"It's not fair." The tiny blonde boy slouched at the bottom of the climbing wall, chin tucked into his chest. "Fennikk keeps winning because of her super-arm."

Razalu rolled her eyes so dramatically her head rolled too, curls bouncing. "It's not just her arm, Pakket. Fennikk is, like, super strong."

He tilted his head, considering. "Do you think if I practice really hard, I could be like Fennikk someday?"

"Maybe," the curly-haired girl allowed.

He grinned wide enough to display his missing front teeth. "Nice!"

"I only said 'maybe,'" she reminded him.

While I trained children to climb, Serigg chatted with the lab experts, Rekkan played guitar with Mekkar, and Mazamu drank with Uzmed. Since Ivogg was still missing, Figgel had made herself a nest to camp out near the schedule while conversing with her squirrel. I was not convinced my task held as much value as the others, but Serigg and Rekkan insisted I keep my word. Serigg argued we could not drop our facade of normalcy, and Rekkan refused to leave me until I promised to stay with the children.

Fennikk beamed down at the rest of the kids from the top of the wall. She kicked off the wall, swinging back several feet before lowering down. As she unhooked the carabiner, Kazap bounded up beside me.

"I'm up next, right? I want to try the route Fennikk just did."

"Yeah, you can hook in. But try using your feet more this time. You're not going to improve if you don't think about where you place your —"

"I know, I know," he said, already fumbling with the carabiner.

While the stubborn Southie adolescent flailed on the wall, I split my attention between belaying him and listening to the conversation behind me.

"Why do Southies have green eyes?" Pakket asked.

"My dad says it's because Etherland is in the North," said Razalu. "They have Ether's force of nature in their land, so we have it in our eyes, instead."

Pakket laughed. "Well, your dad has crazy green eyes." A short silence followed, and he added weakly, "I mean, in a good way."

Kazap collapsed against the wall and admitted defeat. As I lowered him down, Fennikk joined the conversation.

"Green eyes are the most beautiful."

Razalu's voice switched from brassy confidence to shy sweetness. "That's not true, Fennikk. Brown eyes are even more beautifuller."

Another Southie girl chimed in. "Who has the greenest eyes you've ever seen? For me, it's my aunt. But she got Infected, so maybe now it would be —"

"You mean 'Implanted,'" Razalu interrupted. "Like the Implant Era, not like the new ones."

I turned toward her and raised my eyebrows. "The new ones?"

She nodded. "Yeah, like Zhina and Bezan and Nezuli. They are Infected, not Implanted. That's why they turn all spotty and lose their hair. Don't you think so, Mister Zafaru?"

My eyes darted between their earnest faces. Before I could decide on how to respond, Pakket's face lit up, and he poked a finger in the air.

"I know who has the greenest eyes. Doctor Ivogg!"

Kazap cackled and thumped the smaller boy on the back of the head. "Doctor Ivogg has brown eyes, Pakket."

Pakket rubbed the offended spot, nose scrunched. "I knew that, obviously. I meant Ivogg's Southie brother."

The children gave a collective groan. This was not the first time Pakket had sprouted gibberish.

"I don't think Ivogg has a brother, Pakket," said Fennikk, "But even if he did, the brother would be a Northerner, too."

Pakket furrowed his brow. "Oh, yeah. Then I guess I meant —"

"Zafaru! Get over here."

I spun toward the entrance, where Figgel hobbled toward me, casting a disdainful glance at the sweaty gymnasts she passed.

"Alright, that's enough climbing for today," I told the children. "Put away the harnesses." 

Amid a chorus of whines, I jogged over to Figgel.

"Caught him in the act," she announced.

I had hesitated to accept help from Mazamu and Figgel for fear they would not be discrete. As it turned out, my fear was both legitimate and unfounded. The two shouted everything through the halls, but no one listened.

Insanity carried some advantages.

I guided her out the door, where verdant foliage, vibrant walls, and silver air ducts failed to brighten the empty halls. "Someone updated the schedule?"

"Ivogg did it! Giggling a bit and talking to himself as he went, like a real lunatic. Mind you, I'm not scared of that gangly goon, but my squirrel was getting quite nervous."

I wasn't sure what to make of the 'lunatic' bit, especially coming from Figgel, but my chest tightened with excitement and dread. Why had Ivogg altered my mother's book?

I thought back to my conversation with Stogg in the cupboards. 'All I have to do is shut down that machine, right?' 'That's what he always told us. Maybe that's what he wants...'

My mother's journal had helped me end the first Implant Era, but it hadn't led me to the Head Chef. I had pieced together just enough of the picture to end his failed experiment so he could start over. If Ivogg was the Head Chef, I was his helper.

"Where did he go?" I demanded.

"He was headed for the miniature paradise, but I wasn't about to follow him. Not when I don't even have a television handy."

I bit my lip, staring at the vines hanging over the Nature Reserve entrance at the far end of the hall. What if time was running out? Part of me wanted to take off down the hall right that minute, but Rekkan had begged me to wait for him.

Turning back to Figgel, I said, "I better go get Rekkan."

She flashed a lipstick-smudged grin. "Oh, he's with Mekkar, right? I better accompany you."

Figgel's heels clicked the floor, and her rasping breaths echoed down the hall. As we reached the Northerner corridor, Rekkan appeared. He eyed me and Figgel, and his brow furrowed.

"Zaf, I told you to wait for me in the exercise room."

"I came to find you. Ivogg wrote the schedule, and now he's in the Nature Reserve." My words left in a breathless rush. "What if he knows we're onto him, and he's about to leave and turn off the power? We need to find him fast."

A stream of thoughts and emotions flitted past his face, and then his expression hardened. "Not 'we.' If he does know we're onto him, he's dangerous right now. You go back to the climbing wall. Figgel and I will look for Ivogg."

Figgel lifted a knobby finger. "Actually, someone better keep Mekkar company."

"Fine," said Rekkan. "I'll go alone."

Figgel clapped her hands with a delighted cackle and scurried down the Northerner corridor. Rekkan started down the hall toward the Nature Reserve. I side-stepped to block him.

"I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not."

I planted my hands on my hips. "Yeah? And how will you stop me? Will you tie me up?"

He stiffened, and an entirely inappropriate heat coiled through my belly. For just a moment, unwilling interest flickered across his eyes. And alright, maybe my own eyes egged him on a little.

Please tie me up and have your way with me.

"Zaf," he said slowly, "We're staying focused on saving the world, right?"

I forced a laugh. "Yeah, of course. I'm always thinking about saving the world."

World-saving was such a cock-blocker.

He squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. When his hand dropped, he released a heavy exhale. "If you want to come with me, you need to watch my back."

I scowled. "You mean you want me to stay behind you."

"And if things get messy, you have to promise me you'll run. I can't fight back if I'm worrying about you."

"But what if you need —"

"Zaf." His hand clapped my shoulder, and his eyes met mine. In place of the lust from seconds earlier, raw fear darkened his eyes. "Please."

"Yeah, alright. I promise."

As we approached the end of the hall, the stream tinkled like chimes. When we reached the vine-covered exit, lower notes joined, a gentle roll of timpani.

Rekkan stiff-armed me. "I go first. I'll come back for you in a minute."

"Rekkan, I'm not a child."

"Trust me; I'm well aware of that." He squeezed my shoulder, and then his fingers trailed down my back, a shivery-light touch that sizzled all the way down. He stopped when his fingers met the curve of my ass. "But... we're only thinking about saving the world."

My mouth dropped open, and my heart skipped a beat. Before I could recover, he slipped through the entryway.

The vines rippled, swayed, and settled into an opaque curtain behind him. I stared at the wall of green, my nails biting my palms. How long did I need to wait?

What if he never returned?

When the vines parted and Rekkan reappeared, a sigh of relief drained my breath.

"I didn't see anyone yet," he murmured. "Ivogg must have already climbed the stairs on the other side of the Nature Reserve. Follow me closely."

I nodded, and he started through again. As I followed, vines clung to my shirt like octopus tentacles. When the vines dropped behind me, fresh air brushed my face, colder than the rest of the Refuge. Damp.

The star-speckled ceiling highlighted sharp stones in the stream and blanketed deep water in darkness. Tree shadows sliced the path like claws. In place of scuttling critters and swooping birds, only an occasional owl interrupted the endless flow of the stream.

An owl, or...

"Was that a voice?"

I started toward the sound, but Rekkan's arm shot out to block me. Leaning past his shoulder, I squinted at the stream. Leaves flicked in and out of sight, surfing the water.

The owl-like voice cooed once more, a breezy sing-song.

Rekkan snagged my hand, and we both shuffled a few feet closer. A leaf darted around once rock and stuck to the next, branching veins glistening. Something else joined the leaf — a clump of brown, like decomposing wood. A second clump whisked down the stream, and glistening strands scintillated in the starlight.

Not wood.

Hair.

I tracked the flow of water upstream... and found myself grateful for Rekkan's hand still clutching mine.

Ivogg sat submerged in the water, shivering and rocking. His checkered orange shirt plastered to his thin frame, and his purple bowtie dangled halfway down his chest. Brown eyes shimmered like melted toffee. The dim light glinted off his bald head and illuminated a constellation of purple spots. And his trembling lips stretched wide, howling a familiar song.

"Forget all of your troubles, and be free!"