When Alden stepped out of the portal, he found himself not back in the Greywood, but emerging behind the command tent back in the pilgrim camp. Lily or Kendra had seen fit to send him there, apparently. Alden wasn't about to question it—he wanted to come here.

  Meg, what are you doing out here?

  Alden walked around the tent and nearly ran right into a soldier standing guard next to it.

  "What the hell?"

  He spun around, rifle at the ready. Alden threw up his hands in surrender.

  "I got turned around," said Alden quickly. "I'm just trying to find my sister."

  The guard's rifle lowered by an inch. "...How'd you get behind me?"

  Alden glanced over his shoulder, debating whether or not to tell the truth. He doubted anybody would be able to get back into the Laushire void, but… Jackson managed it once. Sure, he was one of the Gods and knew more about magic than almost anyone in the world, but still… there were a lot of people in there who probably didn't want to risk any kind of exposure.

  Had to put me back in the middle of the military part of the camp…

  "Magic, I guess," said Alden uncomfortably, knowing how lame an answer it was.

  The guard, to his surprise, simply took this at face value. "Fuckin' magic," he grumbled, in a way reminiscent of Viper, whom Alden had just left behind. "Well, get out of here. Don't end up near the tents again, got it?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "And don't call me sir," added the soldier as Alden started away. "I ain't no officer. I work for a living."

  Alden wandered back into the camp, wondering where on earth he should start looking for his sister. According to Hailey, Meg was here somewhere. He didn't doubt her for a second, though he was curious how Hailey knew. Probably magic. Explains everything else weird lately.

  He'd stopped asking questions like that, past an idle curiosity. After all, Alden had just stepped through a portal in the Greywood, ended up in a black void, exited through the same door to an entirely different place, and in the meantime, spoken with people who could fly, turn invisible, create fire from their bare hands, and do all other manner of impossible feats.

  Somebody knowing something unusual? Barely even on his radar anymore.

  The camp was beginning to pull itself back to normal again, bit by bit. With the constant presence of the National Guard troops, nobody seemed particularly afraid anymore. The place was still a mess, but people were picking up the pieces. From what Alden understood, they'd sent out instructions to families not to come to the site, fearing a rush of panicked family members and protestors. While a few did trickle in as they slipped by the Guard roadblocks, it remained mostly those who'd stuck around.

  They were already back at it, too. As soon as a vendor put their tent or stall back together, it was business as usual. As Alden walked by, he already saw people buying and selling gemstones, paying for magic lessons, buying trinkets and jewelry—one enterprising soul had already produced a line of pendants modeled on the eight-pointed star, taken out of Cinza's diary scans—or the other, more mundane purchases.

  Even the Guard were in on it. A few of the food carts were packed with soldiers off-shift mixed in with the pilgrims, selling as fast as they could. Alden doubted they'd last through the day with the sudden influx of population. The Guard had brought their own rations and relief supplies, but they were plain and unappetizing compared to the food vendors.

  People were getting killed here only twelve hours ago…

  Alden marveled at the change. Signs of the massacre were everywhere—bullet holes in tents and structures, bloodstains, the continuing sounds of pain from those who hadn't been borne away by helicopters yet—but people were carrying on like normal, practically in defiance of the attack.

  They don't want to let Brian win, I guess.

  It took him nearly half an hour to scour the camp, but finally, Alden found her—or more accurately, heard her.

  "So tell me where I can find one!"

  "Nobody sells Scraps, kid. Too risky."

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  "Uh-huh. As if. You just don't want to sell me one 'cause you're too afraid, asshole."

  Alden rounded the corner and saw her. Immediately, he raised his voice. "Don't swear."

  Meg froze. Her head twisted around in a jerking motion, as if she were imitating an old-fashioned robot or a puppet. She spotted him, and her mouth twisted into a painful-looking smile. "...Shit," she muttered.

  Alden buried her in a hug before she could move.

  "Okay, jeez, Alden," said Meg, pushing him away. "Lay off."

  He didn't bother to ask what she was doing here. It was obvious. "Come on," he said. "This way."

  "Hang on, I think I can get this guy—hey!"

  Alden had grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away. Meg protested, but went along willingly as Alden pulled her in between the rows of tents, somewhere with less people immediately nearby.

  "It's really not safe here," he hissed.

  "Duh," she shot back. "So what are you doing here?"

  "Something good, I guess," said Alden with a shrug.

  Meg rolled her eyes. "Okay, Mr. Hero."

  "I'm not safe anywhere though. I'm awakened, you aren't."

  "Not for long, I'm not."

  "Meg!" said Alden, a little more urgently. "People just got killed over this last night!"

  "And I'm not gonna let some stupid terrorists run by an old guy in the woods stop me from learning magic, Alden," snapped Meg. "You're not safe, I'm not safe. You're the guy who lied to the FBI and got agents to come to our house over and over, you know. Plus, I mean, think about it, right?" She gestured around them. "There's soldiers everywhere and they're all protecting us. If there's anywhere to be safe right now besides like, the Greywood or something, it's here, right?"

  Alden shook his head. "You should be back home."

  "So should you," said Meg pointedly. "You know Mom and Dad are super worried now, right?"

  "...They are?"

  "Dude, you were on the news!" said Meg. "They saw you here. They've been texting me all day, asking where I am and if I'm okay."

  "And where are you?"

  She shrugged. "Kelly's house, obviously."

  "...And where's Kelly?"

  "Kelly's house," said Meg without missing a beat. "She's covering for me all weekend, and I'm covering for you. So text them and tell them you're okay, seriously. Or, you know, call them. Mom would probably chill if she heard your voice."

  Alden nodded. He pulled out his phone and dialed right away, relieved he still had signal.

  "...Mom?"

  "Oh, honey!" His mother's voice was tinny and breaking up, but it was still audible. "Are you all right?"

  "Yeah, Mom, I'm fine." Alden glanced at Meg, who rolled her eyes. "I didn't get hurt."

  "What are you doing out there?"

  "I'm…" Alden hesitated. Meg nodded, mouthing 'tell them'. "I'm awakened. I'm out here to make sure my friends are all right."

  "You're… you're what?"

  "I can do magic, Mom."

  "...You're… oh… oh I don't know about this," said his mom, sounding very uncomfortable. "I… are you sure?"

  "...Yes, Mom, I'm sure," said Alden. Meg stifled a laugh, rolling her eyes again.

  "I… well, are you all right?" she asked again, still audibly upset.

  "I'm okay." Alden sighed. "Look, Mom, I gotta go. I just wanted to… to hear your voice." It was true, too, after Alden thought about it for a moment. He and his parents hadn't had the strongest relationship, but they were his parents. "I'll call you again soon."

  "...Okay. Be safe."

  "I will be." Alden hung up.

  Meg nodded. "So yeah, like I said. They're going crazy."

  "And you want to make it even crazier by being out here too?" asked Alden, pocketing his phone.

  She shrugged. "They don't know, right?"

  "I don't think telling them just now was the best idea," said Alden, suddenly regretting his impulsive decision. "Mom sounded really confused."

  "Nah, this is better," said Meg sagely. "Gives 'em time to get used to it before you get home. Better they know before they see you. You know how Dad does stupid stuff when he's surprised."

  "I still think you should go home," said Alden.

  "Nope." Meg shook her head. "I'm here to protect you. That's my job as your sister, remember?"

  "...I'm the older one," he pointed out.

  "Like that's ever mattered." She rolled her eyes. "Hailey's locked up, and so's your girlfriend, so I'm the only one you got left. I'm here to be your guardian, bro."

  "...No," said Alden, coming to a sudden decision. Not guardian. But… I don't want to send her away, either.

  "Look—"

  "Partners," said Alden.

  Meg faltered, and the silence was filled with the vague buzz of conversation around them, while birds chirped from the trees in every direction. A cool wind blew through, ruffling her hair.

  "We lost someone in our family," said Alden. "We don't have a clue who that is, but… I think it's better we stick together now. I didn't do so well on my own."

  "I remember," said Meg, a lot more subdued than before.

  "Running around alone always gets me into even worse trouble. I'm done doing that now. You and me, then," said Alden. "I can teach you what I know, at least. It's not much, but… it's better than nothing, right?"

  "And you're not gonna say something stupid about how I shouldn't awaken because it's too dangerous?"

  He shook his head. "You'd just do it anyway. I think I know better by now."

  "Damn right."

  "So I figure it's smarter I stick around and help you out."

  "Hey, you are getting better, from what I saw," said Meg, and it raised his spirits a bit. "When I can do magic, we'll both get better real fast. It's all about sharing, right?"

  "...Yeah."

  "Who's gonna share magic better than us?" said Meg. "Nobody on earth has as weird a relationship as we do."

  "No kidding."

  Meg punched him in the arm. Alden winced, but laughed anyway.

  "Come on," he said, turning back toward the camp at large. "Let's go find a Scrap."

  She hesitated just slightly. "...Does it hurt?" she asked.

  Alden laughed aloud as the memory burst into his brain, right along with Rika's mocking expression.

  "Huh?"

  "That was exactly what I asked Rika," he said as they walked back into the camp. "When she offered to awaken me."

  "...And what did she say?"

  Alden smirked. "She said, 'do you care?'"

  Meg thought for a second, then grinned. "Nope."