I had no idea what it was, but it was a masterpiece.
Lines intersected curves that crisscrossed over clearly marked points and more lines. There were circles, and shapes, none of which made any sense but surely had a purpose . . . at least to Tyler.
And the entire time he kept saying, “Ochmeel abayal dai . . . ochmeel abayal dai . . . ochmeel abayal dai . . .”
I put my hand on his shoulder, and he jerked to a stop.
I nodded toward the wall again. “It’s beautiful,” I whispered. “What is it?”
He looked back at it. “Ochmeel abayal dai,” he said again, and it was weird, so weird, because it almost didn’t sound like him. The voice—his voice, I had to remind myself because it was his—had a strange wheezing quality, like he needed to clear his throat.
But his response totally threw me off.
I gripped his arm. “What does that mean?”
Tyler cocked his head before opening his mouth again. He looked confused, and then he reached up and rubbed his brow. He blinked at me then, the faraway look in his eyes coming into focus, as if he only just realized I was standing right beside him.
“The Returned must die,” he said at last.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THERE ARE A ZILLION PEOPLE TO THANK FOR every book, and The Replaced was no exception. A lot of the folks remain the same, and as always, I have to start with my agent, Laura Rennert, who’s still killing it after all these years, along with the rest of the Andrea Brown agency—thanks for giving me my start!
To my amazing team at HarperTeen: Jen Klonsky, Alice Jerman, Booki Vivat, the entire cover design team (I adore you!), and my brilliant publicist, Olivia Russo (who’s even sweeter in real life!). And to Sarah Landis and Kari Sutherland, who are no longer with Harper but had such a huge hand in making this series what it is. You guys are the best!
Thanks to Deb Shapiro and Kate Lied for your tireless efforts in promoting The Taking.
Thanks to my fancy Hollywood agents at WME, Alicia Gordon, Erin Conroy, and Ashley Fox—you ladies have introduced me to a strange and wonderful world. And a special thanks to a certain “B.S.” (who will remain nameless at this time), you might not realize it, but your comments about Kyra changed the way I wrote The Replaced . . . so thank you.
There are also many people behind the scenes who are just as deserving of shout-outs as those on the front lines, and at the very top of that list is my critique partner (and friend) S.R. Johannes . . . or as I like to call her: Shelli. Thanks so much for helping me develop pitches, reading pages when I’m in a pinch, and taking my desperate (early morning) phone calls.
To Melissa de la Cruz, Kami Garcia, Melissa Marr, Richelle Mead, and Alyson No?l for saying such thoughtful-wonderful-amazing things about The Taking. You ladies truly are the best!
Thanks, too, to Saundra Mitchell, who gave me a little insight into military operations (and the way they’re named), as well as being a badass graphic designer! To my niece, Nyla, for having such an awesome name . . . and for letting me “borrow” it for The Replaced. To Emily Ellsworth from Em’s Reading Room for schooling me on Utah colloquialisms. And to my daughter Abby for reading over my shoulder and reminding me that I’d already used the name “Logan” in the first book and I would need to rename a character in The Replaced (not an easy task because it was a pretty major character). But thank you, Abby—without you, apparently all my characters would be named “Logan.”
I also have to thank the best group of friends a person could ask for. You come out to cheer me on, drink with me when I need a glass of wine because I’m having an off day, and give me space when I’m under a deadline . . . and hardly ever complain when I don’t text back right away. I don’t know what I’d do without you. Thank you times a million!!!
And lastly to my family. To my mom for being the world’s greatest cheerleader. To Amanda, Connor, Abby, and now Hudson for just being. And to Josh for putting up with me for over twenty years. You’re the most supportive partner, best friend, and husband a woman could ever dream of. Everyone should be so lucky.