The Troys plus Leta, Ray and Abby clean up from the vampire attack. Anita closes up the botanica early then heads up to Northampton with some of her wards from the store. Once there she and the rest of the cell fill each other in on their activities. Ray is all but officially absorbed into the cell. Several limos arrive containing the bulk of the Molasses Court, here to guard the Troys during the ritual.

Anita slips out as the gathering overtakes the Troy house, needing to recalibrate the wards for a larger group. Cuthbert follows and assists. The group gathers outside where after a brief interruption by an angry Academitrix, Anita begins the ritual.

While cleansing the bowl of eyeballs, first an apparition of Future Josh appears and fails to distract Anita. More concerningly the ritual gains the attention of The Purveyor. The wards barely hold until the a split second before the ritual ends, in that split second The Purveyor attacks Josh, but is stopped by Abby stepping in front of the attack and dying in the process. He disappears as the link to Arcadia is severed.