Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles 2)

“What?” Liv was digging through her bag.

“Savannah, Georgia. I’ve been coming here with my mom since I was little.”

Liv unfolded a map of what looked like the Caster sky. I recognized the Southern Star, the seven-pointed one that was missing from the real Caster sky. “It doesn’t make sense. If the Great Barrier exists, which I’m not saying I believe, it’s definitely not in the middle of a Mortal city.”

I shrugged. “This is where it led us. What can I say?”

“We walked, like, five miles. How can we be in Savannah?” Link still hadn’t grasped the idea that things were different in the Tunnels.

Liv clicked open her pen, muttering to herself. “Place and time not subject to Mortal physics.”

Two little old ladies were pushing two tiny dogs in strollers. We were definitely in Savannah. Liv closed her red book. “Time, space, distance—they’re all different down here. The Tunnels are part of the Caster world, not the Mortal one.”

As if on cue, the glow of the Arclight faded to a glossy black. I slipped it back into my pocket.

“What the—? How do we know where to go from here?” Link panicked, but I didn’t.

“We don’t need it. I think I know where we’re supposed to go.”

Liv crinkled her brow. “How?”

“There’s only one person I know in Savannah.”

6.18

Through the Looking Glass

My Aunt Caroline

lived on East Liberty Street near the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. I hadn’t been to her house in a few years, but I knew to keep heading up Bull Street, because her house was on the Historic Savannah Trolley Tour, which ran up and down Bull. Besides, the streets ran from the park to the river, and there was a public square about every other block to mark your way. It was hard to get lost in Savannah, whether you were a Wayward or not.

Between Savannah and Charleston, you could find a historic tour for just about anything. Plantation tours, Southern cooking tours, Sisters of the Confederacy tours, ghost tours (my personal favorite), and the classic—historic-home tours. Aunt Caroline’s house had been part of that one for as long as I could remember. Her attention to detail was legendary, not only in our family but in all of Savannah. She was the curator of the Savannah History Museum, and she knew as much about the history of every building, landmark, and scandal in the City of Oaks as my mom had known about the Civil War. It was no small feat, considering scandals were as common as tours around here.

“Are you sure you know where you’re goin’, man? I think we should take a break and get somethin’ to eat. I’d kill for a burger.” Link had more faith in the Arclight’s ability to navigate than mine. Lucille, who had reappeared, sat down at his feet and cocked her head to the side. She wasn’t so sure either.

“Keep heading up toward the river. We’ll hit East Liberty sooner or later. Look.” I pointed to the steeple of the cathedral a few blocks away. “That’s St. John’s Cathedral. We’re almost there.”

Twenty minutes later, we were still wandering in circles near the cathedral. Link and Liv were losing their patience, and I didn’t blame them. I looked down East Liberty for something familiar. “It’s a yellow house.”

“Yellow must be a popular color. Every other house on this street is yellow.” Even Liv was annoyed with me. I’d taken us around the same block three times now.

“I thought it was off Lafayette Square.”

“I think we should find a phone book and look up her number.” Liv wiped the sweat from her forehead.

I squinted at a figure in the distance. “We don’t need a phone book. That’s the house at the end of the block.”

Liv rolled her eyes. “How do you know?”

“Because Aunt Del is standing out front.”

There was nothing weirder than ending up in Savannah after walking only a few hours in the Caster Tunnels, in some sort of altered time. Except getting to Aunt Caroline’s and finding Lena’s Aunt Del standing by the curb, waving. She was expecting us.

“Ethan! I’m so glad I finally found you. I’ve been everywhere—Athens, Dublin, Cairo.”

“You were looking for us in Egypt and Ireland?” Liv looked as confused as I felt, but this was something I could clear up for her.

“Georgia. Athens, Dublin, and Cairo are cities in Georgia.” Liv blushed. Sometimes I forgot she was as far away from Gatlin as Lena, only in a different way.