“I could see the barrier to the Infinite Expanse behind her,” I answer. “I couldn’t see the sky to see the direction of the light from the clouds. It didn’t show me that. If it had, we’d at least know which side of the Expanse she’s near. Maybe that means the Pool doesn’t know exactly where she is, or maybe she’s on the move. Then I asked if there’s a way to find her. That’s why I summoned you both to meet me here at Home. The Pool showed me Maya.”
“Maya?” Larn asks, sounding mildly confused.
“It makes sense,” Sash says. “She might be able to feel Tela in the Barrens.”
“Do you have any idea from how far away she can feel things?” I ask.
“We’ll have to ask her,” she answers. “I don’t know that she’s ever felt someone farther away than the Mount.”
“That’s less than eighty miles from here. Even if we know that Tela’s near the Expanse, it will take forever to stop every eighty miles.”
“Every one hundred and sixty miles,” Sash says flatly.
“What?” I ask.
“Eighty miles in each direction. That means we stop every one hundred and sixty miles.”
“Whatever,” I say. “It will still take forever.”
“We should talk to her first,” Sash says. “Then we can make a plan. The Pool showed her to you for a reason.”
Sash disappears inside the caverns of Home for a few minutes and then returns with Maya and Marc. Once Maya is in front of us, she folds her hands in front of her and sheepishly lowers her eyes to the ground.
“Did I do something wrong?” she asks.
“Quite the opposite,” Sash tells her. “We hope you can help us. Did you hear what happened to Chase and Tela?”
“I know they were missing,” Maya answers, raising her eyes to Sash. “Aven was very upset.”
“Tela is still alive in the Barrens,” I say. “When I asked the Reflecting Pool how to find her, it showed me you.”
“I don’t know I can help.”
“Maybe you can sense where she is,” I explain. “Do you know from how far away you can feel someone?”
“I’ve only ever felt someone as far as the Mount.”
“Do you know the direction it comes from when it happens?” I ask.
“Kind of,” she answers. “I end up turning my face to where it is without really thinking about it. And the stronger something is in the person, like real bad pain, the more I feel it.”
“Why don’t we try something,” Sash says. “If Marc approves, let’s all go to the other side of the river. We’ll conduct an experiment.”
“By all means,” Marc replies.
After we’re across the bridge, Sash suggests a simple test using herself as a guinea pig. She has Maya and me sit beside each other on the gravelly dirt by the side of the road. Keeping watch on the Barrens, Marc and Larn stand close behind us. Not wanting Maya to see what direction she’s planning to go in, Sash asks her to shut her eyes. She also tells us not to worry about anything Maya might feel. Sash then speeds away down the side of the river to the south.
Once Sash is well out of sight, I tell Maya that she can open her eyes. Staring at the rapids leaping from the river, she sits perfectly still with both of her palms resting on the dirt. As I study her face, I realize she’s no longer the frail little girl she was the first time we met. Her features may still be delicate—a thin, straight nose, almond-shaped eyes, and high cheekbones in a narrow face—but at roughly the age of twelve, she’s starting to mature into a teenager.
After a few minutes pass, Maya winces and clenches her teeth. Her eyes drift away from the rapids and down the side of the river.
“Ouch!” she exclaims. “Sash feels a lot of pain. Straight ahead.”
“You know for sure it was Sash?” I ask.
“I sure do,” she answers. “I know what she feels like from visiting the clouds with her. That’s how I knew you were hurt at the blockade in the road. I could tell it was you because I’d felt you when we visited the clouds.”
“Do you know what Tela feels like?”
“Of course,” she nods. “She was already at Home when I was a baby. She didn’t leave until her Apprenticeship ended. I was around her a lot.”
“That makes sense,” I say, remembering the bond that seems to link all the children who were at Home together around that time.
“But when the Watcher was killed, he was much older than I am, so I didn’t know him well. I felt his pain but wasn’t sure who it was.” She suddenly jerks her face to the southeast and squints in that direction. “Sash feels pain again, but she’s also angry. She’s very mad.”
“I can’t imagine why,” I say. “I’ll ask her about it later. You’re sure it was Sash that you felt?”
“Absolutely,” she confidently replies.
“That’s great, Maya. Keep it up.”
Obeying Sash’s instructions, we wait for something else to appear on Maya’s telepathic radar. After a few more minutes tick away, Maya’s face aims due south again. Shivering slightly, she shakes her head.
“More pain,” she murmurs. “But it’s not as strong as before.”
“What could she possibly be doing?” I rhetorically ask out loud.
“I don’t know,” Maya says, “but whatever it is, it hurts her.”
We sit quietly for another few minutes until Maya closes her eyes. “I think I feel . . . I’m not sure. Something, but I don’t know exactly what it is or where.”
“Try to concentrate,” I say.
She presses her hands more firmly against the ground. A few moments later, she relaxes and opens her eyes.
“I don’t know. There was something, but I’m not sure what. I’m not even sure it was Sash.”
“That’s alright,” I say. “What you’ve done so far is incredible. When she gets back, we’ll know how far away she was.”
“What is this all about?” Maya asks.
“I asked the Pool if there’s a way to find Tela,”
