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Back The Alcazar Save as PDF
Chapters (51)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Map
  4. Part One
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. Part Two
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. Part Three
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. Part Four
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. Part Five
  33. 25
  34. 26
  35. 27
  36. 28
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. Part Six
  41. 32
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. Acknowledgments
  48. About the Author
  49. Books by Amy Ewing
  50. Back Ad
  51. About the Publisher

“Leela Starcatcher,” she said. “What a marvel you are.”

24

WHEN SHE AT LAST CRAWLED BENEATH HER COVERS IN the dormitory that night, Leela had a dream.

She was walking in the Night Gardens, past bushes of solemn gray roses and beneath the boughs of nebula trees, their black leaves heavy with clouds. A will-o-the-wisp floated in front of her and hung there, its eerie blue light pulsing like a heartbeat.

“Hello, Leela,” it said, though it had no mouth and the words seemed to come from inside her, from the very depths of her heart. And though she knew it was strange, that will-o-the-wisps did not speak, she was not afraid.

“Hello,” she replied. “What am I doing here?”

“Remembering,” the will-o-the-wisp replied. “This is where it all began.”

Leela saw the dais then, and the ghost of the crowds that had gathered on the day that Sera was sacrificed. Sera herself was in full color, almost more vivid than she had been in reality, her hair starkly blue, the bracelets at her wrist vibrant purple and green and orange. Leela could sense the moonstone pulsing beneath her robe.

“I was lost for so long in the night, searching, searching,” the will-o-the-wisp said. “I could not find my children and I mourned for them. Oh, how I mourned.”

Though none of this actually made sense to Leela, her dream mind seemed to understand it.

“I am sorry,” she said. “That must have been so hard for you.”

“But a bond of love and an act of pure courage lit up my sky like a meteorite,” the will-o-the-wisp said. “Where once there was only blackness, I again saw stars. The sun rose at last and the moon waxed and waned and I heard the bubbling of the Estuary and the singing of laurel doves and I knew I could find my way home again.”

“Home.” Leela nodded in agreement. “How sad for you to have lost yours for so long.” Then she frowned. “Where did you come from?”

She had never known a will-o-the-wisp to have a home or a family, much less children.

“From nowhere and from everywhere,” the will-o-the-wisp replied. “But from love most of all. I come from within you, and within Sera, and each and every Cerulean heart in this City. My love is made tangible in a form you know so very well.”

The star pendant rose up in Leela’s mind, and suddenly she was wearing the necklace she had given Sera, as she never had in true life. She gripped the dream stone in her hand and felt an overwhelming connection to her best friend, as if Sera’s heart was contained within it.

“Do you know where Sera is?” she asked.

“Yes,” the wisp replied. “And she is in grave danger. There are forces at work on the planet that wish to clutch her in their claws and never let her go. You must help her, Leela. You must help her show them.”