Death Weavers (2 page)

“I don't mean our lives are easier,” Cole said.

“That's what it sounded like,” Dalton said.

“Jace is kind of a jerk,” Cole said. “I don't see that changing in the near future. He was always a slave. He never learned how to be normal. I know you're better than that.”

“So we should let him walk all over us?” Dalton challenged. “How many times do I have to say this? If you let somebody take advantage of you, it gets worse, not better.”

Cole shrugged. “Maybe you're right.”

Dalton glanced down the path to the left. “I guess I'll go this way.”

“Take care,” Cole said.

Dalton hesitated. “You haven't forgotten about Jenna?”

Cole froze, trying not to let his irritation show. How could he forget Jenna, his secret crush since second grade who had finally started to become his friend before they were parted by slavers?

“We know she's here in Necronum at the Temple of the Still Water,” Cole said. “It's not nearby. But we'll get there.”

Dalton looked around to make sure they were alone. “Right.
We know where she is
. We don't have to wander. We could go straight there. We're in Necronum. If we find Jenna, we could search for the Grand Shaper of Creon and maybe figure out a way to get home and stay there.”

Cole put his hands on his hips. By all reports, even if they managed to get home, nobody would remember them, and they would get drawn back into the Outskirts within hours. But Trillian the torivor had suggested it might be possible to change how that worked, and Cole refused to give up hope he might be right. After all, isn't that what shapers did? Mess with reality? And shapecrafters could tinker with the shaping power itself. Somebody had to know a way they could get home to stay. “Are you saying we should ditch Sally?”

Dalton raised both hands innocently. “Two of her sisters are already in trouble here. This is where Nazeem lives, the freaky guy who invented shapecrafting and who almost caught you in Junction. Things could get really ugly. I'm sure Joe can help Sally meet up with lots of allies here. They'll be all right. Queen Harmony already told you where to find Jenna. I don't get the holdup. Why make Jenna wait? And after we find her, do we keep her in danger, or do we go look for a way home?”

“The Grand Shapers are in hiding,” Cole said. “How would we find the Grand Shaper of Creon without Sally? Staying with her gives us access to all the members of the resistance.”

“It also leads us into danger and turns us into targets,” Dalton said. “It's complicated. I don't have all the answers. But sometimes I wonder if getting home still matters to you.”

Cole frowned. Since embarking for Necronum, he had been especially focused on trying to find Mira's sisters Honor and Destiny. Mira's mother had warned him they were in serious danger. And then last night in Zeropolis, Mira reported that Honor's and Destiny's stars had appeared in the sky.

“Of course getting home matters,” Cole said. “But finding Honor and Destiny is really urgent right now. We know they're in trouble.”

“I get helping at this shrine,” Dalton said. “We just made it to Necronum. But what if Destiny and Honor turn out to be far from the Temple of the Still Water?”

Cole paused before answering. He felt torn. Would he walk away from Mira if she still needed him? It would be so good to finally see Jenna again. But if Jenna was relatively safe, and Mira was in big trouble, shouldn't he help Mira first? Dalton was waiting for a reply.

“With Nazeem around, and the High King still after us, this might not be the safest time to get Jenna. If we can help Sally defeat Nazeem and Stafford, everyone will be safer, including us. Plus, we'll have major resources to help find the other kids from our neighborhood who got taken, and extra help figuring out a way home. Do you think Jenna will want to go home without Sarah and Lacie? How many of the kids who were brought here can we leave behind? It would take years to find them all on our own.”

Dalton nodded pensively. “Maybe we can't take on the job of finding everybody. Maybe that's too much. Maybe me, you, and Aaron find Jenna and try to get home. We'd be lucky to pull off that much. Do we really have to fight a revolution and find all those other kids too?”

“I don't know,” Cole said. “Leaving the others feels wrong to me. So does abandoning Sally. But I hear you. If we figure out a way home, I guess we could leave behind info on how to follow us. We could hope the other kids find their own way back.”

No longer looking him in the eye, Dalton stared over Cole's shoulder. “We have company,” he said.

Cole turned to find a teenage girl standing behind him, not much taller than him and rather thin. Her long brown hair hung mostly straight and was parted in the middle. She wore a lacy white top, a gray skirt, and sandals with wooden soles. Cole thought she looked about fifteen.

“There are no private conversations here, you know,” the teen said.

“Apparently not,” Cole replied.

“She just appeared,” Dalton muttered.

The girl giggled.

“Appeared?” Cole asked, suddenly unsettled. “You're dead?” She looked perfectly tangible.

“I'm not dead,” she said. “I still have my lifespark. But, yeah, my physical body died. I live on as an echo.”

Mustering his courage, Cole tried his best to act casual. “You look normal. How can we tell you're really an echo?”

“She
appeared
,” Dalton reminded him.

“I didn't see it,” Cole said.

The teen reached out a hand. “Touch my fingers,” she offered.

Cole extended his hand, hesitated, then passed his fingers through hers. The contact created only the faintest whisper of sensation.

The girl's eyes widened, and she giggled. “Did you feel that?”

“A little,” Cole said.

“That's unusual,” she said. “By the way, it's poor manners to touch an echo unless we offer, so don't make it a habit. The others will be mad at me for warning you that you were being overheard, but I started to feel bad for you.”

Cole glanced at Dalton. He couldn't believe they were talking to an actual ghost!

“How many echoes were listening to us?” Dalton asked.

“About ten,” the girl said. “There were more when the four of you were together. Some of the others followed your friends.”

“Echoes have listened to everything we said?” Cole verified.

“What do you expect?” the teen asked. “You're at a shrine. There are lots of us here today.”

“Are they still listening to us?” Cole asked.

“Two of them,” the teen said.

“Can we get some privacy?” Cole asked.

“Shoo,” the girl said, waving a hand at unseen people. “Unless you want to materialize and join in, this is my conversation now. Leave us be.”

“Are they going?” Dalton asked.

“Yes, though one of them is being grumpy about it.” She looked away from Dalton at empty space. “Go on! You can have a turn later if you want.” Her gaze returned to Cole. “There. We're alone. How can I help you?”

2

D
o you already know what we're after?” Cole asked.

“You're looking for Honor and Destiny Pemberton,” the teen said. She took a step closer and lowered her voice. “And you talked about stopping N-A-Z-E-E-M.” She spelled his name instead of saying it.

“What do you know about him?” Cole asked.

“More than I want to know,” she said. “Be very careful throwing that name around. His followers are fanatical. Some who oppose him are too.”

“Do many echoes follow him?” Dalton asked.

The teen looked uncomfortable. “He has followers everywhere. Plenty in the echolands. New topic?”

“You don't want to talk about N-A-Z-E-E-M?” Cole asked.

“It's a good way to avoid trouble,” she said.

“Do you know where we can find Honor or Destiny?” Dalton inquired.

“I didn't know Honor might be in Necronum until you mentioned it,” she said. “There has been a lot of new talk about the Pemberton girls lately. I've heard rumors that Destiny is in hiding here, but I have no idea where.”

“Not many people know the Pemberton girls are alive,” Cole said.

“We've had those rumors for ages in the echolands,” the teen said. “Since before my body died. Of course, not all rumors are true.”

“When did you die?” Cole asked.

“Almost twenty years ago,” the girl said.

“You were a teenager?” Dalton asked.

“Fourteen,” the girl said.

“Your echo doesn't age,” Cole noted.

“Not normally,” the girl said. “You tend to look how your body looked when it died, though old people almost always appear a bit younger. At least until you move on. Who knows what lies beyond the echolands?”

“You're not in heaven?” Dalton asked.

The girl giggled again. “I sure hope not. You guys really don't know much, do you?”

“Like what?” Cole asked.

“The echolands are only the beginning of the afterlife,” the girl said. “Not much more than a jumping-off point, really. Your echo is temporary. You can linger here for a time, but eventually you move on.”

“To where?” Dalton wondered.

“I'd have to go there to find out,” the teen said. “Nobody returns.”

“Why not get moving?” Cole asked.

“Are you trying to kill me off?” the teen asked, mildly offended.

“No,” Cole said. “But if you have someplace else to go, why stay?”

“Why do you go on living?” she countered. “You could come here.”

“I'm alive,” Cole said. “You died. Why not go to heaven?”

She stared off to one side, her gaze slightly skyward. “I could, I suppose. I don't feel ready. I'm not sure what to expect. You call it heaven. Hopefully, that's what it is. You don't learn much just by dying. You become an echo and see there is an afterlife. But nobody here has been beyond the echolands, so everyone is still just guessing. Moving on will mean leaving behind the echo of my body. I feel the call sometimes. It's exciting but also scary. Unknown. I want to wait for my mother to join me. It would be nicer to set off together. But her heart keeps ticking.”

“How'd you die?” Cole asked.

“You're nosy,” she said.

“You're the one who was spying on us,” Cole reminded her.

“It wasn't very nice,” she said. “I had a lung disease. In the end I couldn't breathe. I was full of liquid. It felt like drowning.”

“That's horrible,” Dalton said, scrunching his face.

“It seemed pretty awful at the time,” the teen admitted.

“What's your name?” Cole asked.

“I was starting to wonder if you'd ask,” she said with a giggle. “That usually comes before the details of your death. I'm Yeardly. You're Cole and Dalton. I've been listening since you entered the garden.”

“You know what we're after,” Cole said. “Is there any way you can help us?”

“I've been helping you!” Yeardly exclaimed, sounding a little exasperated. “I felt bad for you. I mean, you're kids! I told you to watch your words because others are listening. Who is Jenna?”

“My friend,” Cole said. “We came to the five kingdoms from Outside. Slave traders brought us. I want to find her.”

“I hear the Temple of the Still Water is beautiful,” Yeardly said. “I've never been there. It's far away.”

“Don't you travel?” Dalton asked.

“Why?” Yeardly asked. “I've gotten to know the echoes here, and the lay of the land. I have a good shrine for when I want contact with mortals. And I'm close to my hometown for when Mom crosses over.”

Cole spoke quieter. “Is there anybody who might know where we can find Honor or Destiny? Can you point us in the right direction?”