The mouse snarled in disgust. “My memory doesn’t go back far enough to settle upon the moment when the Architect allied himself with her,” T.T. said. “But it has been a particularly difficult period for the people of Paheli. Familiar landscapes have been tweaked and rearranged to near unrecognition. She toys with all of us, with this world. She’s made the city her pet.”

Ahmad was distracted for a moment by a group of boys playing a game. They roared and rumbled as they threw down what appeared to be animal knuckles and exchanged cards with sideshow attractions emblazoned on them. One tossed down a card bearing the infamous Sand Shark, another a fierce-looking man chewing off bites from a metal pole.

“Wow,” Winnie said. “They look terrifying.”

“Ah, yes,” T.T. said grimly. “They used to be one of the finest attractions in the district of Lailat. It was a place of eternal night and endless carnivals. But, in spite of all the fun that you could have there, it was still one of the poorest areas of Paheli. It was still disposable.”

Vijay Bhai whirled around. “What do you mean disposable?”

“What happened to it?” Ahmad asked tentatively.

T.T. looked away sadly, tugging at his whiskers.

“Another loss for the sake of the city’s survival.”

Ahmad hadn’t even realized how fast Vijay Bhai could move until this moment. He rushed forward, grasping T.T. by the shoulders. T.T. squeaked in alarm.

“Easy, easy, on the fur! And the bones! I’m a delicate creature, you know.”

“Please,” Vijay Bhai gritted out. “Tell me what happened to Lailat. That was my home district—as close to a place that belonged to me that this game would ever provide. Where is it now? What did this MasterMind do to Lailat?”

T.T. looked between their anxious faces.

“You know what?” he finally said. “I think it would be best to show you.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

T.T. LED THE KIDS and Vijay Bhai down a broad avenue. At first, it looked like all the others they had explored: beautiful shops and kiosks boasting silk scarves that shifted between patterns, or rocket-powered sneakers. But as they continued, it got narrower and narrower.

And that wasn’t the only change.

“Why is it getting so dark?” Winnie wondered out loud. “I mean, it’s already been dark this whole time.”

She was right. There was nothing left of the New York City afternoon they started out with.

“Oh, you haven’t seen the true dark yet,” T.T. announced ominously. “It surrounds Paheli constantly. Paheli was never a happy city, a proud city, but before it has had its bright moments of hope. It no longer feels that way. Wait just a moment.”

Then, as though T.T.’s words had prompted it, the entire sky fell, descending upon them in one abrupt fell swoop.

Winnie shrieked.