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"But why did you leave her in the first place?" Tobin asks

"Because that was part of the bargain I made with the Oracle I had a role to fulfill before Abbie and I could be together I’ve been trying to find her since I returned--doing research, and sneaking off to check out our old haunts, and searching soht I had a line on her about three weeks ago, the night of the festival, but it turned out to be a dead end I was beginning to think Iplace in the world It seems as far as the Skylords and the Underlords are concerned, Ellis Fields doesn’t even exist"

I can’t help wondering if CeCe--I mean, Abbie--had been bound by a similar oath not to talk about all this stuff Otherwise, she would have told me I considered her as uilt hits me Over the last couple ofto cut ht really be in trouble

"But it sounds like soain"

"Marta," Joe says "It could have been her She nized Abbie ere here"

"Marta is in on this, too?" I ask

He nods "She’s one of Simon’s lackeys who’s supposed to keep an eye on me"

"But it could have been the Skylords, too," Dax says "If Marta spooked her and she ran frootten to her They’ve wanted her back ever since they found out the Underlords were after her"

"I can’t believe it," Tobin says "I got this close, and now she’s gone again She could be anywhere"

"We’ll find her," Dax says "The Oracle told ain if I helped Haden find his true path"

Chapter fifty-nine

HADEN

I wake several hours later Daphne’s house is empty For a moment, I wonder if I have been abandoned I wouldn’t blae I aot

I hear voices--laughter--from outside the house I wander out the back door and find the others gathered around a table on the deck They pass food to each other--chiestion--and talk like they’re merely in the cafeteria back at school

"You should have seen the look on his face!" Dax says

The others laugh

"Whose face?" I ask

The group falls silent and they all look atfor e of the deck and lean against the railing I look up at the sky There aremy time in the mortal world This place is beautiful in a whole different way fro here

A streak of lightning rips across the sky, blotting out the stars, and thunder rolls in the distance The air feels arid around here, but I can smell rain on the horizon The Skylords are still out there Waiting