“Let’s change the subject,” I said, deeply uncomfortable. I’d honestly forgotten Kenzie was tuned in. “I only mentioned that because I was trying to give Tattletale good information. That region was weirdly proximate to fear, despite things seeming to have a pattern. It was also our last clear signal where we got a good view of where the connections were going when we tried looking for or scanning for Contessa. Trying to get to her data banks or… whatever we can get on her, so we can communicate.”

I could hear Tattletale sigh. “Was it just those two locations? Where are you now?”

I pointed the way. “There were others. We zig-zagged. From fear to grief. Grief to something else, I don’t know what. Moldy sandwiches for me and Kenzie, a certain magazine for Precipice, uh—”

“Move on,” Tattletale said. “Next?”

I pointed. “Revulsion or loathing, pretty sure. Then… losing control emotionally, or being overwhelmed, maybe that was two sections and we didn’t notice a clear divide. Then anger, then irritation. We just left… I think it was obnoxious things. I feel like we’re out in the sticks, so to speak, we’re getting less and less relevant stuff, and no responses when we try to spark a connection to Contessa.”

Tattletale sighed. “You’re going to make me use my power, aren’t you?

“What’s your instinct, no powers?”

“My instinct is to think back to the second entity. Scion’s partner. Alternately called Gaea or Eden, depending on who you ask. We raided the Cauldron base during Gold Morning, hoping to do something very similar to what you’re doing now, hoping to get answers, and trying to deal with some ongoing obstacles. For us, it was the person controlling the portals who was out of action. Anyway, before we got to Gaea–Eden, there was an area with a ton of Cauldron’s vials. The chemicals they were handing out to give people powers and establish a power base that wasn’t connected to Scion.”

“Right,” I said. “And what does that have to do with this?”

“Each vial was numbered, I was watching through cameras, I got some glimpses, and my power told me then that the numbers on each individual canister corresponded to coordinates. Coordinates like the ones you’d find on a map.”

“And… that lines up with what we’ve got here? You could use your power to draw up a map?”

“I have no fricking idea, Dallon. My power isn’t that strong, and I strongly doubt what I saw there correlates to what you saw here. I’m just thinking out loud, and drawing connections.”

I looked around. In the distance, a caravan of trucks were driving, headlights on, across a crystal plain. They kicked up moisture and dust that had fallen when reality had cracked.

“Which direction was she?” Tattletale asked. “Your best guess?”

I extended my arm, pointing.

“Your second best guess?”