Broken Pixels (The Chronicles of Mara Lantern, Book 4) by D.W. Moneypenny Page A

brain just willy-nilly.”
    As they walked down the alley, each glowing dot faded away as they passed it, prompting Mara to grin in amazement. Sam watched her askance and said, “You’re being a little goofy.” He turned to Ping and said, “She might be under the influence of this Sig-net thing. Maybe the robots have control of her.”
    “We’ll keep an eye on her, just in case.” Ping smiled.
    Her gaze focused on the floating dots that led to the end of the alley, Mara moved a couple paces ahead. Ping and Sam fell in step behind her.
    * * *
    As they passed the Dumpsters and through the halo of the light that hung over them, Sam felt exposed, as if they were walking on a stage. After they passed into darkness, he looked upward for any sign of movement yet saw nothing but bricks and cinder blocks. The buildings didn’t even have windows, fire escapes or any other features that he could discern. Between them, he could see a dark patch of sky—no stars, just ambient light bouncing off the clouds—however, he could make out thin bands of smoke riding a steady breeze above the city. He heard no sounds—no marauding groups of looters or vandals as he had expected, not even the hubbub of people and traffic moving through nearby streets.
    “The silence here is giving me the creeps,” he said.
    He looked down as they approached the end of the alley. Mara was still focused on the invisible dots, and Ping looked straight ahead. As Mara stepped from the alley and onto the sidewalk of the intersecting street, she pointed to the left and turned in that direction. For a split second, she was hidden. From the right, a dark figure darted past the end of the alley, knocking Ping out of its path.
    “Mara! Watch out!” Sam yelled. He held out a hand to steady Ping and ran from alley.
    * * *
    Mara turned to see a man, his face hidden by a ball cap pulled low on his forehead, lurching toward her, holding his hand out to her. Her first thought was beggar . She inched toward the building, putting space between them, but he still limped after her, thrusting his upraised hand at her.
    “I’m sorry, sir. I don’t have anything to give you,” Mara said.
    The man lifted his hand and said, “See the light.” She sensed awe or reverence in his voice.
    He shuffled closer, holding his hand just a few inches from Mara’s face. In his palm was a faint purple light, but Mara couldn’t see its source. Sam approached from behind and grabbed the man’s shoulder, yanking him away from his sister. The man staggered backward and fell to the sidewalk.
    Sam stepped over him, stood next to Mara and said, “Are you all right? Was he attacking you?”
    “I don’t think so. He’s got something in his hand he wanted me to see,” she said.
    The man continued to hold up his hand. A purple glow radiated from between his fingers. Leaning over him, Sam peered at it. A single crystal, smaller than a pea, emitted a weak amethyst pulse, illuminating the dirt-encrusted creases of the man’s palm. Sam reached for it, and the man snapped his fingers closed, hugging his fist to his chest.
    “No! See the light. See it,” the man said.
    “How can I see the light if you won’t show it to me?” Sam asked.
    The man curled himself into a ball around his fist and rolled to his side on the sidewalk.
    Ping walked up to the scene and said, “Is this man in need of medical assistance?”
    “No, I think he’s just got a bad case of whatever is running around in this realm,” Mara said. “He’s got something in his hand that he was showing me, but Sam freaked him out.”
    On the ground, the man hid his face in his own hands and mumbled, “See the light. See the light.”
    Ping gave them a quizzical look and said, “What do you propose we do?”
    “I don’t want to get distracted by every stranger we meet. I mean, everything will probably look strange to us. I want to find Cam’s head and get it to the repository as soon as possible,” Mara said.
    “See