“Not until you understand.”

“I do understand. I’m doing my job. I’ve resigned myself to living here to keep Sitia and Ixia safe from more Warpers!” I clamped my hands together to keep them from wrapping around Mr. I-know-everything-and-you-don’t Man’s thick neck.

“Have you truly resigned yourself?” he asked.

“I…” I huffed in frustration. I would rather be back with Valek, Kiki, my parents, Leif, Irys, Ari, Janco and my other friends. I had learned my true job, but there were still many aspects of my magic and others’ magic to explore. I thought about Opal’s unique ability. Then I remembered my glass bat.

Had it survived the fire? I felt inside my pockets. Odd how my clothing had survived the flames. My fingers touched a smooth lump. I pulled the animal from my cape. The inner core glowed with magic. Staring at the light, I saw Leif’s sad face. He peered at me in sorrow, then disbelief when I smiled at him.

“Hello from the underworld,” I said.

“Yelena! What the…? Where are…? Come back!”

“I can’t. Tell me what has happened?”

He gave me a quick sketch of how the battle had played out after I jumped into the fire. Most of the Warpers were dead, only Roze, Gede and four others remained alive. They were in the Keep’s cells, awaiting trial.

“They will be hanged for treason and murder,” Leif said. He grew somber. “We buried Moon Man last week.”

“Last week? But—”

“You’ve been gone for weeks. We keep the fire burning, hoping you’ll return. Also Valek will not let us quench it. He’s been helping the Councilors and Master Magicians recover from their ordeal and to smooth out relations with the Commander via Ambassador Signe. Valek went from the scourge of Sitia to the hero of Sitia.” Leif smiled sardonically.

Valek. The one person I wouldn’t mind spending eternity with.

Leif continued, “And the rest of us are coping with the aftermath. Many students were killed by the Vermin. We’re still sorting out who is left. Your friend Dax is okay, but Gelsi died resisting a Warper.”

Moon Man was right, Gelsi found her way back. I hoped Stono wouldn’t suffer too much before his soul found the sky.

He paused. “The Sitian army’s hunting down the remaining Vermin who escaped. The Sandseeds have moved back to the plains to repopulate.” Leif sighed. “You’re missed by everyone. Why can’t you come back?”

“Someone needs to keep the Fire Warper from regaining power.”

Leif frowned as he thought, then looked hopeful. “Bain has burned those old Efe texts to stop someone from learning about the blood magic.”

“But there are others who know how to perform the ritual, and, even though you will execute them, they will be here in the fire world and able to communicate to someone who is determined to seek them out.”

“You’re a Soulfinder, can’t you send them somewhere out of reach?” Leif asked.

“They don’t deserve to be in the sky.”

“Why not?” Moon Man said.

My mind thought over what I knew of the sky, which was very little. “I think they would taint it. It’s pure and their vile deeds would soil it.”

“Finally. What is the sky?”

What indeed? When I sent souls there, I felt refreshed, energetic even though I used power, which usually caused me fatigue. I added souls to the sky. Adding to the power blanket surrounding the world.

The source of magic!

The world’s soul.

Moon Man beamed at me. “Now you can send me there! And then you can return to your life.”

He chuckled at my dubious expression. “You will find a way, Yelena. You always do.”

“Last piece of cryptic advice?”

“Consider it my farewell gift.”

I hesitated for a moment. Once Moon Man was gone I would be all alone.

“All the more reason not to stay,” Moon Man said.

“There’s one thing I won’t miss.”

“And that is?”

“You reading my mind all the time and making me figure things out for myself.”

“All part of being your Story Weaver. It does not stop, you know. You will hear my voice in your mind from time to time, giving you my unique advice.”

I groaned. “And I thought living in the underworld for eternity was bad!”

Before sending him to the sky, I stared at him, trying to hold his features, including his sardonic grin, in my mind. When he disappeared, his absence felt like an icy coating on my skin. I realized I still held Opal’s bat, but my connection to Leif was broken.

I wandered through the shadow world and found lost souls. Every so often I checked in the fire world to make sure the Fire Warper remained as he should be. He cursed, taunted and tried to cajole me, depending on his mood.

Irys, Leif and Bain all talked to me through the glass animals. They were the only ones who had the ability to use them. Through them I knew Roze, Gede and the other Warpers would be hanged soon. I prepared to receive them in the fire world.

In the meantime, I stared at my bat, trying and failing to connect to Valek. My desire to talk to him, to hold him, clawed at my body. Frustration at my inability to communicate with him caused a window to open to the real world, and I could view events around my fire. I laughed at my intense feelings of ownership. My fire. But I sobered. I knew after they hanged Roze and the others, my fire would be doused and my window closed for good.