“That’s not necessary,” Mira said.

“I help Sambria little enough,” Gerta said. “I spend most of my time here shaping herbs. I avoid the ugly politics. Nobody wants to antagonize the woman who can help a toothache and cure an upset stomach. Every now and then I get a chance to help people who are still trying to make a real difference for Sambria. I suspect you four fall into that category.”

“We’d appreciate anything you can do,” Cole said.

“I have single carrots that will fill your stomachs for three days,” Gerta said. “Not an illusion, mind you. It will be like you’ve eaten healthy meals throughout. I have pumpkin seeds that will give you extraordinary night vision. The effect lasts four or five hours. You wouldn’t want the extra sensitivity during the day, so eat them with care. And I have many herbal remedies for injuries and illnesses. I’ll provide a full assortment. I’ll even throw in a delicious tea that can induce prolonged slumber.”

“You’re too kind,” Mira said.

“It’s the least I can do for friends of Declan,” Gerta said. “Would you four like to stay the night here?”

“We should be on our way,” Mira said. “There are people after us.”

“At least rest from your troubles while I gather my gifts,” Gerta said. “I’ll bring you some snacks shortly.”

“She’s nice,” Cole said after she had left the room.

Mira sighed. “Yes. And informed. The problem is, the more I learn about my powers, the less I want them back.”

“Maybe we really should go on vacation,” Cole said. “We have money. I bet Bertram would be thrilled.”

They all chuckled.

“I wish I could,” Mira said. “I really do. You all don’t have to join me. But I must face this.”

“We’re with you,” Jace said.

Mira gazed out the window. “I hope it doesn’t mean we’ll all go down together.”

Chapter 31

DEVASTATION

The autocoach clomped southeast through the night and into the next day, pausing only to let the occupants get out and freshen up. They passed through pleasant country made up of sparse forests, open fields, meandering streams, and low hills.

Around midday, they spotted a wagon pulled by horses coming along the road from the opposite direction. The wagon slowed to a stop as they approached, and Mira ordered the autocoach to halt. They ended up side by side.

“Good day,” said the driver, a big man with simple clothes and a straw hat. “Are you folks certain you want to head this way?”

“I’m on holiday with my grandniece and grandnephews,” Bertram said, leaning forward to be seen. “We’re out enjoying the countryside.”

The driver squinted back the way he had come. “This may not be the right direction to go for pleasure. The whole area is clearing out. Carnag has been active, and reports have him coming this way.”

“We’ll turn northeast before long,” Mira said.

“You know your affairs,” the man said. “The monster is hard to predict. Comes and goes. But I suggest you choose a new direction sooner rather than later. The towns you’ll reach down this road won’t have their normal services. Springdale got hit hard, and now the whole region is evacuating. Not many are coming northwest like me, since Carnag has shown a recent preference for this direction. You’ll pass many refugees when you head northeast.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Mira said. “I’m sorry for your troubles.”

“Are you sure you won’t just turn around?” the driver asked. “You’re tempting fate going southeast.”

“It’s no crime to see some sights with your relatives,” Bertram said.

The driver raised his eyebrows.

“Uncle is kind of a thrill seeker,” Cole apologized. “We’ll turn up the next good road.”

“Just offering a neighborly warning,” the driver said, shaking his reins. “Take care.”

“Thanks,” Cole said. “Travel safe.”

The next day they passed through an empty town. The area seemed like an abandoned movie set. There was no visible damage to any of the buildings. A few roosters roamed the streets, strutting and pecking.

The silent town drew Cole’s attention to the quietness of the road. The broad lane looked well traveled, but they passed nobody—no autocoaches, no wagons, no horsemen, no one on foot. Uninhabited farms went by on either side. After nightfall, they rolled through another derelict town. No lit windows brightened the darkness. Some cows roamed a fenced field, munching the long grass.

The abandoned countryside heightened Cole’s tension. People didn’t pick up and clear out like this for a minor annoyance. Carnag had panicked the whole area. The possibility that the monster might come their way had convinced people to leave their homes behind and head for the hills.

On the evening of the third day since leaving Middlebranch, with the setting sun coloring the horizon lava red, they reached another town. Upon arrival, Mira called for the autocoach to halt, and they all spilled out.

Cole could hardly decide where to focus his attention first. Ahead of the autocoach, the road disappeared into a bowl-shaped pit that resembled a crater from a meteor strike. Two wagons lay upside down on the roof of a local inn. Several trees were white as snow—leaf, limb, and trunk. One home had no walls or roof, but the floor, chimney, and furniture remained neatly in place.

“What happened here?” Twitch moaned.

“You only get one guess,” Jace said.

“I know it was Carnag,” Twitch said. “But what did it do?”

“Those trees aren’t supposed to be white, are they?” Cole asked.

“No, it’s unnatural,” Mira said. “I also can’t imagine it’s easy to strip away the walls of a house without knocking over any furniture. We better take a good look. We might find some clues about what we’re dealing with.”

She started down the main street of the town. They passed a large tree propped against a sagging building, soil-clotted roots in the air, leafy limbs on the road. A section of the town was a smoldering field of charred rubble. One side of the tallest building still standing was crusted with pink coral. A granite boulder lay in the middle of a shop, having apparently crashed through the wall. For one stretch the street undulated, like a stormy sea that had paused, leaving an abnormal pattern of swells and troughs. Half of one house was gone, sheared off cleanly so as to reveal a perfect cross section of the inside, like a full-size dollhouse.