Understanding broke over Keira. “So—the Reformers’ kids become the new Reformers? Like royalty or something?”
“Exactly. Forty thousand years ago, the priests ran most everything in Darkside, but they got more and more restrictive about what kind of music was right to worship, and who could play it and when. Eventually, the Darklings quit listening to the priests. As the years passed, the Darklings quit believing in music and lost the ability to make it at all . . . then the priests slowly disappeared. For a long time, there was no one ruling Darkside. It was just little groups of Darklings, fending for themselves and trying not to fight with their neighbors. But as Darkside itself became unstable, Darklings had to move away from the damaged bits. Which meant they encountered other Darklings who didn’t want to give up their land. There were fights—wars. Eventually, the Reformers came to power. They ended the wars, gave everyone a role, a job to do. Everyone did as they were told. The ones who didn’t were killed. In return, the Reformers provided for all the Darklings. Everyone had enough food and a place to live.”
Keira’s skin crawled. “It sounds awful.”
Walker shrugged. “It’s all anyone has ever known. The Reformers aren’t kind, but they’re powerful. They have history and tradition on their side too. Plus, the lower you are on the Darkside social scale, the less likely they are to notice you. That’s what I meant when I said that being one of the orchard workers wasn’t all bad. Those Darklings can pretty much live how they want, as long as they pick their quota of fruit. They’re almost free.”
“But you work for the Reformers.”
Walker nodded, his gaze holding hers. “The more educated and important your family is in things like science or art or record keeping, the more careful you have to be.”
The puzzle pieces slid together. “Your aunt—that’s why she’s so worried all the time.”
“Yep. She—” Walker stopped and stared at the back of the Dumpster.
Keira followed his gaze, trying to see Darkside. If she concentrated, let her focus go soft, like she was looking at an optical illusion, she could see the ravine, even without touching Walker. The stars had disappeared. Now the sky above it was streaked with black and gray, like an ever-changing piece of marble.
“What?” she asked. The shifting sky gave her the chills.
“Can you hear that?” he asked.
Keira listened, holding her breath. It reminded her of when she was little, and strained to hear the footsteps of the monsters she imagined creeping toward her bed in the dark.
Only this was much more terrifying.
“I can’t hear anything,” she whispered. “I didn’t think you could hear Darkside if you weren’t there.”
Walker looked surprised. “Of course you can hear Darkside.” A furrow appeared between his eyebrows. “You haven’t?”
She shook her head. “But then again, I just started seeing it. Maybe I just need more time?”
“Or a different focus. You have a musician’s ear, Keira. Just listen for a minute.” Walker held out his hand. Keira took it, thinking of hearing Darkside, rather than seeing it. She focused on the sounds of Sherwin, trying to hear something layered underneath the noise, the same way she saw Darkside and her own world simultaneously.
Her breath caught.
In the distance, she could hear a clinking noise, and it was getting closer. She’d done it. She could hear things that were happening in Darkside. The hair rose on the back of her neck.
“What the hell is that?”
“The Reformers’ guards. It’s their vehicles. They’re not good at getting through the trees.”
“They found us already?” Keira asked, tightening her grip on her backpack, ready to run.
Walker looked over at her. “We crossed last night. They probably started to trace us hours ago.” His face was so pale that even his lips had lost their color. “Damn. We have even less wiggle room than I thought. We need to get out of here. Now.”
Keira let go of his hand and the sound disappeared. The silence that surrounded her was almost worse than the sound of the vehicles. Now she couldn’t hear them coming for her.
And they were definitely coming for her.
Chapter Thirty-Five
TECHNICALLY, THE HALL OF Records was three houses away from Keira’s, through the backdoor neighbor’s and one to the south. Right by Jeremy Reynolds’s house. The thought of him living in a library of any kind made Keira’s lips twitch into an involuntary smile.
“So, how are we going to do this?” she asked, wadding up the wrapper of her greasy, drive-thru breakfast sandwich. Instead of making her feel better, the food sat in her stomach like a lump of clay.
Walker pulled the car over to the side of the empty street, running his hands around the steering wheel. “I think—if I go through to Darkside and you stay here, then you’ll be able to see what I’m doing, but you’ll be safe. Well, safer.”
“Okay,” Keira agreed. “In and out before they can track us?”