Hunters? Celia brought her legs up to sit cross-legged on the pew. Perhaps this was hunters versus werewolves, or zombies, or maybe vampires. As long as they weren’t too scary, she loved books about monsters. “Hunters of what?” she asked.
“Hunters of the secret city,” a girl with long stringy hair said.
“Of the unnamed,” a scarred boy added.
“Of the unseen,” a girl wearing a black leather jacket whispered.
“You found the flyer. You’ve noticed strange things happening. That means you belong with us.” The girl at the front of the room ran her hand through her purple hair. “I’m Ruby, by the way.”
Other kids called out their names. A lot of them had nicknames like Spike, Rampage, and Twinkle Toes.
Celia wanted a nickname, too. Maybe she could be Nighthawk, or Danger Girl.
Amber, the girl sitting next to Celia, scooted closer and whispered, “It’s really good that you found us before anything else happened. We’re going to be friends. Okay?”
“I’d love that.” Warmth spread through Celia.
“Enough with the introductions,” Ruby barked. Kids turned their attention back to her. The stained-glass window above and behind her made everything look moody and intense. “Let’s get everyone up to speed, including Celia. Talk to me, hunters,” she ordered.
As people started talking, Celia watched them. The hunters wore clothes made out of leather or thick cloth. Like the kids last night, they looked like they belonged together. But the kids from last night had looked poor, and all the hunters wore really well-made stuff, even if some of it was dirty. They each wore a silver pin on their chest. Celia looked closer at Amber’s and saw it was a hand wrapped around a heart. Not the Valentine kind, but the kind that pumped blood.
A boy dressed in a dozen shades of brown leather was saying things that made no sense to Celia. “The Council of Elders met with some of us this morning at their headquarters. They told us the earthquake wasn’t natural, but a spell cast by them.”
“They can make earthquakes whenever they want?” a wide-eyed boy asked. He looked a little younger, maybe eleven.
A girl in all black replied, “Not usually. The Council of Elders thinks they might be working together. But that’s not all. They found strong magic stretched across the boundaries of the whole island. Nothing gets in or out. Not people. Not communication. Nothing. Until the doom prophecy ends.” Her hands moved through the air like fluttering birds as she spoke.
Ruby scowled. “So we’re trapped, and from the sound of it, we may be facing an alliance of Bigs.”
Amber, the girl next to Celia, raised her hand and said loudly, “Bigs hate each other. That’s one of the only reasons they don’t take over everything. What could bring them together?”
Kids rat-a-tatted their hands on pews and shook their heads. Every one of them was so into this game—big eyes, furrowed brows, tensed shoulders. Celia searched for signs that they were acting. She found none. She bit her lip and reminded herself it had to be a game.
“No idea,” Ruby growled. She paced back and forth. “What else?”
Silence. A scuffling sound came from above and behind them. Celia looked back but saw nothing. It was probably just a rat.
Amber raised her hand again. “I’ve spent the morning learning everything I could about the doom prophecy.” She pushed up her thick glasses. “I found it written in a couple of different places: a gallery downtown, and in the graffiti flats. It says, The city will shake and the girl will be found. The city will hiss and the girl will run. The city will fill with silent words and the girl will decide—”
“To save the city,” Ruby said, interrupting her.
Kids across the room looked at Celia, and then away.
The doom prophecy? Celia had seen the first part of it written on the sidewalk next to an image of a girl who looked just like her. What if . . . none of this was a game? She shivered. Her belly clenched.
“We need more information,” Ruby said. She pointed at a boy with a scar. “Reach out through the secure hunter network and contact other teams in every nearby city. Someone somewhere has to know what’s going on.”
The boy frowned. “No electricity and no computers means no communication. Anyway, I was on the network last night before the quake, and things seemed pretty normal. Along the West Coast, some hunters were fighting a leviathan, and in Mexico City some kids got hurt taking down Chupa. That’s all.”
“Find a way to contact them,” Ruby said. “Maybe the Elders can get a spell to help.” Ruby pointed at two other kids. “You two grab some hearts and go to the port. Find out everything they know.”
Both kids nodded grimly.
“You three take Chinatown and the Salt District.”
Ruby pointed at Amber. “You and me? We’ll stick with Celia and tell her what she needs to know.” Ruby’s intense gaze rested on Celia for a moment.
“Everyone else? Do whatever needs doing, by any means necessary. We’ll meet back here tomorrow at sundown. They got the jump on us once. Now we jump back.” She ran both hands through her purple hair and flashed a cocky grin.
The kids began to leave the cathedral in twos and threes. Their steel-toed boots thunked against the stone floor as they put on hats and wrapped thick wool scarves around their necks.
They said hi or wished her luck as they left.
Celia watched them go and wondered if these kids were the most hard-core gamers ever. Or, and this couldn’t be true, but maybe they were telling the truth? Maybe they knew something that no one else did—something dangerous and strange about something that could make spells and cause earthquakes. A fluttering feeling filled Celia, and she didn’t know whether it was fear or excitement. Maybe both.
Ruby’s heavy black boots stomped as she walked down the aisle. Her hand touched Celia’s shoulder. “Follow me.”
Celia stood and walked behind her, past the rows of oak pews and alcove saints. She looked up at the silver pipe organ on the balcony and saw a flutter of movement. She only got a moment’s look before he ducked down, but that was all she needed to see the knit cap, the ragged clothes, and a dark flash of sad eyes.
Demetri was up there, spying on the hunters.