Chapter 23

At dawn, Alex returns to the dorms, changes into borrowed clothes, and arranges a meeting with Anselm at the waterfront restaurant Shell and Bones. On her ride, she checks her hidden salt collar and braces for a delicate ask.

In a tense phone flashback, Dawes confronts Alex about the missing Mercedes—an artifact-laden car. Alex, unable to reveal the danger tied to Linus Reiter and her visions of Darlington, defends her choices. Their argument crests with Dawes’s anger and Alex’s apology; Dawes grants conditional grace.

Over lunch, a relaxed Anselm chats about local lore. He explains the story of New Haven’s three regicide judges—Whalley, Goffe, and Dixwell—and Davenport’s “Hide the outcasts” sermon, prompting Alex to connect the recent murders to the three judges and Judges Cave. Anselm muses on Lethe’s limits and the perils of loyalty to New Haven.

Shifting to her true purpose, Alex asks Anselm for $20,000 to rescue her mother from financial trouble. She offers her gift—direct access to the dead—beyond ritual constraints, and frames herself as pragmatic, uninterested in magic for its own sake.

Anselm probes her intentions about Darlington. Alex swears she has no plans to pursue a rescue and, under pressure, pledges on her mother’s life. Satisfied, Anselm agrees to secure the money if Alex keeps things quiet. Alex recognizes his transactional nature but accepts the deal.