Sash travels with me to take Aven to Home. After baby girl is safely inside the caverns, Sash and I walk together across the meadow.
“I’m going to the Mount now,” I say. “Do you want to come with me?”
We both stop and face each other.
“I think this is something you need to do on your own,” she answers. “I’ll help find Tela in any way I can, but I think you need to ask the questions. You’re the one who’s connected to her being in the Barrens.”
“I kind of feel that way, too.”
“Don’t forget. Only the right questions will bring answers,” she reminds me.
“I know,” I say. “I just hope she’s alive.”
“We all do. I’ll let Larn know that you’ve gone to the Pool. Summon us as soon as you get back.”
“I will.”
As I turn away, she grabs my shoulder. After briefly hesitating, she reaches her arms around me and pulls me into an embrace.
“I’m so happy you’re alive,” she says in my ear.
“I’m really sorry about everything.”
She takes a step back from me. “I still need time, Chase. But I am relieved that you’re back.” She studies my face for a moment. “Everything about you has returned to normal except for two things.”
“What are they?” I ask.
“You have a scar on your shoulder,” she answers.
“A Murkovin stabbed me,” I tell her. “What’s the other?”
“Your hair is darker. The blue is back in it, but the rest is black now instead of dark brown.”
“It must be from with the wild sap,” I say, remembering that Tela said the same thing about my hair.
“It’s a reminder not to drink it again,” she says evenly.
“Believe me. I wasn’t planning on it.”
Ten minutes later, I reach the entrance to the mountain compound. Not bothering to stop and get gloves and a helmet from the rack by the gate, I jog straight up the tree-lined road to the base of the Mount. Leaving the forest of purple and blue behind me, I stop at the path that snakes up the side of the mountain to the Pool. I immediately sink to one knee and press a hand to the ground.
“Please give me the sign to visit the Reflecting Pool,” I whisper.
As I stand upright again, aqua light shimmers from my palms. I climb the mile-long path up the side of the Mount. When I reach the ledge in front of the entrance to the Pool, a middle-aged, stocky male Watcher is standing guard in front of the closed door. I hold out my hand to show him the sign.
“Do you know the procedure?” he asks.
“I do,” I answer. “I’ve been here before.”
He opens the granite slab for me. “No one will interrupt you while you’re inside.”
“Thank you,” I reply with a quick bow.
Before entering the tunnel, I hand him my spear. As I walk towards the blue light at the end of the corridor, the Watcher closes the door behind me. At the opening to the enormous cavern, I repeat the process I learned during my first visit to the Pool. I remove my boots, take off my clothes, and hang them on hooks embedded in the wall.
Inside the cavern, I walk across the firm, spongy stone of the circular walkway that surrounds the Pool and stop at the edge. The small trickle of water that spills down the walls and flows over the walkway tingles my feet. Above my head, the tiny golden Flits effortlessly glide through the candescent cyan vines that dangle from the domed ceiling. Light reflects all around me, creating a ballet of aqua and gold on the surface of the Pool.
After stepping over the edge of the walkway and into the Pool, I ease through the shallow water. I stop at the center and look down at the surface. The small waves from my motion gradually recede until the water is as smooth as a sheet of glass.
“Is Tela alive?” I ask.
While I stare down at the water, a blurred image ripples across the surface. As the scene slowly comes into focus, it reveals Tela alone in the Barrens. She’s sitting on top of a black dirt hill with a decrepit tree behind her. The strands of her hair that were once blue are pure white. Her arms are laced with black veins, and her eyes are fiery red. I let out a long, slow sigh, somewhat comforted by the fact that she’s alive.
“Where in the Barrens is she?” I ask.
As though a camera is zooming out, the view slowly widens. Miles and miles of stark hills with no recognizable landmarks around them come into view. But Jeni was right about one thing. Far in the distance behind Tela, the multi-colored cascade of the barrier to the Infinite Expanse tints the horizon. I carefully examine the image to look for any other clues about the location, but I can’t find any. She could be in any part of the wasteland that lines the Infinite Expanse.
“How can I find Tela?”
Several of the Flits dive down from the ceiling and fly past my face. Inches over the water, they weave around each other with glittering trails behind their paths. The reflections of the trails in the surface of the Pool erase the image from the water. As the Flits float back up to the vines overhead, the water remains blank. I carefully think about how I worded my last question. Maybe I’m not the one who can find her.
“Is there a way to find Tela?” I ask.
Tiny swells spread outward in the water, leaving a new scene of the Barrens in their wake. I’m not sure what I’m seeing at first or why the image is being shown to me. With her back to me, a girl no older than twelve is resting on her knees on top of a desolate hill. A braid of thick, black hair hangs down her back. It’s so long that the end touches the dirt behind
