The chapter opens with Elspeth recalling the aftermath of the fever. During a great storm, Elspeth's father carried her from her sickbed and sent her away in a carriage. Elspeth woke two days later in the wood under Aunt Opal's care, watched suspiciously by servants and family while Elspeth waited for signs of infection-born magic.

Four months later, Elspeth's uncle returned with men after taking a Providence Card from highwaymen. Curious, Elspeth followed him and later slipped into the library to inspect the Card. The Card was The Nightmare, a rare and frightening Providence Card said to allow mind-speaking and reveal one's deepest fears if overused.

Elspeth touched the Card's velvet edge and woke later on the library floor, aware of something inside Elspeth's mind. The Nightmare spoke to Elspeth, proving the fever had left Elspeth with strange magic. Elspeth eventually learned that Elspeth had not gained the Card's usual power but had absorbed the Nightmare itself, gaining the ability to sense Providence Cards and borrow the Nightmare's unnatural strength, speed, and sharper senses.

Eleven years later, after leaving Spindle House alone, Elspeth walks the forest road at night and hopes Ione might catch up. Instead, two masked highwaymen emerge from the mist. One restrains Elspeth while the other threatens Elspeth with an ivory-handled dagger and asks for Elspeth's name. At the Nightmare's urging, Elspeth lies and claims to be Jayne Yarrow, a maid in Sir Hawthorn's service.

The highwaymen reveal that they are not ordinary thieves: they want Sir Hawthorn's Providence Cards and demand to know where the Cards are kept. When the men search Elspeth and nearly check Elspeth's sleeves, Elspeth calls on the Nightmare for help. The Nightmare's power burns through Elspeth's veins, and Elspeth uses sudden strength to knock down the dagger-wielding highwayman and throw the other into the mist.

Elspeth runs to the safety of Sir Hawthorn's gate. As the black marks in Elspeth's veins fade, Elspeth worries the men may have realized Elspeth is infected. The Nightmare points out that Card thieves cannot report Elspeth without exposing themselves, then retreats into Elspeth's mind, describing the pain of his magic as the bite of an ancient power.