weak and shaky.
“Noah,” I whisper, my voice hoarse from the Harbinger’s spell. He murmurs in recognition, though I can’t understand what he says. “Noah,” I repeat. “Have to get away.”
I take a shuddering step forward, thinking we can run through them, but as soon as I do the fatigue grows stronger. It’s as if my molecules are being pulled apart, rearranged—like the hooded figures are doing to my insides what they do to the universes they destroy.
Backing up to the edge of the cliff, I feel rocks crumble beneath my heels. There is nowhere to go, nowhere to run.
“Jump,” I say. “Jump, Noah.”
We turn to face the lake, Noah takes my hand, and we leap off the cliff.
Earth is suspended around me as I fall, a blaze of colors and sounds that are unfamiliar but comforting all at once. The moment seems to go on forever, panic seizing my chest as we rocket toward the lake, and then we plunge into the icy water below.
Churning bubbles swarm up around us, turning the water white and frothy over our heads. I struggle to open my eyes and through the chaos I see Noah floating near the sandy bottom. His expression is sheer surprise, and I realize with horror that the lake is too cold for him. He’s not a member of The House, not like me; the temperature fazes him and bites into his muscles in a way I can’t possibly feel.
I kick my legs and arms out, swimming down until I can wrap an arm around his shoulder. Using the force of my feet against the lake bottom I push us up until our heads break free into open air.
Noah gasps, shivering, his glasses askew and his wet hair clinging to his forehead.
“You’ve got to kick, Noah! Kick!” I yell, my voice frantic. Thankfully he heeds my advice, somehow forcing his muscles to move through the icy water that swirls around us. I shoot one more look at the rock face above—the Harbingers are nowhere to be seen—and then I pump my body toward the shore.
We make it to the beach right as Noah’s legs give out, and I’m forced to half-drag him onto the shore. He lies in the sand, gasping for air and shuddering for some time before he’s able to lift himself up again and head in the direction of the road.
I let him lean into me as we walk to his house. The heat of the indoors stills his shaking limbs. The silence there envelops me almost as completely as that projected by the void. His parents and Lizzie are nowhere in sight.
“N—N—No one’s home right now,” he stutters through chattering teeth. “Lizzie has a choir concert, and Mom and Dad have gone to cheer her on.”
He leads me through the dining room into the back hall, turning through the open door of his bedroom. I stand awkwardly at the threshold, peering inside.
“What?” he asks, studying my face. “You look like you’ve been here before.”
“No,” I say, blushing. “No, I—I just shouldn’t be here. Nim’s warned me about getting too close to the life forms I watch. We’ve already spent too much time together as it is.”
Noah grabs my hand, pulling me across the boundary with a gentle persistence. He leads me to the bed, where I sit down, clasping my hands in my lap as he pulls off his wet sweater and exposes his bare chest.
My heart leaps into my throat and my cheeks turn a deeper shade of scarlet. I avert my gaze and fiddle with a loose thread hanging from the comforter.
Noah disappears into the hall again and when he comes back, he has on a fresh pair of jeans and
“Noah,” I whisper, my voice hoarse from the Harbinger’s spell. He murmurs in recognition, though I can’t understand what he says. “Noah,” I repeat. “Have to get away.”
I take a shuddering step forward, thinking we can run through them, but as soon as I do the fatigue grows stronger. It’s as if my molecules are being pulled apart, rearranged—like the hooded figures are doing to my insides what they do to the universes they destroy.
Backing up to the edge of the cliff, I feel rocks crumble beneath my heels. There is nowhere to go, nowhere to run.
“Jump,” I say. “Jump, Noah.”
We turn to face the lake, Noah takes my hand, and we leap off the cliff.
Earth is suspended around me as I fall, a blaze of colors and sounds that are unfamiliar but comforting all at once. The moment seems to go on forever, panic seizing my chest as we rocket toward the lake, and then we plunge into the icy water below.
Churning bubbles swarm up around us, turning the water white and frothy over our heads. I struggle to open my eyes and through the chaos I see Noah floating near the sandy bottom. His expression is sheer surprise, and I realize with horror that the lake is too cold for him. He’s not a member of The House, not like me; the temperature fazes him and bites into his muscles in a way I can’t possibly feel.
I kick my legs and arms out, swimming down until I can wrap an arm around his shoulder. Using the force of my feet against the lake bottom I push us up until our heads break free into open air.
Noah gasps, shivering, his glasses askew and his wet hair clinging to his forehead.
“You’ve got to kick, Noah! Kick!” I yell, my voice frantic. Thankfully he heeds my advice, somehow forcing his muscles to move through the icy water that swirls around us. I shoot one more look at the rock face above—the Harbingers are nowhere to be seen—and then I pump my body toward the shore.
We make it to the beach right as Noah’s legs give out, and I’m forced to half-drag him onto the shore. He lies in the sand, gasping for air and shuddering for some time before he’s able to lift himself up again and head in the direction of the road.
I let him lean into me as we walk to his house. The heat of the indoors stills his shaking limbs. The silence there envelops me almost as completely as that projected by the void. His parents and Lizzie are nowhere in sight.
“N—N—No one’s home right now,” he stutters through chattering teeth. “Lizzie has a choir concert, and Mom and Dad have gone to cheer her on.”
He leads me through the dining room into the back hall, turning through the open door of his bedroom. I stand awkwardly at the threshold, peering inside.
“What?” he asks, studying my face. “You look like you’ve been here before.”
“No,” I say, blushing. “No, I—I just shouldn’t be here. Nim’s warned me about getting too close to the life forms I watch. We’ve already spent too much time together as it is.”
Noah grabs my hand, pulling me across the boundary with a gentle persistence. He leads me to the bed, where I sit down, clasping my hands in my lap as he pulls off his wet sweater and exposes his bare chest.
My heart leaps into my throat and my cheeks turn a deeper shade of scarlet. I avert my gaze and fiddle with a loose thread hanging from the comforter.
Noah disappears into the hall again and when he comes back, he has on a fresh pair of jeans and
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