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  “I like her. She’s definitely something to look at,” Mech said.

  “Yeah, we don’t have many pretty things,” Mach agreed.

  “Pretty is not going to do us any good,” Nix assured them. “If anything, it will cause us more trouble. What if the Tribals decide they want her? Or the pirates? I’m telling you: her presence is no good to us! She’s useless and she has no skills. She’s monster bait!”

  The twins snickered together.

  “Monsterbate...” one of them muttered, and the laughter soon caught on to Finn and then Toss, who laughed nervously only because the others were. Sly put a hand over his face and shook his head at them.

  “I don’t know why I bother,” Nix said, throwing up his hands.

  “You’re talking to simpletons,” Sly said with a weary sigh. “You can’t expect them to see the big picture.”

  “Then why don’t you agree with him?” Finn asked pointedly, irritated at being talked down to.

  Sly shrugged. “I let Rifter make his own mistakes. That’s something I’ve learned in my time here.”

  “But you really do agree with me.” Nix was anxious to have him commit. Having Sly on his side would make his case stronger, as he’d known from the beginning.

  “I’m not going to say that you’re wrong. Yes, it could go badly in a lot of ways. I told Rifter what I knew from what I’ve read, and he ignored it. I’m not willing to go further than that. But as for my personal feeling, I’m with them – she’s pretty and I like her.”

  “Simpleton,” Finn teased, nudging Sly in the side.

  “Then here’s an issue that none of you can deny,” Nix started again. “She’s female – obviously different from us in many ways—” The twins looked at each other mischievously, and Nix had to head them off. “Do not elaborate on that or so help me…”

  He didn’t have to finish, leaving the identical boys to snicker without a word, as if knowing each other’s thoughts.

  “Where are we going to put her?” Nix finished finally. “Is she supposed to stay down here with us?”

  “She can sleep with me,” Finn declared as if he was doing so at great sacrifice to himself. “I’ll take good care of her!”

  He laughed wickedly and some of them chortled along with him – especially the twins – but the truth was that none of them would have known what to do if they’d had a woman spread out before them.

  “Are you done?” Nix asked with a hard stare, and gradually they became serious again.

  Toss raised his hand hesitantly, and Nix allowed him to put his hand on the skull to speak his mind.

  “You sound like you really don’t like her, Nix. You wouldn’t think of getting rid of her yourself, would you? I don’t think I’d like that very much.”

  It took quite a bit to get Toss upset, and though he spoke calmly now, he waited for Nix to give him an honest answer.

  “Bloody hell,” Nix said in disbelief. “I’m not going to hurt her, even though it would be easy, I’m sure. The fact remains that it was a bad choice to bring her here. He was supposed to bring another boy – someone who could take care of himself and make us stronger as a group. Not some girl who we have to take care of! We have enough problems without that!”

  “I don’t know,” Sly said thoughtfully. “Who is to say that making us all come together to look after her won’t make us stronger?”

  “Like she’s a pet?” Finn asked, confused.

  “I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t appreciate being called that,” Toss added. “Aren’t girls sensitive about that kind of thing?”

  “Is that how it happens in your storybooks, Sly?” Nix asked, discouraged that none of them were agreeing with him. “Well this is real. I know I don’t have to remind you why we need a replacement in the first place, or what we all saw happen to Cyprus.”

  There was silence after that name was spoken. If Rifter had been there, he would not have allowed it. One of his rules was that they did not speak of the fallen. Rifter would rather forget, but it wasn’t so easy for the rest of them.

  Nix took note of their humble expressions. “My point is proven then. If we don’t risk our own lives to make sure she stays safe, then she will soon be forgotten as well.”

  He watched his brothers carefully, and though the twins shifted uncomfortably and Finn kept his eyes averted, they still refused to speak up against Wren. Nix was angry at them, but in these few seconds, he did begin to doubt his own logic – but only for a moment.

  “Well if you all insist that she stays, she ought to at least pass the test. Simple enough, isn’t it? I say we take her out right now and make her prove that she can stand on her own. Then I’ll be satisfied.”

  Even at this, none of them agreed. Did they not care that she was weak? How could they not be concerned? Nix’s fury swelled inside him until he couldn’t hold it anymore.

  “Fine. If none of you are with me, I’ll do it myself!”

  Nix tromped heatedly from the room and the others were after him in an instant, ready to keep him from doing anything too drastic – if not for Wren’s sake, simply so they would not get in trouble with Rifter. None of them wanted that, and it could be suspected that Nix didn’t either, but he was letting pride get the best of him now.

  When Nix came into the den, he stopped abruptly, and the others behind him came to a halt as well. There, in the middle of the rug, Wren was sleeping, lost somewhere in the darkness behind her eyelids. Her gown and her blond curls were spread out around her, framing her pale skin beautifully. She looked so peaceful and lovely that not even Nix could be stirred to move against her, and they all just stood there looking over her.

  “She looks like an angel,” Toss commented quietly, and the others agreed silently to themselves.

  Nix looked on at her a moment before he snorted and stormed away down one of the tunnels, but at least his vile intentions had been cast aside. The rest of them could find no fault with her and left her alone, deciding to retire to their own beds.

  Wren slept on, oblivious to their actions. She was floating through the dark, brushing her fingers on soft purple clouds, and somewhere in the midst of that, a handsome boy was smiling at her.

  3

  Rifter passed through the sky for hours, beyond so many stars in formation, most of which he knew by heart. He had come this way many times before – whenever he met a wanderer that had gotten lost on the way to heaven. There was a soft spot in his heart for them. He took pity on those wayward souls, for he knew what it was to be lost.

  Everyone needs somewhere to belong.

  The small boy stayed quiet through the flight as Rifter guided him across the universe, weaving through the cold vastness of space. Some would say that the outer reaches were empty, but it was far from that. There was light cast from many a celestial body, and Whisper was with him as well to help him find his way back.

  There was one thing that Rifter hated about the journey. It was the icy silence.

  He increased his speed and pressed onward, traveling until he saw a light in the distance, so bright that the Rifter could not go any closer to it. He had to stop. From here, he could hear the song of a choir rolling over him like warm waves, and while it was welcoming, he knew it was not for him. This was not where he belonged.

  “Go ahead,” he urged the boy. “It’s alright. This is home now.”

  The boy’s eyes were alight with wonder, and he was even smiling now, contented. He knew this was what he had been looking for. He broke away from Rifter’s hand and drifted forward to the light. As he went on, the form of his body faded away until he had transformed into a glowing, featureless orb which passed on into the light, disappearing into the brilliant spectrum.

  Even after the boy had gone, Rifter lingered for a moment, hovering in the sky. Unlike the trip back would be, this place was warm and comforting. He felt at ease. There was a time when he’d thought he might like to stay here, but he wasn’t ready for it yet. He had far too much living to do.
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  On that thought, he turned to go, shooting across the sky like a comet, back to the place where he belonged.

  Chapter Ten

  1

  Wren awoke with her face buried in the fur of the animal rug, and for several moments, did not know where she was. The night before had all seemed like a blur, and part of her still doubted that any of it had happened, but she could not deny the dirt walls of the tunnel around her. She knew she could not have made any of it up, for she was certainly not at Miss Nora’s.

  For one glorious moment, she was happy, but then felt a pang of guilt as she imagined her brothers waking up without her. She’d not been able to leave them any hint of where she had gone, but she hoped they’d be able to trust that she would come back for them.

  The sooner, the better. There was no way to know how long Henry would wait.

  She inhaled deeply, embracing wakefulness. For the first time since she’d laid down on the rug – so exhausted she hadn’t cared where she found her rest – she realized that it didn’t smell very inviting, like dust and sweat and wild boy. Perhaps it was that which urged her up instead of enticing her to sleep longer. She vowed that she would clean the rug later. It had probably never been washed. Boys couldn’t be bothered to care about that sort of thing.

  Propping herself up on one elbow, Wren sat quietly, trying to convince herself that she was ready to be awake. She couldn’t say how long she had slept or what time it was now, only that she was exactly where she had fallen asleep in the underground, and no one had tried to throw her back in the ocean while she’d slept. That, on its own, was a blessing.

  I wonder if Rifter is back yet.

  She made a move to get up, and only then did she notice that there was another person in the room. A large figure was hunched over the crude hearth of uneven stones, coaxing a fire to rise.

  Wren paused in her ascent, startled. Toss turned to her, looking just as stunned as she did to find that she was awake and looking at him. His face quickly turned red and he looked back at the fire.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” he muttered. “Did I wake you?”

  “No, it’s fine,” she said once she’d gotten her bearings. She wasn’t used to waking up with strange faces around her. “I’m sure that I need to get up anyway. Do you know what time it is?”

  He shook his head. “I haven’t gone out yet. I thought you might be cold, so I was going to make a fire first.”

  “Oh, yes. Thank you.” Wren smiled sweetly at him, he blushed, and then she remembered something from the day before. “And thank you for yesterday. It was you who helped me.”

  Last night when the nightmare had been looming over her, he was the one who had rushed forward to protect her first. He deserved her thanks, but of course this made him blush even darker, the color spreading to his ears like a rash.

  “It was nothin’,” Toss said to brush it off, but he was smiling. He enjoyed her flattery.

  “No, it was,” she insisted. “It was very brave.” She laughed nervously as she recalled her performance. “I’m no fighter. I might have been dead if it weren’t for you.”

  He didn’t say anything to that, but she could tell that he was pleased. Since she was on his good side, she thought she might pry a bit.

  “How did the meeting go last night? Was a decision made?”

  He looked startled to have her ask about the council of the Talker. Did he think she would forget? He fumbled over words for a few moments, but she kept looking at him, and eventually he caved.

  “Not really,” he said shamefully, “but we rarely do make decisions without Rifter, so it was pretty pointless in the end.”

  Wren was happy with that, though she couldn’t say she’d felt very threatened by their council in the first place. She had Rifter on her side and he seemed to be their leader. She felt secure in that thought.

  “Is Rifter back yet?” she asked.

  “I haven’t seen him.”

  She was disappointed to hear that, but there was no reason why she should sit and mope until he came back – nothing stopping her from making the day more productive.

  “Well, since he is not back, perhaps you might show me the rest of your home here.”

  “Me?” Toss asked, pointing to himself in disbelief. His expression was so comical that she had to laugh.

  “I’m sure to get lost if someone doesn’t show me how to navigate these tunnels, and I’m anxious to see how you live.”

  Whether it was her friendly words or simply because he couldn’t say no, Toss rose up from the fire and agreed to her request.

  Routing the tunnels wasn’t quite as difficult as she’d thought it might be once Toss had shown her that each branch was marked with a symbol that was etched into a block of wood above the doorway. She did not know what the symbols meant, though she found it worked best to associate them with animals. The bear hall led to the places where they slept, while the rabbit hall was a quick exit back into the forest. The fish hall led down deeper into the cave where there was a fresh spring of water running through. There was a pool there that flowed over and ran off deeper into the cavern. This was more or less their washroom, and though the water was cold, Wren would be sure to make use of it.

  Down the bear tunnel, each boy had a little alcove set apart to himself. Toss only told her this, because the spaces were all hidden from her by hanging cloths or skins across the doorways. He wouldn’t show her the other rooms, but he let her view his own corner, which was filled with metal blades and unusual sculptures made from ores.

  “Who made all these?” she asked him, not venturing past the doorway because he hadn’t invited her.

  “I did,” he replied meekly. “I act as blacksmith, and I forge many of the weapons and tools we use.”

  Wren was impressed – perhaps not so much by the weapons, but by the art she saw in front of her. He had a creative spirit.

  “May I?”

  He nodded, allowing her to go inside and get a closer look.

  “Which is your favorite?” she asked, touching lightly along the edge of one. The metal whispered beneath her fingers.

  “These are just to pass the time, and no one appreciates them except me, but I consider my finest work to be Rifter’s sword. I melted it down from a unique ore we found in the mountain. It was difficult to work with, but it’s practically unbreakable.”

  “Do you let Rifter have all the best things?” she asked on a whim.

  Toss laughed nervously and scratched his head. “That’s been the way of it for so long, I guess it’s just something that we do without thinking.”

  Wren considered that. She could tell that they all looked up to Rifter, but was it right that they should surrender the best to him? Maybe they all gave him gifts from what they had, eager to impress him. That was very different from the way she lived. In recent years, she had always sacrificed what she had for someone else.

  I wish he was here.

  “Is he usually gone this long?” she asked, thinking that it had been much too long for her taste. She wanted to see him.

  “Sometimes longer than others. Rifter does what he wants,” Toss said with a shrug.

  “Don’t any of you ever go with him?”

  “Oh, Rifter is the only one who can pass in and out of the world at will. That’s how he got his name, because he can cross the rifts between the realms. The rest of us can’t do that. We would have to have a blessing before we could go, or we would have to be unconscious to pass through the veil.”

  “How is that?”

  “Sly says it’s because Rifter made this place.”

  That was an interesting bit of information that snagged her attention immediately.

  “Really?” But as soon as she showed interest in it, Toss started to back out.

  “Well, that’s his theory. Sly used to tell us his theories all the time, but I think he gave up because he says we never listen.”

  Hearing this gave Wren an idea. Rifter may not have been willing to an
swer too many questions, and the others might have been hesitant to do so if they thought Rifter might not approve, but if Sly was willing to tell them his theories about the world, perhaps he would share them with her as well.

  “Where is Sly now?” she asked. “Do you think he’s awake?”

  “Probably,” Toss said, biting the tip of his thumb thoughtfully. “He usually goes outside and sits in the trees or something.”

  Outside? Wren wondered if it was a good idea to go out by herself.

  Then again, the open air might do me good. Getting free of the underground darkness would be a start.

  “Thank you for showing me around, Toss,” Wren said with a warm smile. “You’ve been helpful.”

  He blushed again and looked down at his toes, but did not stop her when she sought out the exit beyond the rabbit door.

  There was only a short corridor, and after stepping up on a few slick boulders, she was able to hoist herself up from an opening in the rocks there, which was a small cave mouth. It really was very simple, and directly afterward she was out in the daylight.

  The trees blocked the sun’s direct rays, and she looked up into the branches. Judging by the sun, she thought that it was already late in the morning. It was true that they’d been awake most of the night, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so late. Back at the Home, she was usually up with the sun – or before it – getting ready for a day of work. It was so late now that she felt guilty for it, even though there was no reason for her to.

  Reflecting on her usual morning routine at the orphanage made her think of her brothers again – and made her feel hungry. She should have asked Toss for something to eat.

  I can wait.

  She walked out a few paces from the entrance, and a movement at the corner of her eye stopped her. Not far away, she saw the only one of them that she would have been happy to avoid.

  Nix was there, having drawn back an arrow – but not in her direction. In fact, he was not giving her any mind at all. He was standing very still, looking down the line of the arrow and toward the tree knob he had made his target. She watched him find his mark, noting how steady he was. He was practiced – that was certain. Likely, he’d had years of training.