I curl my legs up to my chest and wrap my arms around my knees.
And now she’s gone.
* * *
When the next morning greets us, we pack up our things and press on. We’re not completely certain which deed belongs to the Rodans, but Lucas found one with a name that he believes he heard them mention before. We’ve decided to head in that direction and to try any network houses in our path along the way.
While I was on watch, I reviewed more of the papers from Lucas’s parents and identified several houses that will be on our route. One of the deeds I discovered was for a property in what appears to be this very forest. Every deed has a little map along with it, and as far as I can tell this one points to somewhere in this mess of ancient trees and vines.
We walk as quickly as we can, using the mountains that peek through the trees to orient ourselves on the map. We know better than to stay in one place for long. We make good time despite the clinging vines, hanging branches, and shrubbery so thick that only one of Miranda’s largest, sharpest knives could cut through it.
At last we reach an area deep in the woods full of trees with trunks wider than a horse is long and branches that extend in all directions. Their shadows loom over us. Thick green vines drape over everything, and the forest floor is littered with blooming flowers. This is where the map led us. We glance around, hoping for a hint as to where this home is supposed to be.
Lucas frowns at the drawing of the map. He turns it around several times. “Maybe we’re in the wrong place?”
I shake my head. “No, this is definitely it. See?” I indicate the mountain range on the map. “The mountains are that way. And we came from this way.” I point to the south and the ocean.
“Well, then where is it?”
I shrug. “It’s got to be here somewhere.”
The sun is high overhead, but Lucas illuminates the shadowed nooks and crannies. I examine each one, carefully searching for a hint of something out of place, something that resembles an entrance to a house. We retreat to the center of the giant tree grove, still puzzled as ever.
Then the laughter begins.
It comes from somewhere over our heads, and we glance up. Lucas snuffs out his light. At first, we can’t tell exactly where it comes from, then it gets louder and more raucous.
“Who are you?” I yell in frustration.
A new noise rings out, one of gears and a hissing that makes my skin crawl. Something whooshes over us, and we duck down in surprise.
We quickly get to our feet and find a little girl with a round cherubic face giggling behind us. She cannot be more than seven years old, and she’s dressed in simple clothing that provides excellent camouflage both from predators and from Lady Aisling’s hunters, no doubt. A little bit of dirt is smudged across her nose and cheeks, though it’s hard to tell whether that’s an accident or intentional. She holds a rope knotted at the end, which she used to swing down to the ground.
She is very amused at our confusion.
“Who are you?” she asks when she finally stops laughing.
“I’m Lucas, and this is Emmeline. What’s your name?” Lucas says. The sudden appearance of this little girl makes me want to throw up my shadows and hide. But we’ve traveled too far to stop now.
“I’m Cheyenne,” the girl says, absentmindedly putting one dirty thumb in her mouth. I cringe.
“Does your family live around here?” I ask.
Cheyenne grins. “We live up there.” She points up into the nearest giant tree. Could these trees all be homes?
“Are you going to stay with us?” she blurts out, the hope in her voice mirrored by the hope on her face. We expected to encounter people whose trust we’d have to work hard to earn; this girl is much too welcoming. She knows nothing about us. She’s very young, but I can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right.
“Maybe just for a night, if that’s all right with your parents,” Lucas says. “Are they home?”
Cheyenne darts off toward the trunk of the nearest giant tree. “Come on, I’ll introduce you!” Her short pigtails flap behind her. She’s too young to have been blessed by the comet, but if she has an older sibling who is talented, I’d hate to see her be so forward with Lady Aisling and her men.
She leads us around to the back of the tree. Several more ropes hang down to the forest floor hidden among the vines. She steps between them and gestures for us to do the same. Then she yanks on a rope that hangs in the middle, and suddenly we are moving up, up, up on a wooden platform.
I gasp. The girl has no trouble, but I hold on to Lucas to keep my balance. He seems just as surprised as I am. We rise through the foliage, huge green leaves bigger than my entire body brushing by us as we pass. Birds flutter off, seeking a calmer spot in the canopy. Everything is green, spotted with alternating bands of shadow and light.
When the contraption finally stops, we’re in for another surprise. Cheyenne ties the rope to a branch, securing the platform to a deck that rests high up in the trees. Just beyond it is a door attached to an expansive hut that spreads throughout the giant tree’s branch network. It is far larger than the cottages I’ve become accustomed to, though not quite as large as the mansion I once called home.
Lucas’s eyes bulge. “This place is enormous! How many people are in your family?”
Cheyenne laughs again. “Just me and my parents. And my sister, but she’s away right now.”
Lucas and I exchange a quick look. She does have a sister, and that sibling must be the talented one. Though it seems strange for her to be away, especially with Lady Aisling’s hunters on the move.
“Just the four of you?” I say.
She shrugs. “Well, we do have guests from time to time. I love guests.” She grins widely, and my heart sinks. This poor girl would greet those hunters just as warmly as us, I have no doubt. “Come on,” she says, opening the door.
The interior is cleverly crafted. Everything is made from trees and leaves and woven branches, with an eye to blend and conceal. A perfect place for members of the network wanting to keep their talented children safe. We’d never have found this without Cheyenne’s help. She takes us across the cavernous front room into a smaller area in the back, almost like a study. A man sits at a desk. He has his back to us, but he looks up when he hears our shoes on the floor.
He’s older and nothing like Alfred or my own father. His clothes are simple and rugged like the girl’s, his face is weather-worn, and his hair is shorn close to his scalp. I wonder for a moment if he built this massive tree house himself and hope he isn’t angry that we stand here without an invitation. My hands wring together involuntarily.
But the surprise lifts from his face, and he smiles broadly. Fear and suspicion of strangers seems a foreign thing to this family.
“Cheyenne,” he says, “who did you bring home today?”
She laughs. “Emmeline and Lucas. They wanted to talk to you and Mum.”
He holds out a hand to us. “I’m Galen. My wife, Tali, is somewhere around here. Welcome to our home.”
Lucas and I shake his hand in a daze as a tall woman with long dark hair and green eyes enters the room. She too, smiles.
“I thought I heard voices,” she says.
“Cheyenne brought home some more stragglers. This is Emmeline and Lucas,” Galen says.
“You are welcome here,” Tali says.
“So,” Galen sits back and gestures to a long bench carved from the wall of the study. “What brings you to our grove?”
Lucas speaks first. “You, I think. Unless you happen to have neighbors.”
Tali laughs. “No, it is just us. No one else lives near here for miles.”
“We’re searching for people with talents. We thought perhaps one might live here?” I say.
Cheyenne brightens up. “Yes! Nova has a talent.”
/> “But it isn’t a very useful one, and I’m afraid you’ve come all this way for nothing,” Galen says. “She’s not here, and we do not expect her to return for some time.”
“Where is she?” I ask, hoping I am not trying their patience and kindness too much.
“The most wonderful place,” Tali says wistfully, resting a hand on her husband’s shoulder. “She was recruited for a special school where she’s trained along with other talented children. She is happy there and writes to us every week.”
Galen pats his wife’s hand. “We are very proud of her.” Something about their eyes, a faraway look, strikes me as odd.
A knot forms in the pit of my stomach, growing more uncomfortable with every breath. “She was recruited? By whom? How long ago?” I know full well no such school exists.
“A kindly, rich woman seeking talented children came here ages ago. Cheyenne found her and her serving boy outside in the grove and brought them home.” Galen tugs on one of Cheyenne’s pigtails and laughs. “Lovely woman. She saw so much potential in Nova that she offered to sponsor our daughter herself that same evening. Of course, we could not let such an extraordinary opportunity pass.”
“We miss her, of course,” Tali says, “but we know it is for the best and that she is very happy.”
“Yes, it is for the best,” Galen echoes.
I am frozen to the seat. Lucas’s face contorts. Lady Aisling was here—no longer leaving the recruiting just to her henchman apparently. She must have spelled them with one of her many stolen talents. Something that made them believe her, removed their suspicion, even though they should have known better if they were part of the network. People didn’t just move to such remote places for fun.
They do it to hide their children from her.
“Would you like to join us for dinner?” Tali asks. “You are welcome to spend the night before you continue on your way.”
“Thank you,” Lucas says. “We’d appreciate that.”
While his words are warm, his eyes betray his fears. He must be thinking the same thing I am.
Something terrible has happened to Nova. We’ve arrived too late.
Chapter Nine
Later that evening when the house has gone to sleep, I creep from the room Tali and Galen gave me for the evening. They have many rooms here. Many empty rooms. Almost like this place was meant to house far more people—maybe even created as a resting point for travelers hoping to escape Lady Aisling’s clutches.
And now it has fallen into her grasp.
I wrap my shadows around me, weaving them into a giant cloak, then sneak across the hall to Lucas’s room. I knock once, just loud enough for him to hear, then slip inside. When the door closes behind me, I release the shadows. Lucas yawns and sits up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. I perch on the edge, every muscle in my body tense with the fear of being discovered.
“We need to talk,” I say. Lucas blinks more of the sleep from his eyes.
“I know. Something is not at all right here. They didn’t even question why we’re wandering the woods alone. I thought for certain we’d need to give them some excuse.”
“We shouldn’t let them see that we have talents like their daughter.” I shiver. “If Lady Aisling was here, she may have a means of watching. It’s too risky.”
Lucas nods his agreement. “They’re far too calm about sending their daughter off with a strange woman for people involved with the network.”
My heart plunges into my toes as a horrible thought grabs me. “We may need to consider the possibility that the network has been compromised. That Lady Aisling has infiltrated it.”
“That would explain how Alsa got caught.” Lucas is quiet for a moment. “Should we stop seeking help?”
“Definitely not. It’s also possible we’re too suspicious.” I give a wry laugh. “That’s why we need to find out. I’m going to sneak into their study to search for any clues about Nova or the network.”
Lucas swings his feet off the bed. “I’m coming with you.”
I form a shadow cocoon around us both, then we tiptoe out into the hall. Having Lucas with me is comforting, almost like having Dar here, back when I thought she was my best friend.
No one wakes as we make our way to the study; only soft snores echo through the master bedroom doors. I breathe out in relief, but I keep up my guard. Lucas’s eyes are wide as though every shadow could be Lady Aisling or her hunters. Lucky for me, I know shadows when I see one, and nothing can hide in them from me.
When we reach the study, we sneak inside and rummage through every drawer we can find as quickly and quietly as possible.
“Here!” I hiss when my hands alight on an envelope with a broken seal deep in one of the bottom drawers. Lucas draws near, and we read it silently together.
Dear Mama and Pa,
Zinnia is the most beautiful place. The Lady was right; the school is perfect for me, and I am making many friends. Thank you for sending me. I am so happy here! I cannot wait to show you all I have learned when I come home.
Love,
Nova
The letter is short and sweet, and Nova does sound happy. Could we be wrong? Could there be some other woman who is offering to train children who are talented? It seems very unlikely, but I suppose we cannot yet rule it out. Still, there is something about the letter that unsettles me. I am anxious to be rid of it. I stuff it back in the drawer where it belongs.
“That didn’t offer us much information, did it?” Lucas whispers.
I shake my head. “I’d hoped for more. I think it best we leave here as early as possible in the morning. Just to be safe.”
“Agreed.”
Together we sneak back into the hallway, but as we pass a window that looks out at the night sky, Lucas touches my arm. The moon is nearly full and bright, and the stars glitter. But something else moves in the sky. A cluster of objects—smaller than stars—bursts apart and falls from the heavens to the earth. I swallow hard, remembering what Alsa said about how moving the comet might upset other things in the heavens.
“Do you think those were meteors?” whispers Lucas.
“Maybe.”
We make our way back to our rooms, our hearts and minds troubled. When I sink into my guest bed, I stare at the ceiling for a long while, tossing and turning. As I do, a slip of paper falls from underneath my pillow to the floor. Curious, I retrieve it.
The Lady watches this house. Leave at first light, or she’ll come for you too.
A chill spreads over my entire body. Who left this note? Nova? Some other traveler? I tuck it back under the pillow. It’s a warning others should heed too if this is meant to be some sort of way station for the network.
Eventually I fall into a slumber filled with dreams of a dark, dangerous woman lurking in the shadows while the heavens crash to the earth all around us.
Chapter Ten
The next morning we set out at dawn after thanking our hosts for their hospitality and the extra provisions they’ve given us for the road and bidding them a hasty goodbye. We do not wish to remain there any longer than necessary.
We spend the day hurrying through the woods. Everywhere I look are signs of other people now—broken branches and pits that might have once held a fire—where before the forest had seemed wild and untraveled. We may not be as alone as we’d thought.
By midafternoon we’ve left the old-growth section behind, the terrain changing to a sparse, mountainous forest similar to the one we left by the seashore. We travel as far as we can, but it is near midnight when we have to admit we will not reach the village where the next home on our list is before morning. The moon shines high above us, and the stars light our way, but our feet are worn out and we must rest. Thankfully, no meteors light up the sky tonight. Maybe Alsa’s warnings were just cautionary and not prophetic.
“We should go back to tha
t quarry we passed a little while ago,” I suggest. “It would provide better shelter than anything out here.”
The forest is thinner, which makes me feel exposed. We’re nearing an area that marks the border between Abbacho and Parilla. I can set my shadows up anywhere, but we still need cover to remain undiscovered by other travelers in the night. The quarry would be perfect.
“Good idea,” Lucas says, and we head back over the hill we just passed. The quarry is a huge swath of land, the white stone cut in angles making it seem as though it was crafted into steps for giants long ago. We find a spot where the steps are not as sharp and far between and clamber down to the bottom. We do need to come back up in the morning, after all.
We choose a spot near the wall to set up camp. I craft a shadow tent that will prevent anyone glancing down from spying us. Then I form two sleeping rolls with plush shadow pillows. Lucas collapses onto one of them. “Someday I’ll be able to make something this big and control it like you do,” he says.
I lay across from him on the other bedroll. “I just wish we had better luck finding other talented folks.” I shudder.
“We’ll get my parents back, and then we’ll find a way to get the others who’ve been taken back too,” Lucas says. “We have to.”
I wish I felt as confident as he sounds. Ever since we left the tree house this morning, fear has nipped at my heels, following me everywhere as if it were a replacement for my lost shadow.
Lucas’s soft snores mix with the night songs of owls and insects and howling animals in the distance. Through the shadow tent, the sky twinkles as though nothing at all has changed. The same stars still shine, and the moon begins its nightly trek across the sky. You’d never know that only a few nights ago, the Cerelia Comet left its normal path to fly over our territories too early. Unlike last night’s display, the heavens give no sign anything has changed.
And yet, everything has.
Dar is on the loose, Lady Aisling is in Abbacho hunting us, and Lucas and I are on our own until we can find more people involved in the network. I wrap a shadow blanket around me and shiver.
Comet Rising Page 5