Isaac knew they could make a run for it. It’s not like either of their captors would risk killing them—at the very least Sadina was important to someone, somewhere for reasons unknown. Even now, he could probably push Timon and the Gentle Giant would very ungently tumble down the small mountain. But . . .

Not yet, Isaac told himself. Not yet.

Like a puppy dog, he followed his masters.

PART THREE

One Month Later

I’ve noticed something about myself. I’m still a human being, the bloody Flare be damned. Especially with memories coming back, all mixed up with the spurts of madness. I don’t feel so good, that’s for sure. But I miss my mom, my dad, my sister. I barely remember them, but they’re creeping their way back into my thoughts and heart. And I miss them. I don’t like the prospect of going crazy, or losing what I’ve just started to gain. And this helps me realize that I’m a human being even as I begin to lose my humanity.

There’s a lesson in that somewhere. I’ll figure it out later.

—The Book of Newt

CHAPTER TEN

The River

She woke up before everyone else, dawn just kissing the eastern sky.

A lifetime had passed since they first stepped from that damn boat onto the sandy beaches of the old world. She didn’t know the literal number of days, probably three or four weeks—Miyoko was keeping a calendar but Jackie had told her to stop with the constant updates. She didn’t want to think about it. Regardless, it felt like years. A lifetime.

A lifetime of walking.

North through the city, north along the coast of the ocean and its countless, abandoned, lifeless seaside villages. North and north and north. Sometimes east and then north and then east again, eventually leaving the coastline in the distance. No one knew why this route had been set or where they were going exactly. Only one thing guided them: Clues. Signs. Messages. Staying on the trail. Although none of her friends would dare say it out loud, it almost seemed too easy. But Isaac and Sadina were somewhere ahead of them, never more than a couple days’ worth, and both of them were alive and well by the looks of it. Jackie and the others just couldn’t quite catch up to them. Always a step behind. A good number of steps, actually.

“Hey, you,” someone whispered.

Jackie just about jumped out of her clothes but hid it well. She rolled over to see Dominic sitting on the ground not three feet from her, next to the previous night’s campfire, its smoldering, wispy remains like gray ghosts leaking toward the sky.

“What’re you doing up so early?” she asked. Dominic was notorious for having to be dragged out of his sleeping bag each morning.