Death Weavers

T
O OLD FRIENDS LIKE
D
ARREN,
J
OEL,
L
ARRY, AND
N
ICK.

A
ND TO NEW FRIENDS LIKE
J
ASON AND
A
DAM.

1

A
re there really ghosts here?” Cole asked.

“They're called echoes,” Hunter replied. “But, yeah. Pretty much.”

Cole, Hunter, Dalton, and Jace strolled along a flat, stone-lined path in the garden surrounding the Seven-Cornered Shrine. The bright afternoon sun, the sculpted hedges, the diverse flowers, the trellised vines, the shade trees, the trickling streams, the splashing fountains—nothing in view suggested the presence of restless spirits.

They had arrived in Necronum from Zeropolis by monorail a little before midday. The station straddled the border between the kingdoms, with the track ending scant feet from Necronum. It had felt strange to transfer from the comforts of a sleek monorail to the clattering confines of a horse-drawn coach, and served as a strong reminder how different the kingdoms could be from one another. The coach had brought them directly to the shrine, along with Mira and Joe, who had gone their own way just after the group reached the sprawling grounds.

Watching Hunter, Cole could still hardly believe he had joined forces with his lost brother. Cole lacked memories of living with Hunter as his sibling back home in Arizona, but that made sense because Hunter had been taken to the Outskirts before him. When people went to the Outskirts, those left behind forgot them, just as Cole's parents and sister could no longer remember him. Hunter had shown Cole lots of photographic evidence that they had grown up together and had offered even more proof with the risks he took back in Zeropolis.

Cole sometimes wondered how many people had been brought to the Outskirts over the years. If all who came here were forgotten, how could anyone ever make an accurate count? Dozens of kids were simultaneously abducted by slave traders when Cole came to the Outskirts. And Hunter had been captured on a separate occasion. How many other times had it happened? How many total people had been taken? Hundreds? Thousands? More?

“You've actually seen a ghost?” Dalton asked.

“I've seen plenty,” Hunter said. “The shaping in Necronum is built around interacting with the dead.”

“Think we'll see some today?” Jace asked, not quite keeping the uneasiness out of his voice.

Hunter clapped his hands and rubbed his palms. “Not if we stay together. Echoes don't usually like groups. At least not at a shrine.”

“Then let's split up,” Jace said. “I want to hear Dalton scream.”

“How will you hear me if you're running all the way back to Sambria?” Dalton scoffed.

Jace huffed. “There's nothing to be afraid of.” He glanced at Hunter. “Is there?”

Hunter shrugged. “Not if you don't mind being haunted.”

“Haunted?” Jace asked, looking a shade or two paler.

“Sometimes an echo will take an interest in you,” Hunter said. “Follow you around. Work mischief. Watch you sleep.”

Jace was trying to nod, as if the information were expected, but he didn't look very comfortable. Cole didn't feel at ease either, but he still managed to enjoy the sight of Jace getting rattled.

“They can't touch us or anything,” Jace said, as if confirming common knowledge.

“It depends,” Hunter said. “Not usually. There are plenty of exceptions.”

“Now you're just messing with us,” Dalton said hopefully.

Pausing on the path, Hunter closed his eyes, stretched out his arms, and took a deep breath. “I smell dead people.”

“Whatever,” Cole said, glancing around just in case. On one side of the path, a row of fruit trees rustled in the soft breeze. Were they moving a little too much? In the other direction, a couple sat on a stone bench staring at a pond. “You don't mean those two?”

Hunter opened his eyes and regarded the pair on the bench. “Normal people. But you're smart not to make assumptions here. At a shrine, the differences between a living person and an echo can be subtle.”

“They look like normal people?” Dalton asked.

“Most of the time we can't see echoes,” Hunter clarified. “Sometimes you might feel them. Not so much with your fingers. Your spine might tingle, or you might have the suspicion you're being watched. Pay attention to those feelings in Necronum.”

“Are you good at the shaping here, Aaron?” Jace asked, using the alias they had agreed to adopt for Hunter. They had decided Mira needed a codename as well. Today she was Sally.

“They call it weaving,” Hunter said. “Short for death weaving, or echo weaving. I'm not bad at it. The really talented weavers can summon echoes. They can see and talk to them when others can't. Some weavers can even travel to the realm of the dead. They call it the echolands.”

“How good of a death weaver are you?” Dalton asked.

Hunter shrugged. “I'm no expert, but I know some decent tricks.”

“Call an echo,” Jace challenged.

“No need here,” Hunter explained. “In fact, it would bother them. At a shrine, echoes can appear to anyone. They might be a little transparent. Or they might look as solid as we do.” He started walking again.

“What exactly should we do if we find an echo?” Cole asked. “We never really covered that.”

“Get info,” Hunter said. “We need to find Honor and Destiny.”

“We have the stars,” Jace reminded him. Mira's mother, Queen Harmony, could place stars in the sky to mark the location of her five daughters. She only did so in emergencies. Currently, Destiny and Honor both had stars in the sky, practically on top of each other.

“Sure, but we want details,” Hunter said. “We know which direction to go, but we don't know how far. And it would help if we could learn exactly what happened.”

“The echoes will just tell us?” Cole asked. “Isn't it risky if we let the wrong echo know who we're after?”

Hunter rolled his eyes. “Be smart about it. Don't start by asking exactly what you want to know. Haven't you been to confidence lounges? Feel it out. The echoes who come here do it voluntarily. They want to interact with the living. They may want you to do favors for them. See if you can make a deal.” His voice became hard. “But no binding oaths.”

“What does that mean?” Dalton asked.

“It's like making a formal contract,” Hunter said. “Echoes only have real influence over the living if you give them power. The easiest way to get yourself in trouble is by breaking a promise you made to them. Especially a formal one. They call it a bound oath.”

“But we can bargain?” Cole checked.

“If you keep it casual,” Hunter said. “Don't make any official vows. And take care how much you say. Echoes use information as currency. Most would happily trade what they learn from you with others.”

Hunter stopped walking as they reached the intersection of two paths. “Four directions,” he said.

“One of us will have to backtrack,” Cole observed.

“Not it,” Dalton said.

“Not it,” Cole added reflexively.

Hunter stared at Jace. “I don't care either way. Do you want to go back?”

“I'll go forward,” Jace said.

“We have a few hours,” Hunter said. “They'll make us clear out after sundown. My understanding is that most of the action at this shrine happens out here on the grounds, so just roam and see what you find. Try to relax, and use good judgment.”

“Try not to cry,” Jace told Dalton.

“Have fun,” Dalton replied with a smile. “I bet this will be your lucky day.”

Cole winced. As a Sky Raider, Jace had adopted negative superstitions about any wishes involving good luck. “He means die bravely,” Cole interjected.

“I know what he means,” Jace said coldly. “I make a joke and he tries to jinx me.”

Hunter rubbed his forehead, as if he had a headache coming on. “Jinxes? That's a crime now? Come on, guys, get it together.” He turned and started back the way they had come.

After a final glare at Dalton, Jace proceeded along the path.

Folding his arms, Cole watched Jace walk away. Dalton lingered. “Why do you always bug him?” Cole murmured.

“Jace started it,” Dalton said. “Go ask him why he bugs me.”

Cole sighed. “He's had a hard life. He grew up here as a slave.”

“And my life has been so easy,” Dalton replied, some heat in his tone. “I got taken here as a slave. Ripped from my home. Just like you. Every second we stay with Sally, we risk our lives just like Jace does.”

Cole thought about that. After venturing into a stranger's basement on Halloween, Dalton, Jenna, and a bunch of his friends had been taken here against their will. Cole had followed, trying to help, but got captured as well. He had met Jace and Mira after he was sold as a slave to the Sky Raiders. When the three of them escaped with Twitch, he found out that Mira was a princess and got involved helping her find her four exiled sisters.

Nothing since coming to the Outskirts had made Cole happier than finding Dalton. It had been such a relief to reunite not just with a face from home, but with his best friend. In a strange, dangerous world, Cole now had somebody he could talk to and really trust. But ever since finding Dalton, Cole had felt torn about whether his top priority should be helping Mira or finding the other kids who were taken. So far he had compromised by trying to accomplish both goals at the same time.