CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Nightfall wasn't a place. It was a person.

"Are you sure it's Nightfall?"

"Definitely. The Neverseen used the word liala when they kidnapped our parents. I remember recognizing it."

"What did they say, exactly?"

"The woman—Lady Gisela—said, 'Take them to liala.'"

A sinking feeling was growing in Sophie's stomach. She put a hand to her abdomen and kneaded the knot of emotions under her ribs.

"Lady Gisela was telling the Neverseen to take our parents to . . . you."

"But that doesn't make sense. How would they know where I was?"

Sophie frowned. "Maybe—maybe they meant the door. The one that has 'The star only rises at Nightfall' written on it." The confusion was threatening to overwhelm her. "I need to know what's behind that door!" She ground her fist into her palm.

"Take a chill pill, Sophie."

Silveny rubbed her velvety nose against Sophie's face, and the knot of emotions in her stomach loosened. She always felt calmer when the alicorn was around. Her coat smelled of rain and chocolate and—

"Swizzlespice?"

Sophie spotted a barrel full of the stuff at the end of the canal. It was overturned and splintered down the middle.

"Silveny!"

The alicorn at least had the integrity to look a little guilty.

Sophie was about to scold her when she heard a shout from far away.

"Not another one," she groaned. Silveny, let's get ready to—

She stopped short in the middle of her transmission. Because the shout wasn't in her direction. The elf hadn't even noticed her.

The Jewel of the Pacific was on fire.

Amy took one breath of the sticky, sweet smell of the white flames and her eyes went wide.

"The fires . . . the San Diego fires. I was there. I lived there—" She coughed as the wind blew ash into their faces.

People were stumbling out of apartment buildings, still in their pajamas and slippers. A man with a blond goatee ran to the edge of the force field and put his hands against the smooth surface.

"What are you doing?" Sophie asked him.

"Getting water for—hey! You're Sophie Foster!"

"Never mind that. Can I help?"

"Yeah. Get in line." He pointed at the people of Atlantis, who were already lining up with buckets.

"Wow. You're so . . . organized."

The man shrugged. He grabbed a fistful of the force field and twisted until it ripped. A steady stream of water began to pour into his bucket.

Psionipathy was cool.

"We're well-trained. This happens almost every night."

"What?" And the Black Swan told me none of this?

"Yep. Every night." He tossed the bucket to Sophie, who handed it to the next person in line. "Atlantis is an ideal city for attacks. It's isolated and hard to get help. The defenses are poor, as you can obviously see. And very few civilians live here twenty-four-seven, so it takes a while to put out a fire. Hydrokinetics aren't allowed in the city either, after what happened with that girl three years ago."

A cheer went up from the small crowd. The last sparks had been put out, and now black smoke was billowing from the Jewel's wooden arch.

"See? We've got this under control, Sophie. Take your flying unicorn and go home, have a nice life." The man didn't sound sad, or angry. He just sounded tired.

"Are you sure?"

"One of the Councillors will be here any minute. And if I'm not mistaken, you're not supposed to be here."

"Yeah, I'm not." She called for the alicorns—Amy was already riding Greyfell—and climbed onto Silveny's back. They were about to take off when Sophie remembered—

"Wait."

"Yes, Sophie?"

"Have you seen Magnate Leto lately? I heard he was taking some time off from his duties as Foxfire principal."

The man frowned. "We've never had a Magnate Leto. Dame Cadence is the principal of Foxfire."

"Oh, okay. That's all I needed to know. Let's fly!"

Silveny took to the air and teleported away, leaving Atlantis behind.

They arrived in the middle of an empty street in the Forbidden Cities. A light rain was falling, creating dozens of tiny rainbows in the sunlight. It took Sophie to remember that Eternalia and Atlantis were on the other side of the globe, so nighttime there was daytime here.

Amy walked up to the front steps of a Tudor-style house.

"This is my house," she said. "You brought me home after all."

Sophie nodded. "Go inside."

Amy tried the doorknob. Surprisingly, it was unlocked. They went inside.

"Hey!" someone shouted. A tall human woman in heels was holding a clipboard and staring down at them.

"No kids allowed!"

"I live here!" Amy protested.

"Yeah, right. No one's lived here for a month. The sign outside clearly says this is an open house."

Suddenly, Sophie realized what was happening. Her parents had been missing for weeks. The police probably thought they were dead. And now . . . the house was on sale.

"A family used to live here," she said. "Two parents and a daughter. What—"

"Get out!" The realtor shooed them out the open door.

"But what happened to Roxie?" pleaded Amy.

"And Marty?" added Sophie.

"The dog and cat? They've been sent to the shelter. Now if you'll excuse me, I have customers to attend to." She slammed the door in their faces.

"But—" Amy's shoulders slumped.

"Give it up, Nat. She's not going to let us in."

"Lia," she corrected.

"Do you want me to call you that from now on?"

Lia nodded. Then she sighed.

"I . . . I don't have a home anymore."

"That's not true. You have the Lost Cities. And you have me."

"I suppose so." She looked up into the rainy sky. "Everything seems so boring here now. So sad and gray compared to the Lost Cities."

Sophie smiled. That was exactly what she had wanted Lia to say.

She called for Silveny and Greyfell, who had hidden behind a hedge when the realtor stepped into view. Lia clambered onto Greyfell's back without needing a boost from Sophie.

"Come on, Sophie. Let's go back to Perspeculum."

A/N: Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please leave a review! Thanks! :)