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“I see.”
“Do you think they’ll come after us?” Evie asked. “How’re we going to protect ourselves?”
“Something’s coming from the other way,” Theta said, pointing into the dark distance, which was alive with the incandescent eyes of some rumbling monster. Instinctually, the Diviners moved closer to one another.
“If it comes to it, we can use our powers,” Sam said, reaching for Evie’s hand. She, in turn, reached for Henry’s.
“Memphis is in no shape for it,” Theta warned.
“It’s okay, Little Man. It’s okay,” Memphis said to an imaginary Isaiah.
The glow grew wider, more distinct. Headlights. Lots of them. A convoy of military trucks and, out front, a brown sedan. The Shadow Men had arrived.
Mr. Adams and Mr. Jefferson exited the car. Jefferson buttoned his gray suit jacket. “Time to go, chickadees. You have a date with destiny.”
The trucks rumbled over an arbitrary state line into the Utah desert. Memphis dreamed. Or at least he thought he did. He could no longer be sure what was dream and what was real. Sometimes he was in the back of a canvas-paneled truck with his friends. Sometimes he was alone, and there would be Isaiah, smiling that same smile, unchanged. Other times, though, the King of Crows would be sitting across from Memphis. Saying nothing. Just a smug expression that would’ve rankled Memphis if he didn’t feel quite so sick. The King of Crows held up an hourglass with all the sand in the bottom. Quickly, he flipped it over, and the sand began pouring in a slow stream into the empty glass bell. When Memphis stared at it, he saw that on each grain of sand was the image of a town. Memphis could hear screaming as the towns squeezed through the narrow strait and became smoke drifting down into a steadily growing pile of ash. In these moments, he thought he saw the squawking mouths of so many birds coming alive on the King’s coat. This made him uneasy. His body strained with the urge to fight. But just as quickly, the King of Crows would open his strange coat, and Memphis would be mesmerized by the horrors and delights within.
The truck carried the Diviners to an airfield. The thwacking whirr of an airplane’s propellers drowned out any chance of the Diviners speaking to one another, but who could speak anyway? Jake Marlowe walked across the landing strip flanked by a pair of generals.
“Welcome aboard, Diviners,” he said. “Let’s go make history.”
DEATH VALLEY
Jericho had never been on an airplane before. The roar of the engines was loud, but the view was spectacular.
“Everything is so small,” he said, gazing down at the twinkling lights of America below.
“Where are you taking us?” Sam demanded.
“Death Valley,” Marlowe responded.
“I think I played that club once,” Henry said, glaring at Marlowe. “No one tips.”
“What’s wrong with Memphis?” Marlowe asked.
In his seat, a shivering Memphis stared out the window, occasionally murmuring to Isaiah. Theta sat beside him, keeping watch. Evie could see the pale red glow of Theta’s palms as she kept them near Memphis to warm him.
“He’s sick. So we shouldn’t do this,” Evie said.
“What’s the matter with him?”
“Grief,” Evie said.
Marlowe hung his head for a moment. “The loss of Isaiah is unfortunate. But we’ll still be able to carry on without him. The serum and the modifications I’ve made to the Eye should see to that,” he said.
“You’re a real son-of-a-bitch,” Sam said.
“I’m not the one who killed Isaiah Campbell.”
“You’re part of the reason he’s dead,” Henry said.
“He’s not dead. He’s not. Just… lost…” Memphis murmured.
Evie glared at Marlowe. “I thought we were Public Enemy Number One. How will you explain our participation in this little eve
nt?”
“Once we’ve conducted the experiment and stabilized our connection to the land of the dead, you’ll be fully exonerated. We’ll change the story to suit. Why, there’ll be a ticker tape parade for our new heroes.”
