I felt pretty happy, too, I realized. And I really hoped she’d keep her promise to come visit me sometime. After all, we were friends, right? And friends obviously hung out.
“Yeah. Except…” Derek made a weird face. “There’s… more.”
I frowned, unease suddenly worming through my stomach. I’d almost forgotten the “not so good” news part to his annoucement. “What is it?”
He swallowed hard. “It’s Atreus,” he said. “He’s gone.”
Huh? I cocked my head in question, confused. “Yeah. Of course he’s gone. He exploded into a million pieces, remember?”
“That was just his game form. But the AI controlling him? He’s still very much alive—well, as much as an AI can be alive. And”—Derek paused dramatically—“he’s disappeared.”
A chill tripped down my spine. “I don’t understand. What do you mean, ‘disappeared’?”
“Well, they don’t know for sure. But they think when Hiro opened the back door to let his daughter out? Atreus somehow managed to escape, too.”
“Whoa.” I stared at my computer screen, then back at my cousin. “So… he’s just out there, somewhere on the cloud? And no one knows where he is?”
“Yup. And I’m guessing he’s pretty mad.”
“AIs can’t get mad,” I said automatically. But then I thought of Atreus. And I wondered.
Derek looked relieved. “Oh, right. Duh,” he said. “And here I was thinking he might try to come after us or something. But that’s crazy, right? Like you said, he’s a computer program. Computers don’t seek revenge.”
“Yeah,” I said slowly, staring at my computer screen, heart thumping in my chest. “Computers definitely don’t seek revenge.”
“Anyway,” Derek said with a shrug. “I’m headed out to kick the ball around. You want to join me?”
I looked up. Was he joking? But no. He looked serious.
“Sure,” I said, surprising myself with my answer. “Give me ten minutes.”
Derek clapped his hands once. “Cool! I’ll be outside.”
I turned back to my computer, staring at the home screen for a moment. Then I reached to turn off my monitor.
“Computers don’t seek revenge,” I repeated quietly as I got up from my seat, ready to head downstairs to join Derek.
But just as I reached the door, my eyes caught a flash of light from behind me. I frowned. Had my monitor turned back on? Slowly, I turned around.
My eyes widened. My mouth dropped open.
No.
It couldn’t be.
“What’s going on?” Lilli asked, walking into the room with a plate of cookies. She saw my face. “What’s wrong, Ian? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
With a shaky hand, I pointed to the screen. Her eyes followed my finger. She dropped the plate of cookies and they crashed to the ground.
But I barely noticed, because I was still staring at my monitor. Or, more specifically, at the white star spinning across the screen. And the words scrolling beneath it.
Want to play again?
Acknowledgments
This book could not have been possible without the hard work and all-around awesomeness of those at Disney Hyperion. From Kieran Viola, my editor, for always pushing me to the next level—pun totally intended!—to Tyler Nevins for his amazing cover design (seriously, it is SO cool!), to Cassidy Leyendecker for all the behind-the-scenes magic, and to Melissa Lee, Seale Ballenger, and the rest of the publicity, marketing, and sales team as well as Dina Sherman for all your work with libraries and schools—there’s no better superpower than getting the right book into a child’s hands.
I would also like to thank my agent, Mandy Hubbard, who got excited about this book the very first time I shared the idea with her. Thank you for making it become a reality! And to my tireless and amazing author assistant, Sarah Simpson Weiss, who somehow manages to keep me sane and on task—thank you for all you do!
This book would also not have been possible without the hours of brainstorming sessions with Diana Peterfreund and Kyla Linde. I’m pretty sure half of it was plotted out while we waited in line for the Frozen ride at EPCOT. (They also want you to know that the title was totally their idea!) I’m lucky to have such amazing author-besties in my court.
Thanks to Jennifer Lynn Barnes, who knows all and isn’t afraid to give it to you straight. Your pep talks are the stuff of legend. And to my Texas author friends, especially the ladies of the Lodge of Death Writer’s Retreat—I’m so lucky to have such creative, smart women in my life.
Thank you to all the awesome booksellers and librarians out there who work tirelessly to put books into young readers’ hands. With a special shout-out to rock-star booksellers Eugenia Vela and Meghan Goel at BookPeople. (Pepperoni pizza for everyone!)
Also, thank you to my amazing family. My wonderful husband, Jacob, our smart, talented, tiny dancer, Avalon, and my extended Mancusi and Beach family members as well. I couldn’t do this without your support and love.
And lastly, thank you to all my fellow gamers and readers out there. May you always slay your dragons—both online and in real life!
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