Prologue
There he was again.
Hailey snapped her head around, hoping to catch more than a glimpse of the glowing creature, which once again zipped past the very edge of her vision.
It was real, she knew it was.
Frozen in place, she scanned the horizon, hoping to find where it was so she’d have more than a millisecond to determine exactly what it was.
Finally, it halted with its back to her, on a hill next to her favorite tree—a giant sycamore, which usually stood in her neighbor’s yard. But now it stretched high into the swirling purple skies of her dream.
The figure standing next to the sycamore glowed like an angel, lean and pale, and as bright as the moon.
Curious, Hailey crept closer, not meaning to disturb him. But as she drew near, he whirled around.
Hailey stopped, mesmerized by his violet eyes.
“Hi,” she breathed.
He gave her a quizzical look.
“I’m Hailey.”
“I know,” he answered softly, his eyes never leaving her face.
Hailey let him study her, blinking in the silence, until at length, she glanced over his shoulder. “This is my favorite place.” She nodded to the tree-lined river valley stretched out behind him.
“I know,” he said again.
“I come here every year.”
“I know,” he repeated, and Hailey tilted her head.
“Well, what don’t you know?”
The creature merely gazed at her.
She lifted her shoulders. “Do you have a name?”
He looked away.
“What’s wrong?”
“We’ve met before, but you never remember me.” He drew a slow breath. “And I’m afraid this is the last time I’ll see you.”
“Why?” As the word passed her lips, a cascade of memories tumbled forth, whispers overlapping whispers until a single thought emerged. “You’re an Envoy.”
“You’re remembering.”
“And the other Envoys—they’re coming, aren’t they?” She glanced at the trees in the valley, their shadows oozing together into a menacing shape. “Make them go away. Why can’t you make them go away?”
“Because you must die.” He tilted his head, as if this were obvious.
Hailey’s heart constricted. She staggered back.
“Don’t run from me, Hailey,” he warned, lunging forward, lifting his hand.
Hailey braced for a beating, but he merely caressed her cheek. Calmed by his touch, Hailey looked up and found herself staring into the most beautiful swirling eyes. But he had just said something…something important, she thought…
