The boys huddled together as Soren muttered, “Try it like this,” and “Other end, stupid,” and “Just let me do it,” until they jumped back, away from the flame that flickered up from the leaves.
“Oh, zap!” they yelled in perfect unison. “Fire!”
Chapter 2
ARIA
Magic.
That was the word that came to Aria’s mind. An old word, from a time when illusions still mystified people. Before the Realms made magic common.
She moved closer, drawn by the gold and amber tones in the flame. By the way it changed shape constantly. The smoke was richer than anything she had ever smelled. It tightened the skin along her arms. Then she saw how the burning leaves curled and blackened and disappeared.
This was wrong.
Aria looked up. Soren had frozen in place, his eyes wide. He looked bewitched, just as Paisley and the brothers did. Like they were seeing the fire without really seeing it.
“That’s enough,” she said. “We should turn it off . . . or get water or something.” No one moved. “Soren, it’s starting to spread.”
“Let’s give it more.”
“More? Trees are made of wood. It’ll spread to the trees!”
Echo and Bane ran off before she’d finished speaking.
Paisley grabbed her sleeve, pulling her away from the burning stack. “Aria, stop or he’ll hurt you again.”
“This whole place is going to burn if we don’t do something.”
She glanced back. Soren stood too close to the fire. The flames had nearly reached his height. The fire made sounds now, pops and crackles over a dull roar. “Get sticks!” he yelled at the brothers. “The sticks make it stronger.”
Aria didn’t know what to do. When she thought of stopping them the ache in her shoulder flared, warning her of what might happen again. Echo and Bane ran up with armfuls of branches. They threw them onto the fire, sending sparks into the trees. A surge of hot air blew past her cheeks.
“We’re going to run, Paisley,” she whispered. “Ready . . . go.”
For the third time that night, Aria grasped Paisley’s hand. She couldn’t let Paisley fall behind. She wove through the trees, her legs churning, as she tried to keep them on a straight course. She didn’t know when the boys started chasing them, but she heard Soren behind her.
“Find them!” he yelled. “Spread out!”
Then Aria heard a loud wailing sound that brought her to a halt. Soren was howling like a wolf. Paisley’s hand clamped over her mouth, stifling a sob. Bane and Echo joined in, filling the woods with wild, keening cries. What was happening to them? Aria broke into a run again, tugging Paisley so hard that she stumbled.
“Come on, Paisley! We’re close!” They had to be near the door leading back to the farming dome. When they reached it, she’d trip the emergency alarm. Then they’d hide until Guardians came.
The lights overhead flickered again. This time they didn’t come back. Darkness slammed into Aria like something solid. She went rigid. Paisley rammed into her back and cried out. They tumbled blindly to the ground, their limbs crashing together. Aria scrambled upright, blinking hard as she tried to orient herself. Eyes opened or closed, what she saw didn’t change.
Paisley’s fingers fluttered over her face. “Aria! Is it you?”
“Yes, it’s me,” she whispered. “Quiet or they’ll hear us!”
“Bring the fire!” Soren yelled. “Get some fire so we can see!”
“What are they going to do to us?” Paisley asked.
“I don’t know. But I won’t let them get close enough to find out.”
Paisley tensed at her side. “Do you see that?”
She did. A torch wove toward them from the distance. Aria recognized the solid tromp of Soren’s stride. He was farther than she expected, but she realized it didn’t matter. She and Paisley couldn’t move without crawling and feeling along in front of them. Even if they knew which way to go, moving a few feet would hardly help.
A second flame appeared.
Aria groped for a rock or a stick. Leaves disintegrated in her hands. She smothered a cough against her sleeve. Every breath tightened her lungs more. She’d been worried about Soren and the fire. Now she realized the smoke might pose the worst danger.
The torches bobbed across the darkness, drawing closer. She wished her mother had never left. She wished she’d never sung to Soren. But wishing wasn’t going to get her anywhere. There had to be something she could do. She turned her focus inward. Maybe she could reset her Smarteye and call for help. She reached for commands as she always had. Even in her mind, she felt as though she were fumbling in the dark. How did you restart something that had never been turned off?
It didn’t help her concentration to see the torches closing in, or the fire burning brighter and louder, or to feel Paisley quivering against her side. But she had no other hope. Finally she felt a tap in the depths of her brain. A word appeared on her Smartscreen, blue letters floating against the smoldering woods.
RESTART?
Yes! she commanded.
Aria tensed as hot nails dragged across her skull and down her spine. She gasped in relief as a grid of icons appeared. She was back on, but everything looked strange. All the buttons on her interface were generic and in the wrong places. And what was that? She saw a message icon on her screen labeled “Songbird,” her mother’s nickname for her. Lumina had sent a message! But the file was stored locally and wouldn’t help her now. She needed to reach someone.