The rest of the meeting wasn't as interesting to Zoë. She didn't choose to share—she had once, at Melody's insistence, and while she had gotten something from it, the real benefit came from being there.

At first, Zoë's disdain wasn't just for the procedure. She felt the whole process was a waste of time. What good would come of diving in even deeper to the terror and stress she was feeling? She was trying to get away from it, not barrel into it head-on. Still, as she attended more meetings—and with not much else to do in the camp—Zoë realized just how much she needed the group, maybe even more than Melody.

Finally, Jackie closed the group with a final update of news.

"The last experiment we ran was a bust," she reported in a subdued voice.

"You mean—" started Ryan.

"Josh and Nikki tried to reverse a small section of the town and restore electricity," said Jackie, nodding slightly. "Didn't do a damn thing except make Nikki's nose bleed. Girl's gotta pace herself."

"Knowledge magic," murmured someone else in the circle reverently.

Zoë rolled her eyes. Yeah, it was incredibly rare—even more than her Creation affinity—but it didn't mean Nikki Parsons was someone to be worshipped. She was still just one of them, not even one of the true awakened. Ordinary.

"Well, that's it then," said Ryan, brushing dust off his jeans. "Thanks for coming, everybody. I'll stick around for a bit if you want to talk in private. Otherwise, I'll see you… Thursday."

"Gotta add a calendar to that damn clock," added Jackie.

Wouldn't be a bad idea… I wonder who's maintaining it, anyway? It's not really a secret as far as I know. Might as well try to find out. "Who's actually running it?" she asked aloud.

Jackie frowned. She glanced at Ryan… who was equally puzzled. "Thought you knew."

"Fuck me, I figured you were behind it," said Ryan. "I don't run shit around here."

"You run the group," said Melody sweetly. "That's really important."

Ryan looked taken aback. "I mean… yeah, sure, I do that. But not stuff like the clock."

"Well, I got a deputy to track down," said Jackie.

She started out, and the group took it as their cue to break. Zoë and Melody left quickly, Melody eagerly clutching the package she'd received. They headed out into the camp, in the vague direction of food or their own tent, Zoë wasn't quite sure which.

"Ooh, this could be something really good," she whispered, as if she might wake it up. "I bet this has our Christmas presents."

"Did your parents really get me a Christmas present?" asked Zoë, embarrassed. "I thought they hated me."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Melody looked honestly offended. "My parents loved you!"

"I don't know a thing about your culture, I barely speak a word of Spanish, and I'm a… let's call it a lapsed Christian?" Zoë shrugged. "I'm like your parents worst nightmare. I can't even have kids."

"Hush," scolded Melody. "You just read the signals wrong. It happens. They loved you."

Nah, they seemed pretty hostile. I don't think I'm getting invited back for Thanksgiving next year. Still, Zoë loved how optimistic Melody was. It was her favorite part about the girl, if she had to pick a favorite. Melody never gave up, never quit, never let things get her down for too long. She was unstoppable.

She was also incredibly hard to pin down, sometimes. When Melody was on, she was really on. Whether it was being excited, scared, horny, whatever, Melody was from zero to a hundred in an instant, and would turn on a dime heedless of anything around her. Case in point…

Melody had stopped. Her eyes bulged out. She nearly dropped the package, which only a moment before had been the most precious thing in the world. "Zoë…"

"What?"

"That's…" She opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to speak.

"Words, Mel," said Zoë. "Speak the words."

"Discuple… Creo que es Héctor Peraza," she murmured, and suddenly, her accent was back in full. Another thing she switches on a dime. You'd never know she was raised in Venezuela until she starts speaking Spanish.

Zoë squinted at the man she assumed Melody was looking at. "...That guy in the grey coat?"

"No, behind him. Between the tents." Melody started to lift her hand, but Zoë blocked it.

"If it's really Hector, don't draw his attention," she hissed. "He's supposed to be missing!"

"What do we do?"

Zoë shook her head. "What do you mean, what do we do? Nothing!"

"But—"

"You want to get involved with whatever's happening in Rallsburg?" Zoë started to turn away. "Let's go, Mel."

"No."

"...Huh?"

Melody shook her head fiercely. Her long black hair whipped around wildly, nearly catching Zoë in the face. "If Hector's here, then something's going on. I want to know what. Maybe… maybe there's another way to magic."

"It's impossible," said Zoë patiently.

"This is the first thing to really happen since the Ritual!" said Melody. "He's going to get away. Come on!"

Without another word, Melody took off. Zoë didn't hesitate—she tore after her girlfriend. They were sprinting through the grass, heedless of the alarmed looks from passersby. To Zoë's relief, though, Melody was famous enough in the camp now that this was pretty much accepted behavior. Most of the turned heads in their wake were already disinterested.

Good thing too. If that's really Hector, and we spook him, he's one of the true awakened. He could take us down without breaking a sweat.

Melody rounded the corner behind the tent, and Zoë just barely caught up to her. I'm taller and she's carrying that package. I should be faster. "Mel, slow down!"

"He's getting away!" she shot back.

They were headed out of the camp, straight north. It was already obvious to Zoë where this would lead, but Melody wouldn't relent. She pressed on, package in hand, and Zoë stayed hot on her heels. Together, they crashed into the forest, and suddenly, Zoë realized—if we're running this fast, and Mel's still chasing Hector, he's going even faster.

So what's he running from?

"Mel, this could be seriously dangerous!" she cried out.

Finally, Zoë seemed to have gotten through to her. Melody slowed, then came to a stop. She turned to face Zoë, panting, hair wildly scattered across her face. Zoë had to brush her own, shorter brown hair out of her green eyes, just to see the girl clearly.

"What?"

"Hector's running from something, and I'm pretty sure it isn't us," said Zoë between heated breaths. They were way out in the forest now, far from the heated areas which kept the camp relatively comfortable in the deep winter. She started to cast a spell to warm them up again… only to be stopped, as another spell enveloped them.

It's… a warmth spell too?

"What are you doing out here?" asked a cold voice, seemingly from nowhere.

Zoë froze. The voice wasn't one she recognized, but it was so harsh, so stark and direct, with the hint of an accent… they both knew immediately who it must be.

"Nothing," said Zoë very carefully. "We were just heading back."

"Come," she replied.

Zoë blinked. She slowly turned her head, and sure enough, Rook stood only a few dozen feet away. She had her rifle, but it wasn't pointed at them, and she wasn't in hiding. What's going on?

"Come," Rook repeated. "It's time."

"Time for what?" asked Melody. Her hand found Zoë's, and though it wasn't cold anymore, they were both shivering.

"The coronation."

Without another word, Rook turned and walked back into the forest, toward Rallsburg.

Zoë looked at Melody. She was staring after Rook with a look that spelled out her deep desire to follow.

"Mel?" she asked quietly.

Melody's voice came out as a whisper. "Yeah?"

"You want to go after her, don't you."

"I have to." Melody turned to look at her, brown eyes sparkling with excitement. "This is it. I can feel it."

Melody wanted to awaken, and she might have found the way. The path forward seemed more foreboding than ever. Gunshots rang in Zoë's memories, all-too-recent acts of terrible violence which had nearly killed them both—and they were about to run into the forest without any idea what they might be going into.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say Zoë wanted nothing more than to turn away, to go back to their safe, warm tent in the camp.

"Zoë?" asked Melody, and Zoë's conviction shattered entirely. Just her name, spoken by that voice she'd so recently fallen for, was enough.

"Lead the way," she said, gesturing forward with a lazy wave of her hand. Melody's face lit up. She practically dragged Zoë forward, into the trees, into the town which was no longer a town, a place where ghosts and monsters walked the streets. Zoë's trepidation never diminished, but she didn't waver from her decision for a moment.

After all, Zoë Alaina Portman was in love. What better reason to brave a dangerous world than for the one she loved?