Page 27

In the distance, I see the tower.

And though the sun burns and the fog is hours away, I slide down the shingles, jump to the road, and take off for Moseus’s home, sun be damned.

The somber first floor greets me without a sound. Moseus’s closed door indicates he’s likely sleeping or meditating. Taking the stairs two at a time, I huff up to the second floor, seize the ladder, and throw it out the window. Take up my rope and hurry down, out, and around the tower. Climb. My steps are a little surer this time, the stone a bit dryer, and I scale two and a half stories before looping my rope around the protrusion. I climb atop it, then a little higher. I have to jump four times before I can hook my hands over the top of the tower and pullmyself up. Years of dust, sticky from years of fog, cling to the stone and to me. I stand and shield my eyes.

I can see all of Emgarden from here. It looks so small. There’s an enormous cluster of emilies to the north, in between jutting rock formations that block my view. The amaranthine wall is a thin, straight ribbon of pink disappearing into either horizon. Dry earth in shades of red and brown extends for kilometers on kilometers on kilometers, interrupted only by the occasional rock formation, which would provide a shady sanctuary to hide in, but I don’t think Casnia could have gotten that far already. She’s slow.

I search for anything moving farther from Emgarden. I see something in the direction of the wall, but is that a tree, a searcher, or Casnia?

It’s somewhere to start.

As I climb down, arms shaking with the effort, my sight blanks out for just a moment,and suddenly I’m sitting on the rim of the protrusion, my feet dangling down, wind catching my hair.I gasp, and it’s gone. Just me pressed up against the tower.

Lowering myself to the protrusion, I stare out at it.What?I want to scream.Do you want me to sit out there? Is that a sign for something?

It seems stupid. I almost climb down. Then, with a grunt, I tighten the rope around my waist and sidestep to the end of the protrusion, cautious, careful. Sit the way I’d just seen. Inspect the view.

But there’s nothing new to see, and there’s no breeze. Nothing. Frustrated, I pick my way back down, forcing myself to move slowly so I don’t plummet to my death.

When I push open the door to drop off the ladder, Moseus waits inside. Wait—no. That’s Heartwood. The breadth of his jaw and shoulders give him away, but he’s wearing a black cloak similar to Moseus’s robe.

“Did you find something?” he asks.

“Nothing,” I spit, ripping the rope from my body and tossing it to the ground. “I have to go. Casnia is missing.”

I’m ready for a discourse about coming during the sun, but instead he asks, “Someone from Emgarden?”

I pause at the doors. “Yes. She’s ... she’s different. Her mind doesn’t work the way ours does. She can’t make it on her own. I climbed up there to see if I could spot her.”

He glances toward the open door. “That explains the town’s activity.”

I step out.

“What does she look like?”

Hand on the door handle, I pause. Study him. There’s no malice or treachery in his countenance. He’s fairly well masked, but a line of concern mars his forehead, and that sadness endures in his eyes. I realize, too, that he’s hale again, standing straight, no shadows to his face. Odd.

“I thought you two didn’t want to be seen,” I counter, though we can use all the help we can get.

He considers this. “I will be discreet.” Then, after a beat, “Do not tell Moseus.”

My lungs push out a heavy, grateful breath. “She’s short. Shorter than me, and more heavy-set. Round face, short black hair.”

“Like yours?”

“Shorter. If ... if you find her, bring her to the village. Or even back to the tower, just somewhere safe. If the mist settles ... my house is just inside the northwest perimeter.”

“I know it.”

I pause at that, but of course he does, if Moseus knew where to find me. I nod to him once and hurry outside. Heartwood follows. He hesitates as I start east, before pulling the hood of his cloak over his telltale white hair and heading around the tower to search west.

I should have brought water with me, but I didn’t. I’ll deal. I pace myself, knowing I’ll be no use to anyone if I burn out early and can’t search anymore. It’s critical we find Casnia before the turn of the fog, because we’ll have to stop searching once it falls. It’s one thing to navigate Emgarden in the mist; it’s another to find your way out in the wilds, with no clear markers to guide you.

I’m able to jog for nearly half an hour before a stitch in my side and fire in my throat force me to slow. One minute to catch my breath, then I jam a knuckle into the pain under my rib and keep moving. “Casnia!” I call between pants. Far off, I hear an echo of the name. It sounds like Frantess, but I can’t be sure. I have nothing on me to tell the time, but I imagine we’re at mid sun, halfway through the light. Halfway to the mists.

Sweat drips from my temples, underarms, and back. I cup swelling hands around my mouth.

“Cas! Cas!”