Four weeks passed by in the blink of an eye as Archie settled into his new life in Ambrosia City.

He brought a lemon-blueberry bar to Stop Him, who stopped assaulting Archie every time he went to wash dishes. So instead of bruises, Archie went home every Saturday night with raw fingers and aching knees. He tried to sneak peeks at Prince Waldorf, hoping to see how the Glutton could eat so much, but never found success.

After having the class clean up the unkempt farmland, Quince tasked them to grow poppies from seed to bloom, a process which could take two or three months without the use of essence. Archie and Nori excelled, producing a bed of greens in just under four weeks. Nori even had the beginnings of one or two little green buds that poked out, teasing a potential bloom. Of course, by that time, Blanche already had petals for a week.

Rowan went by the Academy for breakfast with Archie and Nori, and while he approved of Archie and Nori’s newfound friendship, he still sent them out into the woods every week to pick blueberries. Week by week, they found more blueberries and made more delicious meals, and Archie started to recognize the difference in the essences of different varieties of blueberry.

Everything felt right.

At dinner, Nori plopped down next to Archie with a smile.

“Ready to pick some blueberries tomorrow?” she asked.

“I can’t believe that’s all you guys have to do for your sponsor,” Oliver complained as he twirled his fork around yet another poorly made plate of pasta.

“And we only have to do it on Fridays,” Nori teased.

“Not fair,” he muttered.

Archie pulled a noodle out of the pile and tried to whip it around Oliver’s cup.

“We’re not that lucky,” Archie said. “It’s going to be brutally hot tomorrow. It’s supposed to be fall! Why is it still so hot outside?”

“That’s Ambrosia City for you,” Oliver said. “We’ll be lucky if it snows this winter.”

“I think we should go for the highbush tomorrow,” Nori said.

“You want to go out to the highlands?” Archie slapped the noodle against the cup again. He imagined lassoing it.

“Yeah. It’s the last blueberry we need. Then maybe Rowan will let us back in The Gift.”

“It’s a long walk. We’ll have to leave early.”

“Before dawn.”

Oliver looked at Archie. “You better not wake me up when you get up.”

Archie slung the noodle again. Despite only being long enough to wrap around half of the cup, the noodle continued to whip around, looping around the cup four times. Archie pulled in surprise, toppling the cup and spilling water into Oliver’s lap. Archie looked at the noodle, which had grown twice as long. He held it up like a prize fish, laughing in astonishment at his achievement.

“Great,” Oliver said. “I can’t make pasta, but I have to or I lose my sponsor, and you can already do that and you just have to go pick blueberries all day. How does that happen?”

“I dunno,” Archie said, tossing the elongated noodle back onto Oliver’s plate. “I’ve always liked pasta.”

The next morning, equipped with a couple of waterskins and a bag full of snacks, Archie and Nori woke up before sunrise and set out. Even in the earliest hours of morning, the heat made Archie sweat by the time they got out into the fields. They walked along the lake, taking in the breeze for as long as they could before plunging into the forest.

“Have you talked to Julienne at all?” Archie asked as they plowed through waist-high ferns and weaved around trees. Over the last few weeks, they had exhausted most of their conversation options, forcing them to turn to their classmates for new ways of keeping their hikes interesting.

“Not really, why?”

“He’s kinda like…the Nori Harper of Labrusca.”

Nori held a finger up to her lips, thinking. “So like. Cool and smart and generally better than you?”

“I’m sorry, I haven’t seen you make a noodle lasso yet.”

“Ah, yes! The great Archie Kent, noodle lassoer of the world.” She raised her arms in mock fanfare and then dropped them along with her demeanor. “Please. You spilled a cup.”

“Well, I think it shows great promise,” he said with a proud shrug. “And what I really meant by calling Julienne the Nori of Labrusca was that he seems like a potential basket case that could collapse at any moment due to having extreme pressure from his family to be some kind of symbol for an entire kingdom. That’s how you’re alike.”

“Alright, alright.” Nori tried to act like the comment didn’t phase her, but she couldn’t take as good as she could give. “Sorry I made fun of your noodle lasso.”

“You know, they changed his name when he was eleven?”

“What?”

“Yeah, like. He wasn’t Julienne. His family picks the most promising kid and makes them change their name to Julienne. Can you imagine? It’s like…they’re saying, ‘you’re not that person anymore. Now you’re someone else. And you need to live up to the best restaurant in Ambrosia City.’”

“He seems pretty well-adjusted, all things considered.”

“I guess. He’s always at Cafe Julienne so I don’t see him much. But he was way more polite about the soil stuff than anyone else. Politer than you, at least. He actually asked me for permission.”

“Hey, the way I see it, we’re a team. Anything that you know, I get to know, and vice versa.”

Archie smiled. A team. What a nice thing to be a part of.

He looked back at Ambrosia City. Without realizing it, they had climbed twice as high as the distant city, having ascended beyond the lush grass fields. Their path alternated between craggy hills and dense forest, each offering their own tiring challenges.

Ahead, massive hills—nearly mountains—littered the horizon. They ate lunch—granola, dried fruit, and jerky—in several snack-sized portions as they hiked through the early afternoon. After several false alarms, they finally found their target blueberries in bushes that grew ten feet up the slopes of the hills. Archie felt the difference in essence between them and their lowbush cousins, but doubted he’d be able to blindly identify which was which.

He looked up through the thick canopy of trees, finding the sun overhead. “We should head back,” he said. He pointed up at the sun. “It’s well past noon. And my feet are killing me.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. At least it’s mostly downhill on the way back.”

But just before they turned to leave, Archie spotted a promising blueberry bush in a thicket of trees. “Wait. One last one. Then we can go.”

He walked over and examined the bush. He touched a blueberry, trying to feel for its essence. With the other blueberries, there had been subtle differences in the essence. With this one, the difference was easy—there was no essence.

“Weird.”

“What’s up?” Nori said as she caught up.

“These feel different. Like. Empty?”

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Nori picked a blueberry and frowned. “Weird. There’s nothing there.”

Archie looked around for anything that might explain the lack of essence. He spotted a large hole in the distance, two feet in diameter and angled like a tunnel. Some primal alarm bell, developed in the time when men lived in caves, went off in Archie’s head. The hair on the back of his neck raised. His palms sweat. His pupils dilated. “What’s that?”

Nori stepped around the blueberry bush to take a look. “A burrow? But it’d have to be a pretty big animal…”

“Whatever it is,” he said, “I don’t like being near it.”

Something felt wrong.

A bush rustled nearby. Archie spotted movement in the corner of his eye. He whipped around to see a long, thin reptilian tail disappear into a group of bushes. His fight or flight kicked in, his mind reviewing all of the combat magic he had seen—transformations, fizz blasts, pepper spray—and all that he could actually perform—making a noodle a little stronger.

“Did you see that?”

Archie watched the spot, turning his head for just a moment to look over at Nori, who bent down to the ground and examined the dirt. “Archie,” she whispered. “Come here.”

Archie kept watching for movement as he sidestepped over to Nori. They didn’t say anything, but they subconsciously knew to keep an eye out. As Archie looked down, Nori looked up.

At first, Archie thought he saw human handprints in the dirt. But then he realized how long and pointed the fingers were.

“Okay, we need to leave. Quietly,” he said as his skin crawled. He tugged at Nori’s sleeve. She took one step. A bush rattled in response.

A third voice, low and slow, entered the conversation. Its words slurred with centuries of drowsiness.

“It’s alright. Don’t be afraid,” it said.

Nori managed to contain a scream down to a nervous groan. Adrenaline poured through Archie.

I could punch it. I know how to throw a punch, right?

“What are your names?” the voice asked.

“Don’t answer,” Nori whispered. “I’ve heard of fairies that can steal your name.”

A branch cracked nearby. Archie whipped his head around to face the sound, but saw nothing.

I could break off a branch and use it like a spear.

“I’m not a fairy,” the voice said with a hint of laughter.

Nori snuck her hand onto the bottom of Archie’s shirt and tugged at it. He turned and followed her gaze.

A reptilian face stared at them from behind a tree. Archie remembered the licerte that had been spotted a month prior, prompting a temporary shutdown of the road between Sain and Ambrosia City.

The licerte seemed like a dog with a lizard’s skin, its ears having been replaced by stubby horns and crooked alligator teeth sticking out from its wide mouth. Archie couldn’t see its body, but he figured it to be at least four feet long.

Nori’s hand trembled. Archie lost his breath.

Okay. Okay. It’s just one. Licertes are loner creatures. I can do this. I could jump on it from behind. Pull its neck up. Clamp its mouth shut. Stomp on it. But what about the voice? Licertes can’t speak, right? Is it someone’s pet?

“Well,” Archie said, trying to keep his voice stable. “Who are you?”

Another movement caught Archie’s eye. He spotted a second licerte. And a third behind that.

They’re not…They don’t travel in packs…

He got a good look at their bodies. They had four legs that bowed out from their torso before turning at ninety degree angles to the ground, sinewy muscles giving a warning of their ability to leap. Two more legs were bundled beneath their necks, too short to reach the ground, but long enough to sink their claws into their prey. A fourth licerte emerged from behind a tree, stalking in a circle around Archie and Nori.

Okay. Too many. I can…Okay. Not enough time to get a branch. A rock. Okay, find a rock.

“I am a lost child,” the voice swelled. Archie felt his bones vibrate with each syllable.

Nori turned to walk away, jumping when she saw two more creatures watching them from the other direction thirty feet away.

“Are you a lost child?” the voice asked. The creatures took a step forward, forked tongues flickering in the air. Archie felt a hunger in the air.

Oh. Oh. Um. Okay, it wants to talk. Let’s talk. I’ll talk my way right out of this.

“No, we’re not lost,” Archie said as calmly as he could. Nori looked at him with wide, desperate eyes. He tried to put on a brave face for her.

“Oh, well that’s good,” the voice said, calm again. The creatures settled down, shaking the tension out of their stances. “What are you doing here?”

“Is this your home?” Archie asked. “I’m sorry if we’re intruding. Do you live here?”

“Do I live…here?” the voice asked, pondering the question. “I live…I’m not sure. I only just woke up not too long ago.”

“We’re sorry to wake you. We’ll let you get back to—”

“No, no, it’s fine. You’re welcome here.”

With each word, the creatures seemed to perk up. In their stimulation, they crept in, numbering over a dozen. Archie looked around.

Surrounded.

“Where are you from?” the voice asked. “Where do…you live?”

“We’re stu—”

“We’re from Ambrosia City,” Nori interrupted.

“Hmm,” the voice said, mulling over the answer. “You’re far from the city.”

“We’re picking blueberries,” Nori said.

“Blueberries!” The voice perked up, the creatures raising their heads toward the sky. “We have blueberries around here, but I’m afraid they’ve lost their flavor. May we try yours?”

Nori nodded at Archie, who pulled a handful of blueberries from his bag. The berries had come from closer to Ambrosia City, but they felt different than when he picked them. Less than.

Archie felt less than, too. Even just since the conversation began, he had grown fatigued. Drained, as if sapped from being in the sun too long. As he felt emptier, the voice felt fuller.

“Go ahead,” the voice said, no longer dull and sleepy but alert and inquisitive. “Toss it here.”

Archie looked around. “Where are you?”

The voice swirled from in front of them. “Here.” Now behind. “There.” Now from everywhere. “Closer than you think.”

One of the creatures stepped forward, snout raised. It seemed to expect something. Archie tossed a blueberry in front of it. Its tongue lashed out, snapping up the blueberry.

“Mmm,” the disembodied voice moaned in approval. “Delicious. Another.”

Another creature joined the first. Archie tossed it a blueberry that it flicked up with its tongue. His arm felt heavy.

“Yes, much better than the blueberries here. So tasty. So juicy. So full of essence.”

Archie’s sun-drained fatigue turned into heat-in-face nausea. He blinked repeatedly to keep the world from spinning. Each time he opened his eyes, another creature had stepped forward into his blurred vision.

“Archie,” Nori whispered through gritted teeth. He looked at her, but couldn’t make out the details of her face. “We need to leave. Now.”

The world spun again. Archie felt his desperate grip on the cord of reality and wondered if he should just let go.

The creatures stepped closer.

“Archieee…” Nori whispered, her voice full of fear.

The creatures stepped closer.

“Tell me, Archie…” The voice had come out of its cocoon, thick and ravenous. Its bass rattled Archie’s bones. “Are…you full of essence?”

The creatures stepped closer.

“Archie!” Nori shrieked.

The creatures charged.

The scream cut through the fog in Archie’s mind, leaving crystal-clear, razor-sharp instinct.

As Nori kicked dirt to deter the creatures in front, Archie turned around. Without thinking, his hand went into his bag and pulled out a handful of blueberries. They seemed to prickle with energy as his hand got near and changed upon his touch.

He threw them at the creatures in a sweeping barrage. While he had only grabbed ten, somehow he threw fifty—each one hardening and accelerating as they flew through the air. The creatures recoiled as if pelted by sharp stones.

He yanked Nori, taking her with him as he ran straight at the creatures. He threw another handful of berries, this barrage even more effective than the last. They recoiled, allowing Archie and Nori to stomp past them.

Archie felt a tingling numbness in his arm. Somehow, he knew he wouldn’t be able to manage a third throw.

As he panicked about what to do next, Archie failed to see one of the creatures lurking in a bush. It leapt out at his leg, those deadly little front claws extended, mouth agape, teeth—

—kicked in by Nori.

The creature sprawled out onto its back, taking one last desperate swipe and slashing the inner calf on Archie’s leg. The pain of the wound went away faster than it could be acknowledged as adrenaline made Archie run faster than he had ever run before.

He started to turn around, but Nori yelled, “don’t look back! Watch where you’re going!”

And so they ran.

And ran.

Thundering footsteps followed them. Bushes split apart behind them. Bark flung off trees as the creature’s claws dug into them for leverage. Between each of Archie’s breaths, he could hear the licertes hiss.

And so they ran.

And ran.

Eventually, they figured out that they were running from their own footsteps. Still they ran, slowing down until their eventual collapse.

Archie looked at Nori. Cuts from low-hanging branches covered her face, blood mixing with tears. Then he looked at his leg. His sock overflowed with red. Seeing the wound made the pain of it come alive. Searing. Agonizing. He wondered how he had run on it at all.

“What…was…that?” Nori asked between heavy breaths.

“Nothing I’ve ever seen before.” He poked at the flesh near his wound. The world went dark. He lifted his finger and the world returned. He felt the essence in his body pulse and surge down to the wound.

“Can you walk?” Nori asked.

“I think so. I don’t think anything’s broken.”

“Okay. What do you say we get as far away from that place as possible?”

“I think that’s a good idea.”

Nori helped Archie up and found a walking stick for him. It took hours for them to return to the Academy. Each step hurt more than the last, and in the dark of night, Archie didn’t notice the blackness spreading from the wound.