Fly by Midnight by Lauren Quick

through the stuff and see if there’s a clue. Thanks, Vivi. That’s actually a really good idea.”
    The three sisters headed up to Clover’s famous attic. Since she had the most space in her house, Clover became the official keeper of family treasures, and her attic was packed with boxes brimming with stuff from their childhood and beyond. Clover heaved the steamer trunk where she stored all the mementos their mother had sent them over the years, including a stack of letters, out from under a teetering pile of knitted throws. “Let’s get reading,” she said, and divvied up the letters.
    After a few minutes of sitting in the cramped and dusty attic, the three sisters found themselves back around the kitchen table, sharing snips of news, laughing, and drinking tea. But so far they’d found no clues or hints about the Otherworld.
    Finally, Honora found something in a journal entry from one of their mother’s field notebooks. “Shh. Listen. ‘Once through the gate, I removed my hat and gloves. It’s warmer here, unlike the cold Everland winter snow.’ That’s it!” Honora yelped. “The snow, the snow. Don’t you get it?” Excitement filled her.
    Vivi snatched up the letter and read. “Cold, winter snow,” she repeated, and then a wide smile formed on her face. “I think you really found something.”
    “That’s a great clue,” Clover said, sipping some tea. “Snow narrows down the location.”
    Honora’s mind raced, her focus sharpened. “The gate through the wall must be in the North. Why else would she be wearing a hat and gloves? It’s not in the South. That’s for sure. Where else does it snow heavily?”
    “We get snow in Willow Realm,” Vivi said. “Just not a ton.”
    “If there was a station in Willow Realm, then I’d consider it, but there’s not. It has to be north.” Honora was practically giddy.
    “It could be the East. It snows there, too,” Clover added.
    “Yes, it could, but you said the warden of the East was the Sky Flyer, which literally implies the warden can fly, so the station is probably located at a higher elevation,” Honora said. “The arch has to be accessible, and high ground isn’t easy for travelers to reach.”
    “True, unless you wanted to keep people out, and then it’s a great place,” Clover said, wiggling her eyebrows. “But I think you’re probably right.”
    “I agree. It sounds like the North is your best bet.” Vivi smiled. “Mom would be so angry with herself if she knew she left a clue to the whereabouts of the arch.”
    “Tell me about it. She probably didn’t even realize it. It’s taken hours of reading to find that tiny clue.” Honora swept the letters off the table, stacking them into a neat pile.
    “The real question is—are you ready to meet the Woodsman?” Clover asked, and ushered them back to her library and collection of maps. “Most likely, the station is located in the forested areas of the North Woods.” Clover unrolled a huge parchment map onto the round wooden table in the center of the room. “The North Woods is an isolated place. The council leaves the territory mostly to itself. There are some settlements and a few towns, but only one major town called Rawlands. I imagine only the most resilient witches and wizards live in the North. It’s a place of wild earth magic.” Clover’s eyes went wide.
    “Sounds rugged. This place gives new meaning to the idea of a skyscraper.” Honora examined the drawings of thick wooded forests with trees as big as houses. “I can do camping. They have flushing toilets up there, right?”
    A litany of giggles flew out of Vivi’s mouth like a stream of bubbles. “Your high-heeled leather boots say otherwise. You’re a city witch, through and through.”
    “Did I mention that the North Woods is cold, really, really cold?” Clover asked.
    “Finding Jonathan Rainer is worth freezing my tush off,” Honora said. “I’ll be sure to wear some long underwear.”
    The three