands over his shoulder. As his head turns, Mino can see that his eyes have begun to glow a bright golden color. He stretches his arms and shoulders, letting go of Torin and stepping apart from her. They both face away from the door, out into the void. For a moment, everything is still.

  The two of them sweep their arms in a synchronized movement, their bodies flowing to an unheard song. Around them, strings of words in a strange language appear, floating intangibly and flickering in and out of view. Some of them glow the same gold as Janos, other silver like Torin. Bee gathers Mino and Wilder towards him, on edge, but Mino isn’t afraid. She watches eagerly.

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  Soon the words begin to move, some shifting towards or away from the two shopkeepers. They both take a deep breath and draw their arms into themselves. For a moment, everything freezes, hanging uncertainly in the air.

  Then the two slam their booted feet into the ground and a gust of wind blasts outward. Most of the words vanish, winking out of existence. Only a few are left behind. Mino blinks, brushing hair and flower petals out of her face.

  Janos and Torin walk around slowly, shining peculiarly brightly in the darkness. Torin’s eyes flash silver as she looks around. They examine the remaining words, murmuring quietly to each other. Mino can’t hear what they’re saying.

  “What language is this?” Wilder ponders. “I’ve never seen it.”

  “It’s not a language meant for humans.” How did Janos hear him?

  “Good thing we’re not human, then,” Bee quips.

  Janos shoots him an annoyed look. “Humans, soulless, same difference.”

  “This is the language of Life,” Torin explains softly. “We were born with the ability to read it. We can use it to find information, but the information is only reliable if the seeker has honest intentions.”

  “So you’d better not be wasting our time,” Janos says. He turns away from the words. “Okay. We’ve pieced together the information.

  “Pieced it together?” Mino asks.

  “I can only read the silver words,” Torin responds. “Janos can only read the gold ones. We can’t find answers unless we work together.”

  Bee nods. “So what are these flowers?”

  Janos puts his hands up, like, slow down. “Hold on a second. Life gives the information you need, we don’t ask questions. Can’t, actually. We don’t know what the flowers are. We just know where you need to go. Which is Brindle.”

  “Brindle?” Wilder echoes. He chews his lip.

  “That’s way on the other side of the Underground,” Bee says, taken aback.

  “And, it’s huge,” Wilder continues.

  “I can show you the exact location,” Janos says. He reaches out. “Mino, c’mere.”

  “Don’t touch her,” Bee growls. Mino places a hand on his arm.

  “It’s okay,” she says. “I need to know. Mr. Worrywart.” She sticks out her tongue, gently teasing, and steps toward Janos.

  Janos places his fingers on her forehead. Mino’s vision fades and a monocolor map appears in her mind, zooming in to show her an overview of the Brindle, then a certain section she needs to go to, and finally, an image of the house she needs to find. Mino opens her eyes, disoriented but determined. “I know where we need to go,” she says.

  Torin nods. “One year to complete your contract,” she reminds them. “Let’s go back to the shop.”

  When they go back through the door, all of the lamps in the shop burn Mino’s eyes. She blinks away tears, trying to adjust. Waiting for them is Iris as she leans against an eggplant-colored armoire. A few other customers have entered the shop, two women with a little girl.

  Janos quickly shuts the door behind him. As he does, the other customers notice.

  “Woah, you just came from nowhere,” the tallest one says. Her hair is pulled up in a messy bun. “Wilder, Bee, Mino! Didn’t expect to see you here. It’s been a while.”

  Mino examines the three. She doesn’t have any memories involving them, but she must have known them before. She looks up at Wilder for an explanation.

  Wilder isn’t looking at her, though. He’s grinning broadly and moving forward to clap the woman’s hand in a firm shake. “Fio! My oldest enemy,” he greets her, jovial.

  Torin slips past Mino, disappearing into the depths of the crowded shop. Bee has shuffled over to the women as well. Iris is standing straight, watching them. She looks a little nervous for some reason.

  “Hey Fio, Basia,” Bee says. He ruffles the little girl’s curly hair, and oh, Mino’s not sure if she likes that. “Hey squirt.”

  “My name is not squirt,” the little girl says. “It’s Serra.”

  “Ah, sorry, Squirta, I musta heard it wrong last time.” Bee apologizes.

  “Serra!”

  “A terror as always, Bee,” Basia mumbles.

  Fio focuses on Mino. “Baby girl!” She cries. “Last time I saw you you were sick and definitely didn’t have flowers all over your head! Is your magic coming in?”

  “We’re trying to figure that out,” Mino says.

  “She has amnesia,” Bee says. “She probably doesn’t know you, Fio.”

  Fio looks stricken. Barely perceptible, she flinches back, looking down at Mino with uncertain eyes.

  “Hi!” Mino says. “You’re my new best friend!”

  Fio helplessly lets the grin grow back onto her face. “You haven’t changed a bit,” she says, shaking her head.

  Suddenly, little Serra is in her face. “I thought I was your best friend,” she pouts. She uses her only hand to tug on Mino’s sweater.

  “Hi, small best friend,” Mino says. Serra looks pleased. Though she doesn’t remember them, she searches inside herself and finds some feelings tucked down in there. These three feel familiar, they feel like fun.

  Wilder approaches the group again with Iris at his side. “Fio, my despised nemesis, I don’t believe you’ve met my girlfriend yet?”

  Fio’s jaw drops. “You have a girlfriend?”

  “Hi,” Iris flutters her fingers in a small wave.

  “Hey!” Janos shouts from somewhere out of sight. “If you’re gonna have a meet-and-greet potluck picnic, do it somewhere other than my shop, please!”

  A chorus of “sorry!”s ring out, and they all pile through the windowed shop door. People move aside to accommodate their gathering on Portis’s busy alleyway.

  “Look, we don’t have a ton of time right now,” Fio says. “We’re actually here checking out the area, thinking about moving here. We have an appointment to look at an apartment coming up pretty soon.”

  “Things to do, places to be,” Bee agrees. “You busy in the next week or two?”

  Fio looks at Basia, who thinks for a moment.

  “Maybe in five days or so, that could be a good time,” she says.

  “Sleepover!” Serra exclaims. “Maybe,” Basia soothes.

  “Come over to our place,” Bee entreats. “We’ll catch up.” Mino grins.

  Basia turns to Mino and gives her a small, hopeful smile. “You might not remember us, but we love you, and your big brothers of course. We’ll see you again soon, okay? And I want to know all about those flowers.”

  Mino nods, feeling a little bit like she’s just been mothered.

  “Bye, nerdy adversary!” Fio shouts at Wilder before scooping up Serra and running away. Basia hurries after them.

  “No! The gravest insult!” Wilder clutches his chest, grinning at their retreat.

  A moment later, Iris asks: “What did you learn about the flowers?”

  Bee runs a hand through his hair. Wilder rubs the back of his neck. “Actually, well, nothing,” Wilder explains sheepishly.

  Iris raises a brow, puts a hand on her hip. “Nothing? They couldn’t help you?”

  Mino raises her hands. “We need to go to Brindle.”

  Iris processes that for a moment, then sighs. “I’ll have to find an e-page. Guess my day off is turning into three.”