Echo Soul Seekers

white ash falling steadily between us, and a surge of people eager to witness a miracle that’s really a curse. Dancing and twirling under the deluge, not realizing they’ve got it all wrong.
    Not realizing they’re in the grip of something far darker, far more sinister than they could ever conceive.
    The earth beginning to tremble as those same squares of ash become a torrent of flames that fall from the sky.
    It’s the prophecy come to life, just like the codex foretold:
The other side of midnight’s hour strikes a herald thrice rung
Seer, Shadow, Sun—together they come
Sixteen winters hence—the light shall be eclipsed
Leaving darkness to ascend beneath a sky bleeding fire
    All around me shouts of excitement quickly turn to fear, as a crowd of people fight to take cover, push their way back inside. Forcing me to shove my way through them, my need to confront Phyre all but forgotten, as I go in search of my friends. Warning Xotichl, Lita, and Auden to run, to find a way out of here—to get as far from this place as they possibly can.
    “What about you?” Xotichl’s face pales as her fingers push into my sleeve, understanding all to well just what this means.
    “I’m going to stop this. Fix this. If it’s the last thing I do.”
    I jerk free of her grip, aware of her voice calling after me but unable to distinguish the words as I race toward the vortex.

 
    forty-three
    Dace
    “What have you done with her?” I grip Phyre by the shoulders, demanding an answer. Last I saw, Daire was standing before her, and now she’s as good as disappeared.
    Phyre smiles, her gaze heavy and glazed. “Wasn’t me. I swear it,” she says, her voice adopting a tone so strange I have no idea how to interpret the words.
    “Where’d she go?” My own voice is frantic, determined. Sure she’s playing some sinister part in this, no matter how crazy it seems. But she just remains propped between my hands, staring dreamily at a night wrought with flames.
    “It’s starting.” She speaks in a whisper. “The Last Days are here. This is one of the signs.”
    I roll my eyes. Dig my fingers deeper into her flesh, hoping to awaken her from her trance. “It’s no such thing. Your father is crazy.” Though my words go unheard, she’s transfixed by a sky bleeding fire.
    “I tried to warn you. Tried to talk to you. Remind you of what we once shared—if only so you could see what I see—know what I know.” Her gaze is unreachable, voice weary, defeated. “But you didn’t want to listen, and now this…” She gestures to the chaos occurring all around us. “Now it’s too late for any of us.”
    I grip her shoulders tighter, searching for some hint of the girl I once knew. A sad, beautiful, complicated girl with a crazy doomsday prophet of a father. A girl who lost her mother too young—vanishing without a trace, her body never found. A girl I once cared about, however briefly.
    “Come with me, Dace.” She trains her focus on me. “My father will help us. Save us. He’ll know exactly how to survive this.”
    “Your father can’t help anyone,” I remind her, but one look in her eyes tells me my words fail to penetrate. Still, I can’t help but add, “Get yourself out of here. Go to Leftfoot’s—he’ll look after you.”
    When she fails to move, when she fails to react in any way, I give up and go in search of Daire. Figuring there’s only one place she would ever think to go under the circumstances, and cursing myself for not heading there first. It’s what I came here to do.
    I race through the club. Ignoring Leandro’s cries for help as he fights to break free of the fallen bookcase he’s trapped underneath. All too aware of the earth violently shaking as bursts of fire erupt all around.
    All too aware that the prophecy has started without me—forcing me to catch up.
    I breeze through the vortex—noting there are no demons in sight—make my way through the cave house—now completely trashed, surely the result of Cade’s rampage—then onto the valley of sand—all the while looking for Daire.
    She’s out there.
    Somewhere.
    Hunting for Cade.
    I pray I will get to him first.

 
    forty-four
    Daire
    I roll to a stop, spring to my feet, and take a quick look around. Pleased to find I’ve landed not far from the mine.
    It’s the first time I’ve been able to nail it like that.
    The first time I’ve been able to declare a point of entry and actually find myself there.
    A good omen, no doubt.
    I