The arches stood on the north side of the plaza. Arch A was filled with light that pulsed each time someone passed underneath it. Arch B was made of twisted black vines that crawled between the feet of the older godlings who’d signed up for peacekeeper duty. They would help protect Azur in case the celestials failed in our neighborhood. Arch C—the provisional assignment gate—was the least active. A group of elokos chattered nonstop as they passed through a ring of flames.

“Those guys again.” Eli slapped his forehead. “They better not have a taste for human flesh.” He was still holding a grudge after another group of elokos had tried to eat us in Daniel Boone National Forest this past summer.

Miss Ida and Miss Lucille led Sidda and the darkbringer children to Arch A, but the twins stopped short of going inside. This was by far the busiest gate, as godlings from our neighborhood stepped through the yellow light. Tisha, Naomi, Maurice, August, RayShawn, Winston, Candace, Tay. All the godlings from Jackson Middle.

Mama stared at the fluffy clouds beneath her feet. “I think I’m going to be sick—that is if I don’t fall to my death first.”

Pam scooped up a sample of a cloud in a beaker. “I can’t wait to get this under my microscope.”

“We’ll set up a full lab at the school,” Dee said, almost squealing with excitement. “Think of the scientific discoveries just waiting to be made.”

“Mama, would it be okay if we go to the library?” I asked. “Frankie’s there.”

“Yes, but meet us at the school at lunchtime,” Mama said. “We need to make sure that everyone’s accounted for.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said as we set off.

Eleni, Zeran, Eli, and I pushed our way through the crowd of godlings taking in Azur for the first time. They were trying the ice cream that tastes like anything your heart desires, the evaporating cotton candy, the pickled donuts (which weren’t as bad as they sounded), and other delicacies. The bustling scene was so different from our neighborhood, which had been a ghost town when we left, but it gave me hope. Maybe things would be okay. Maybe the Lord of Shadows and his minions would make a mistake.

We asked for directions to the library and started on our way, but not before getting Zeran an ice cream cone. “This tastes exactly like my mother’s kimban pie,” he said, loudly smacking his lips.

“What is kimban?” Eli asked, curious.

“It’s a fruit,” Zeran said. “It’s sour and sweet at the same time . . . like Lemonheads.”

“I wouldn’t mind some Lemonheads right now,” Eli said.