that’s your cue to go, Miss I,” I said, putting my hands on Iris’s shoulders and gently pushing her back toward school. “You’ll miss the bus.”
“Nobody likes to get right to the heart of things.” Iris moved out of my reach. “But I can take a hint. Call me.”
“If I can,” I said. “Later!”
“She’s . . . forthright,” said Caleb as Iris headed back toward school.
“You think?” I shook my head and walked over to the tree. Under its limbs, speckles of sunlight ran over the patches of grass at its roots and decorated the gray bark with bright spots of brown. I ran my hand over the trunk, bumpy as a dragon’s scales.
“You hang out at this tree a lot, don’t you?” Caleb said.
“How’d you know?” I leaned against the tree. It didn’t mind the hardness of my brace. “I used to climb it every day when I was a kid.”
“Because this is a lightning tree.” He bent down to pick up a fallen leaf. “I’ve never seen one before, but my mother told me stories.”
“A what?” I looked up at the tree.
“A lightning tree. There are only a few of them in the world.” He held the leaf up before his eyes, gazing on it almost reverently. “Its shadow form is lightning.”
I moved away from the tree, uneasy. “The tree is made of lightning?”
“Not in this world. Callers think lightning trees are portals to violent thunderstorms in Othersphere. So their leaves, branches, and roots all have shadows made of lightning. It’s there just beyond the veil, crackling and humming.” He looked around. “Watch this.” He broke off a small piece of the fallen leaf, hummed low, then flicked it away. As it fell to the ground, the fragment flared bright as a small sun. The air crackled. My skin prickled as heat from it passed over me. Then it vanished.
Caleb smiled at my astonishment. “In the hands of a caller, it’s a tiny lightning bolt.”
“Wow,” I said, taking in the tree. Its branches zigzagged up toward the sky, waving their leaves in the wind. “This is the coolest tree in the world.”
Caleb squatted down and picked up a few more fallen twigs and dried leaves. “It makes sense that you’d be drawn here. As otherkin, you picked up on it at some level. This is the closest thing to a faery mound you’ll find for hundreds of miles. Oh, of course!” He turned to me, calculations flashing behind his eyes.
“Of course what?”
“This is how the Tribunal found you. The lightning tree.” At my confused look, he stuffed the tree-bits in his pocket and walked over to me. “The Tribunal and the more experienced callers try to keep track of all the places with connections to Othersphere—a sort of map of shadow. The Tribunal spotted the lightning tree and kept a watch on it. They knew otherkin in the area would be drawn to it, and they were hoping to capture someone. That must be how they found you.”
So that’s how Lazar tracked me, how he knew to watch for me in the park the day before. “I’ve lived in this neighborhood all my life,” I said. “Do you think they’ve been keeping an eye on me all that time?”
“Depends on when they found the tree,” he said. “But it’s possible. They’re very patient. Given how deeply the shadow was buried in you, they wouldn’t have been able to know for sure. So they waited to see if anything would ever manifest. And it did.”
I got a chill, thinking about the terrible patience required to wait and observe for so long. “They might still be watching.”
Caleb got very still, then tilted his head up to look into the branches of the tree. “You’re right. I see it.” He grabbed the tree’s trunk and hoisted himself up into the branches.
“What . . . ?” I craned my neck, watching him climb up and around with grace. He paused in front of a knothole, then stuck his hand into it and pulled out a small device.
“Catch.”
I stuck my hands out and caught it. In my palms lay a small box with what looked like a round
“Nobody likes to get right to the heart of things.” Iris moved out of my reach. “But I can take a hint. Call me.”
“If I can,” I said. “Later!”
“She’s . . . forthright,” said Caleb as Iris headed back toward school.
“You think?” I shook my head and walked over to the tree. Under its limbs, speckles of sunlight ran over the patches of grass at its roots and decorated the gray bark with bright spots of brown. I ran my hand over the trunk, bumpy as a dragon’s scales.
“You hang out at this tree a lot, don’t you?” Caleb said.
“How’d you know?” I leaned against the tree. It didn’t mind the hardness of my brace. “I used to climb it every day when I was a kid.”
“Because this is a lightning tree.” He bent down to pick up a fallen leaf. “I’ve never seen one before, but my mother told me stories.”
“A what?” I looked up at the tree.
“A lightning tree. There are only a few of them in the world.” He held the leaf up before his eyes, gazing on it almost reverently. “Its shadow form is lightning.”
I moved away from the tree, uneasy. “The tree is made of lightning?”
“Not in this world. Callers think lightning trees are portals to violent thunderstorms in Othersphere. So their leaves, branches, and roots all have shadows made of lightning. It’s there just beyond the veil, crackling and humming.” He looked around. “Watch this.” He broke off a small piece of the fallen leaf, hummed low, then flicked it away. As it fell to the ground, the fragment flared bright as a small sun. The air crackled. My skin prickled as heat from it passed over me. Then it vanished.
Caleb smiled at my astonishment. “In the hands of a caller, it’s a tiny lightning bolt.”
“Wow,” I said, taking in the tree. Its branches zigzagged up toward the sky, waving their leaves in the wind. “This is the coolest tree in the world.”
Caleb squatted down and picked up a few more fallen twigs and dried leaves. “It makes sense that you’d be drawn here. As otherkin, you picked up on it at some level. This is the closest thing to a faery mound you’ll find for hundreds of miles. Oh, of course!” He turned to me, calculations flashing behind his eyes.
“Of course what?”
“This is how the Tribunal found you. The lightning tree.” At my confused look, he stuffed the tree-bits in his pocket and walked over to me. “The Tribunal and the more experienced callers try to keep track of all the places with connections to Othersphere—a sort of map of shadow. The Tribunal spotted the lightning tree and kept a watch on it. They knew otherkin in the area would be drawn to it, and they were hoping to capture someone. That must be how they found you.”
So that’s how Lazar tracked me, how he knew to watch for me in the park the day before. “I’ve lived in this neighborhood all my life,” I said. “Do you think they’ve been keeping an eye on me all that time?”
“Depends on when they found the tree,” he said. “But it’s possible. They’re very patient. Given how deeply the shadow was buried in you, they wouldn’t have been able to know for sure. So they waited to see if anything would ever manifest. And it did.”
I got a chill, thinking about the terrible patience required to wait and observe for so long. “They might still be watching.”
Caleb got very still, then tilted his head up to look into the branches of the tree. “You’re right. I see it.” He grabbed the tree’s trunk and hoisted himself up into the branches.
“What . . . ?” I craned my neck, watching him climb up and around with grace. He paused in front of a knothole, then stuck his hand into it and pulled out a small device.
“Catch.”
I stuck my hands out and caught it. In my palms lay a small box with what looked like a round
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