Elusion(95)

“Those things can’t reach us at the camp,” he says, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Come on, I’ll show you around. We’ll sort everything out later.”

I nod, giving my dad a brave grin as I stand. When we turn toward the entrance of the cave, Josh walks in. He gives me a happy smile, which I find very strange, considering what it took to get us here and what I know now about the fate of Elusion. His broad shoulders are pulled back straight and strong, like the first night I saw him, and the darkness that usually clouds his eyes isn’t there, even though they’re still drained of their gorgeous amber color.

“Ready,” Josh says.

“Thanks,” my dad replies, giving him a nod as he walks past him. Josh takes my hand and we follow behind my dad, walking through a narrow passageway that appears to be constructed of both enamel and plaster. He seems so giddy, and it’s a little unnerving.

“Ready for what?” I ask Josh.

“You’ll see,” he replies cryptically, bringing my hand up to his mouth and kissing it.

There’s no Elusion-type buzz when his lips touch my skin, but there is a sudden warmth that gathers in the back of my head.

We exit the passageway and suddenly I’m in a vast open space, completely blank and empty, as if someone has erased every single detail of the landscape. A hearty wind begins to blow and the whiteness is pulled up from the ground like a veil. In front of me is an odd honeycomb type of structure, with loads of cave rooms just like the one I was in.

Standing in front of me are at least a dozen kids, girls and boys ranging from the ages of about thirteen to twenty, all dressed in dull, drab garments from a bunch of different Escapes. They stare at me with complete awe and wonder, as though they’re seeing someone they’ve only heard about in folk stories and fairy tales. The crowd circles around me, a flurry of gray eyes meeting mine everywhere I look.

Positioned in the center of the group is a familiar girl with short hair and a slight frame. A girl who is looking at me, and maybe even straight through me, like we’ve known each other our entire lives.

A girl who looks exactly like Josh.

“Nora?”

She nods and grins as the shock registers on my face. “Hey, Regan. My brother has told me a lot about you.”

Josh leans in and whispers. “All good things, of course.”

This moment is beyond surreal, but when my father places his hand on the small of my back, I feel so grounded and comforted—maybe even like I’m coming home.

“Welcome to Etherworld,” he says.





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE WHO HELPED us bring the world of this book to life, and we’re so very grateful to all of them.

Big thanks goes to our families for supporting us as we worked like maniacs on this project—our husbands, Brian Klam and Ben Lindvall, for encouraging us when deadlines loomed and celebrating with us when we finally hit our stride; amazing daughters Sadie and Lily Klam, our own personal focus group; Mattie Smith Matthews, Michael and Terri Lindvall, and Barbara Robinson, for taking such good care of us during our writing “vacations”; and Yvonne Gabel, for reading the manuscript in its earliest stages and giving us great feedback. Barbara and Yvonne: as moms, you always go beyond the call of duty!

Extra special thanks to Paul C. Gabel and Ryan Guttridge, for assisting us in developing the technology for Elusion—there was so much we needed to learn about hypnosis, psychology, adaptive programming and the theory of complexity, and you walked us through all of it with such patience and enthusiasm. You’re the best father and brother us girls could ask for!

Heartfelt appreciation also goes out to our agents, Christy Fletcher and Esther Newberg, whose tireless dedication and commitment to this project and our careers astound us; and Josie Friedman and Nick Harris, for believing in this book before it was even a book.

And of course, we have so much love for our fabulous, indefatigable editor, Sarah Shumway, whose guidance and graciousness is invaluable to us; our awesome publisher, Katherine Tegen, who continues to amaze us with her wit, wisdom, and charm—we are so proud to be on your list. We owe a great bit of debt to the rest of the Harper team: Susan Katz, Kate Jackson, Lauren Flower, Erin Fitzsimmons, Amy Ryan, Tatiana Plakhova, Karen Sherman, Kathryn Silsand, Casey McIntyre, Rhalee Hughes, and Laurel Symonds.

Lastly, we’d like to say thank you to all our dear family and friends who stood by us along the way, cheering us on whenever we needed it. You can’t know how much you mean to us.