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"It’s part of me It’s hoe see the Realms"

He had no idea what Realms were He didn’t even knohat to ask about them

"Realra"

He picked up a stick and poked at the e Like she knew he had no idea That streaked hi so he listened

"They’re places as real as this is If o to any part of the world and beyond too, fro anywhere There are Realms for times that have passed Last year the Medieval Realreat in one of those And then there are Fantasy Realms and Future Realms Realms for hobbies and any kind of interest you can think of"

"Soit’s like watching a video?" He’d seen those at Marron’s I out on a screen

"No, that’s only a visual The Realo to a party, you feel the people dancing around you, and you can ss, like choose e your hair color Or choose another body style You can do anything you want"

Perry crossed his ar a daydreao to one of these fake places? Do you fall asleep?"

"No, you’re just fractioning Doing two things at once" She shrugged "Like walking and talking at the saht back a s toto a fake place?" he asked

"The Realo They were created when the Pods were built Without theo insane with boredom And they’re pseudo, not fake They feel exactly real Well, sos out here that aren’t what I expected"

She dug into one of her pockets She’d collected about a dozen rocks yesterday None of them looked special to him They looked like rocks

"Each one of these is unique," she said "Their shape Their weight and co In the Realms, there are forh Spot how every twelfth rock is a modified version of the first one’s color or density, or whatever the variationWhen I was out in that desert, and then when" The way she looked at him, he knehatever she’d say next, he was part of it "I’ve never felt that way We don’t have fear like that But if those two things are different, then there has to be s besides fear and rocks that are different in the real?"

Perry nodded absently, i a world without fear Was that possible? If there was no fear, how could there be coeood voice He hadn’t realized until he’d heard her sing He’d rather she sangto ask

"See, it’s all energy, like everything The Eye sends i it, ‘You’re seeing this and touching that’ But s haven’t been perfected yet Maybe they’re close to the real thing, but not the same Anyway, that’s not what you asked I wear it because I’m not myself without it"

Perry scratched his cheek and winced, forgetting about the bruise there "Our Markings are like that I wouldn’t be retted saying the words Daylight streaked over the ridgeline in long bea there talking with a Dweller when Talon was dying somewhere, away from home

"Do your tattoos have to do with your na his blanket into his satchel

"Are you named Falcon? Or Hawk?"

"No and no" He stood and buckled his belt Grabbed his bow and quiver "I’ll take the eyepiece now"

Her eyebrows drew together, creasing the pale skin between "No"

"Mole, if you’re seen with that device, there won’t be any way to pass you off as one of us"

"But I wore it yesterday"

"Yesterday was yesterday Here on it’ll be different"

"Take your tattoos off first, Savage"

Perry froze, grinding down into his teeth The funny thing about being called a Savage was that it made him want to act like one "We’re not in your world anymore, Dweller People die here and it’s not pseudo It’s very, very real"

She tipped her chin up, daring him "You do it then You’ve seen how it’s done"

In a flash ofthe device off her face He didn’t want to do this He reached for the knife at his hip "If that’s how it needs to be"

"Wait! I’ll do it" She turned away froain seconds later, she had the device in her hand Her face was tight with fury as she slipped it into a pocket

Perry took a step toward her He twirled the knife in his hand like any kid could do, but it worked, drawing her eye to the weapon "I said I’ll take it"

"Stop! Just stay away froht it, dropped it into his satchel Then he walked away, nearly fu his knife as he slipped it back into its sheath

Chapter 15

ARIA

Aria struggled to keep up with the Outsider the second day Her feet greorse with every step Here on, it’ll be different, he’d said But it hadn’t been The hours passedConstant pain Headaches that came and went