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"I can tell you don't like talking about it," Sarah says. "But would you tell me what happened to your friends? How did they die?"
Weariness drops over me like a lead blanket, and I no longer have the energy to resist whatever she wants. "I'd cobbledtogether a kind of army, a small one. Then I got the great idea that we should storm the castle and seize control of it. Didn't work out that way. All my friends died."
Did my voice hitch the slightest bit? No, it couldn't have.
"What castle?" Sarah asks, sounding totally confused.
"The one Sefton Stainthorpe built for himself. He's not there anymore, and neither is his Echo, the dweeb who calls himself Will."
"I haven't heard about the castle or someone called Will. But then, I think our leaders have kept a few secrets—to protect us, I'm sure."
"Leaders?" I study her face, trying to gauge how much she might actually know. Is the pretty voyeur as clueless as she seems? I have trouble believing it's all an act. "I'm guessing this camp is run by your friends Dax and Grant."
"Allison and Erin too. But this isn't a dictatorship."
"Then you guys have one up on the Echo creatures. Most of them did whatever their master told them to do." I try to make myself pull my hands away from hers, but I still can't do it. "Not all the creatures are evil. My friends were loyal and brave, but I talked them into breaching the castle and…they all died. Because of me. I didn't realize the bad creatures had found a secret entrance that let them walk right into the castle. My friends and I had to climb up a sheer cliff. We were exhausted by the time we reached the top. I should've known…"
"What? That there was a hidden entrance?" She clasps my hands more firmly while gazing straight into my eyes. "It's not your fault your friends died. I'm sorry that happened. But you shouldn't blame yourself."
"Don't you understand? I taught them to fight. I convinced them they could beat the other creatures, and that together we had a chance at seizing the castle." I yank my hands away from hers and cover my eyes with my palms, then drop them. "Therewas nothing in the castle. Just empty rooms, and one stone chair. Sefton's throne, apparently. I got my friends killed for nothing."
Why have I told her so much? Maybe because it doesn't matter. Everyone I ever cared about died today. Being alone is nothing new to me, but getting close to other people… I'd never done that before. Never. Then I found a home with creatures created by magic, who live in another world.
But I'm back on earth, and I have no fucking idea how to deal with other human beings.
"Were you in the Capital City?" Sarah asks. "Or did you land somewhere else in the Echo?"
"I didn't reach the Capital City until a few weeks ago. I traveled through the entire Echo world and picked up friends along the way."
"You've seen the whole Echo? Is it a flat plane, or an actual world? Like Earth, I mean. Grant and Erin thought it might be a planet in an alternate universe."
I study her for a moment, trying to decide if she really doesn't know the answer to that question. "Yeah, it's a planet."
Sarah leaps to her feet. "I need to tell Dax and Grant about this. Please stay here, I'll be right back."
The shape of the Echo never seemed that exciting to me, but Sarah clearly thinks it's big news. I guess her friends haven't explored much of the other world Sefton Stainthorpe had created.
Bells jingle. The tent flap flutters.
I look in that direction and see a pale face gazing at me through the partly open flap. The girl can't be more than fifteen or sixteen, I'd guess.
She glances over her shoulder furtively, then tiptoes into the tent. "You must be the guy who invaded our camp. Where did you come from? Are you going to stay? I've never seen anyonewho looks like you, but that's probably because your clothes are falling off and your hair is dirty."
"Are you related to Sarah? She's too inquisitive for her own good too. Kids like you should stay away from beasts like me."
Her eyes widen. "Are you an Echo creature? Don't look like the ones I've met."
She tiptoes closer to me.
"Beat it, kid." I bare my teeth and clack them together, growling softly. "Or I'll gnaw on your flesh."
The girl stares at me blankly for a moment, then starts laughing. "You're so weird."
"What's your name, kid?" Not that I care. I'm bored, which is the only reason I'm talking to an annoying child.
"I'm Willow. Who are you?"
"Gabriel."
