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to the night for just a moment. I tried to remember a
simpler life, but when had my life ever been simple? Maybe in the
very earliest of days before the first fire. Before my powers had
ever manifested. But my memories of those days were few and far
between. It was easier to remember the tough times. The bad foster
homes and the fear of knowing I was different.
    My whole life, I'd longed to fit in and belong
somewhere. I'd wanted to find other girls like me who could move
things with their mind and see the world the way I saw it.
    Be careful what you wish for.
    I sighed. Who would have ever thought that
finding those girls would lead to all this?
    As we walked in silence, I wondered what Lark
and the others were up to back home. Had things gone back to
normal? Did they ask about me? Or had the Order wiped their
memories? I thought about the fact that somewhere in that town, I
had a half-sister. A real flesh-and-blood family member. Everything
had happened so fast after the night I'd first read my mother's
journal, I hadn't had time to think about my sister very much. She
might only be a half-sister, but I wanted to find her more than
anything. She was my father's daughter, and maybe if they both were
still alive, we could have a normal family someday.
    Well, normal except for the witch thing. Was my
sister a witch? I guess I'd never given it much thought. Just
because she'd been born in Peachville didn't mean she was part of
the Order.
    Still, as I looked up at the rising amber moon,
I wondered when I would ever get back there to look for her.
    Up ahead, Jackson froze, then crouched down
toward the ground. He put a finger to his lips and motioned for us
to get down. I broke away from my thoughts and dropped to my knees
in the tall grass. I looked all around, trying to figure out what
had him spooked.
    I held my breath, not wanting to make a sound in
the near silence. Somewhere in the distance, the grass rustled with
movement. My legs tensed, ready to run. I didn't know who I was
more scared of. The sentinels, the hunters, or the crazed twin
whose sister I had killed. My heart raced.
    I turned my eyes to Jackson, waiting for some
cue to run or fight.
    After a few minutes, he stood and gestured for
us to follow again. This time, I kept my attention in the present,
not wanting to make a mistake that could cost us our lives. We only
made it another half-hour before seven flames appeared in the
distance.
    Jackson must have seen them the split second
after I did. Quickly, he ducked behind a large boulder, furiously
signally for the rest of us to hide.
    I watched as the flames drew closer. I could see
now why Jackson looked so frightened. Walking in a straight line
across the field were seven men in matching black and red uniforms.
The Sentinels? It had to be. Magical orange flames hovered in the
air beside each of them, illuminating the area like large
torches.
    I held my breath and crouched even lower to the
ground. Everyone else in our group was dressed in dark colors, but
my white dress stood out against the night. If the light caught it
at all, the Sentinels would see us for sure. Then what would become
of us? Jackson made it sound as if we'd all be thrown into the
dungeons.
    The Sentinels drew closer, their light reaching
almost to the rock where we hid. Five or six steps to the right and
the flames would have given us away.
    The four of us huddled close, a mass of tension
and beating hearts. Even Lea seemed frightened of her father's men.
I don't think any of us took a single breath or moved a muscle
until the men had safely passed us by.
    "That was close," Lea said.
    "Too close," Jackson said. "We're going to have
to try to move faster. I think we'll be safer once we get into the
darkness of the forest."
    I stood and stretched out my aching legs. I
reached my hand out to Mary Anne, helping her up from the ground.
She winced and held her side for a moment.
    "Are you okay to keep going?" I asked her.
    She nodded, but I could