Everyone got home in one piece. Alden was looking over his shoulder at every turn, but nobody else came after him. Quinn was the last one, and as they got nearer to his family's apartment, Natalie fell back a little to walk near Alden. Percy fluttered onto Quinn's shoulder, and rubbed his face affectionately.

  Natalie smiled at the sight, but dropped her voice low, obviously not wanting Quinn to hear anything. "Hey," she said softly.

  "Hi," said Alden.

  Her tone was uncomfortably militant. "What's going on? Is something wrong?"

  He shook his head. "I ran into you by accident. I saw Percy and followed him."

  "Oh." Natalie frowned. "I guess that could be kinda bad."

  "Can you do invisibility?"

  "I tried, but I never really figured it out." She shrugged. "I'm staying out of everything though."

  "I saw the thing about Kendra on the news," said Alden. "Aren't you—"

  "No," said Natalie. "I've been living with Quinn all month. Since… since the book thing and Hailey's interview and everything."

  "Oh." Alden winced. "I was… kinda out of the loop for a while." He glanced at her again. "You—"

  "Yeah, I did a lot," Natalie said impatiently.

  "Are you okay?"

  "I don't know."

  "...Me neither," said Alden honestly.

  To his relief, Natalie seemed to relax at that. "Why does everyone always ask that? I'm too many things. I can't just say 'yeah I'm okay'. Okay what?"

  "No kidding," said Alden.

  "It's so stupid. I don't know if I'm okay. I don't know anything. Everyone left me and now so many things are happening and I have no clue what's going on."

  "You have no idea how much I feel like that right now, Nat—err, Jenny," said Alden hurriedly.

  Natalie shrugged. "It's okay. Quinn knows everything."

  "...Everything?" asked Alden, surprised.

  "Well… no," said Natalie reluctantly. "He doesn't know… about my… my dad." She looked away so Alden couldn't see her face. "But he knows I'm from Rallsburg and my real name and all that. We can trust him."

  "Okay."

  Natalie turned back, smiling a little. "...Thanks."

  Alden nodded. "How'd you end up living with him?"

  "I got… locked out, I guess, on the night everybody found out about the book. The door to Kendra's place just didn't show up. So I ran away and I just kinda ended up at Quinn's 'cause it was the only place I knew nearby."

  "And his parents just took you in?" Alden raised an eyebrow. "That's really cool of them."

  "They're really cool," said Natalie, smiling wider. "He is, too."

  Alden didn't miss the undercurrent in her voice. He grinned. "You and him?"

  A blush seeped into her cheeks underneath the scar. "...Yeah."

  "I'm really happy for you, Natalie."

  "What about you?" she asked, obviously trying to change the subject. "Weren't you trying to find Rika or something? I overheard your sister talking."

  "You met my sister?" Alden asked, surprised.

  "At the…" Natalie winced, mirth gone from her voice. "The funeral."

  "Oh." Alden nodded. "Yeah, I'm trying to find Rika."

  "...Do you think that's a good idea?" she asked nervously.

  "Huh?"

  "I just…" Natalie took a breath, staring out into the bare courtyard below them. She fiddled with her hair—much longer than Alden remembered, and worn so as to cover her face more. Hiding, as she had been ever since Rallsburg. "I dunno. I was waiting for Rachel all this time. She promised we were gonna go find my dad. I was just… you know, sitting around. Doing nothing, being afraid all the time. And it really sucked."

  She turned back to Alden. "I decided to stop though. Now I feel a lot better. It still sucks, but I'm not waiting for Rachel. I dunno where she is, or what she's doing, and I don't really care anymore either. I'm here with Quinn and I'm happy. Mostly," she added, looking away again. "I still really miss Gwen, and Scrappy, and my dad… I'll find them someday. But I gotta figure out who I am first."

  I wish it were that easy. I wish I was as strong as you. "You're way too smart for your age, you know that?" said Alden, smiling a little.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  "I don't feel like I am," Natalie sighed. She glanced over thoughtfully. "Do you love her?"

  He shrugged. "I don't really know. I just need to talk to her."

  "I knew, all the way back to Rallsburg," said Natalie sagely. "You definitely do. You gotta find her, then."

  I really don't think I do, but I agree with you anyway. "Well, she's not making it easy," Alden sighed. "I came here 'cause I heard about some people who got killed by electricity magic. I thought it might have been her. Still could be, I have no idea. I didn't get any details."

  Natalie frowned. "Some people?"

  "Yeah, a warehouse, over on…" Alden pulled out his phone and dredged up the address. "It was some drug deal gone bad, apparently. I figured Rika kinda fit that. I mean, I doubt she was looking for drugs. Information or something."

  She slowly shook her head. "...Rika doesn't seem like the sort of person who'd kill people."

  "Yeah, I agree. Self-defense, though, maybe."

  "Maybe." Natalie looked really uncomfortable suddenly.

  Alden decided to change the subject. "How's school?"

  "It's… it's fine." Natalie was obviously still stuck on the idea. Alden waited. Quinn had long-since gone inside the apartment with Percy, but they were still standing out on the cold walkway, the breeze chilling them even more. "I think Rika's probably in the Greywood."

  "You do?" asked Alden, surprised. Was it really that easy?

  She nodded. "I saw her at the funeral. We talked a bit. She came in with Cinza's people, and she left with them too. I think she's been staying there ever since… you know." Natalie trailed off, obviously not wanting to bring up Jessica again. She took a moment to compose herself. "I don't know how to get to it anymore though. I haven't been there since… since we left."

  "I have, once," said Alden. But all the defenses were down at the time, and I was following Rachel… "But I think they changed it, and now the website's down."

  "It is?" asked Natalie, surprised.

  "Yeah." Alden shrugged. "I might know somebody else who knows."

  "Who's that?"

  Alden grinned. "You wouldn't like him."

----------------------------------------

  Natalie offered him some dinner, but Alden declined. He didn't want to complicate her life anymore if Quinn's parents came home while he was there. They said goodbye, and Alden boarded the first bus he could find heading south.

  He hoped Natalie really was happier. It seemed like she was, but there was so much weight on every word she spoke. Something had happened to Natalie, and Alden had no clue what it might have been. He resolved to check in on her again, way sooner than six months this time. In the meantime, he had another long-lost acquaintance to find.

  Of course, this one wasn't even trying to hide. Alden just used the official contact box on his website.

  "The first true magician?" Alden asked, rolling his eyes.

  Jonathan Hudson had just arrived back in the corner of a little diner in Tacoma. To Alden's relief, he wore a far less conspicuous outfit than their first encounter. Even so, Jonathan was as theatrical as always, pulling out his chair with a flourish and landing with all the aplomb of an accomplished dancer.

  "What does the Greywood require of the Astounding Mr. Hudson?"

  "I thought it was 'Marvelous'," said Alden.

  Jonathan shrugged. "My show got popular and somebody got mad, said it was too similar to something on TV."

  "Well, funny you should ask," Alden sighed. "I'm actually trying to get to the Greywood."

  "I was going to ask you how to get there!" said Jonathan indignantly.

  "You don't know?"

  "I've not been privy to such confidence as to be made aware of the—" Alden rolled his eyes again, and Jonathan faltered. "...No."

  "I haven't been there since Rallsburg fell," said Alden, "and they've changed the defenses since then. The website's down, so I can't get in touch with any of them."

  Jonathan nodded. "I do hope it comes back, I need more spells for my next act. I only had a backup through last week."

  "...You kept backups?" asked Alden, surprised.

  "Of course I did!" Jonathan grinned. "The Astounding Mr. Hudson is well-known for the variety and depth of his magical abilities!"

  Cinza would be so mad if she found out. "They left instructions after the book release, for anyone who needed to hide. Do you have that saved?"

  "Probably." Jonathan pulled out his phone, digging through the details. "Yes, right here. I can take you to the rendezvous."

  "No thanks, I can manage."

  "I insist!" said Jonathan, rising to his feet again. "The Greywood does not know me. If I am to be received, I would need your introduction, as one of the honored Ghosts."

  "I'm not one of them," said Alden uncomfortably. "I didn't live there."

  "But you fought, did you not?"

  "...Yes." Alden sighed. "Well, come on then. My car's around the block."

  Within minutes, they were on the road heading to Olympia. Jonathan gave him directions while managing to keep his personality to a minimum, to Alden's relief. Under other circumstances, he didn't really mind so much—but he was exhausted, he was scared, and the world seemed to be ending all around them. The traffic was thick all the way to Olympia, and Alden had a pretty good guess as to why.

  "Do people ask you how to awaken after your shows?" asked Alden.

  "I don't stick around," said Jonathan cheerfully. "All part of the mystique, you know? I escape without a trail to be found." He winced. "Also because I was chased out once by a certain FBI agent we all know and love."

  "You met Agent Ashe?"

  "Yes. It turns out he's actually a really nice guy, all in all. We've met a few times since then. Turn off here."

  Alden did so, hitting the road out of Olympia toward the huge forests ahead. As the trees loomed larger, his knuckles got tighter around the wheel. He hadn't been this close since… well, since he left. Jonathan kept talking, and Alden just vaguely nodded along whenever there was a pause, not really listening. He was entirely focused on making sure they didn't crash, while flashbacks threatened to resurface in his brain.

  "Turn here," said Jonathan abruptly. Alden glanced over, surprised. They hadn't really gone out of Olympia yet. Was the meeting place really this far away from the Greywood? "Pull into that parking lot there, by the church."

  Alden shaded his eyes from the sunlight, squinting at the church ahead. Other people were arriving too, but no one he recognized. "How many people are here?" he asked, following Jonathan forward.

  "No idea. Guess we'll find out."

  "I didn't think there'd be this many awakened already. There aren't that many on the website."

  "Many what?" asked Jonathan, surprised. "Where do you think we are?"

  "...What did you do?" asked Alden fearfully.

  "Like I said. I wanted to check out this meeting. See what we're up against."

  Alden froze. He looked around fearfully. Jenkins road. There was a school nearby. They were walking into an old church.

  He dropped his voice as low as he could. "This is one of Brian's meetings?"

  "Don't worry. I don't look anything like my shows. And like you said, you weren't actually there. Nobody's looking for you."

  "They can scan us, you idiot!" Alden hissed, all politeness vanished in an instant. He started to turn back, but one of the guys by the church entrance was already staring at them. He didn't look suspicious yet. Alden forced himself to stay calm.

  "Oh… I forgot about those… What do we do?" Jonathan asked, suddenly as fearful as Alden felt.

  "Keep going forward. It takes a while to scan people. They probably don't do everyone at these meetings." Alden took one painful step forward, and then another. The guy at the entrance looked away. The crowd pressed forward—dozens, hundreds maybe. People were coming together, all to hear him talk.

  Hear Natalie's dad talk… about how to kill them all.