Sloan sat in Solomon's home, taking in the sparse furniture and spigot sprouting from the wall. Living underground had never occurred to her. Perhaps because insects and worms live underground, which seemed somewhat primitive. Solomon's house smelled like the best nights of her childhood, cool dirt and outside.

  How could Max have kept this from her? She realized he hadn't gone through the portal, but he'd been part of the plan to divert everyone's attention with the stupid escape room. Edward must have debriefed him on what they found here. Did Mia know about Merrick?

  "I hope you find my home welcoming," Solomon said, you are much shorter than Edward, so perhaps you won't bump your head each time we leave."

  "And where would we go if we left?" Sloan asked.

  "Well, I should hope that you would want to explore Merrick and see the beauty here. You were by a river for several days, did you not find the fish fascinating?"

  Sloan looked at Solomon. What did that even mean, she wondered?

  "In what way?" she said carefully, as not to offend.

  "Our animals are readers. So I imagine they paid more attention to you than the fish back on Mars."

  "There are no fish on Mars, Solomon. There's literally nothing on Mars. It's a dead planet."

  "Well, you are there. Or you were there, and you are very much alive, so that is a falsehood, Sloan."

  "There's life on Mars because we brought it from Earth. When we leave, we take the life with us. The planet makes us really sick, so people can't stay there for long periods. The whole thing is bullshit."

  "Is bullshit similar to the word dick? Is it to say you are displeased with a situation?"

  "Majorly dispeased," Sloan said, wrinkling her nose.

  "So I have been thinking of this since Edward left, this bullshit. And I have stumbled onto a remedy. If Merrick is fated to become extinct and Mars is an unsafe world for your people, can I not then come home with you to Earth and preserve the lineage of Merrick?"

  Sloan thought about this. The first problem was that Solomon had a big ass pair of wings, and the second problem would be finding someone to have sex with a man with big ass wings. But she didn't say any of that.

  "So you know how you say your world is on the brink of civil war. How you hate the readers, and don't trust the movers?"

  "Yes," Solomon said.

  "Well, Earth is also on the brink of war, except we have so many factions, I don't think there's a way to safely bring you into that mess without it ending badly."

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  "You think one of the factions would want to hurt me?"

  "They'd run a lot of tests on you first, but ultimately, no one on Earth is interested in anyone who isn't exactly like them. I won't be surprised if we end up an extinct species as well."

  Solomon considered this and frowned. He went to his cupboard and took out two plates, a bowl of nuts, and some dried fish.

  "So you have no hope for your own planet. You would allow it to go extinct without a fight?"

  "Are you expecting me to eat that?" she said, pointing at the fish.

  "You do not have to eat it, but I know you have eaten nothing but crackleberries for three days, and the fish will build your strength."

  "So you're a creeper," Sloan said. "You watched me all day, every day for three days."

  "No, I asked the fish."

  "You asked the fish?"

  "Yes, I wanted to know what you were eating, and the fish led me to the crackleberry bush. I asked if you were alone, and they nodded."

  "Ok, let's just say I believe that bullshit. Why did you think the fish are readers?"

  "Because they ARE readers. They can read your mind, and if you are a reader, you can read theirs."

  "But you're not a reader, right? You're a strength. So how were they communicating with you?"

  "These are just my opinions, but I believe that the animals think it is also unfair that only readers can communicate with them, so they try very hard to communicate with all Merrick. Not just the readers."

  "If you were talking to the fish, why didn't I hear you?"

  "I do not need to talk out loud to them. Remember, they are readers," Solomon said. "They read my mind."

  Sloan paused to consider this and felt completely pissed off again that absolutely no one had confided in her about the magic of Merrick. If Max worried about her being in Merrick all alone, she was glad about it. Fuck him for keeping this from her.

  "So readers have telepathy, strengths have superhuman strength, and movers do what?"

  "Move things with their minds."

  "Like Trevor," Sloan said, instantly regretting it.

  "Trevor is the human you killed, is that correct?"

  "Yes," Sloan said.

  "He must have wronged you greatly," Solomon said.

  "He did," Sloan said. "They all did. We were supposed to go home, and then we didn't. And my brother is back on Earth with my aunt, and shes an addict and a whore. And you want to know the worst part? She's a saint compared to my mom."

  "I do not know this word addict and whore," Solomon said. "But I think your aunt and mom must be dicks."

  Sloan snorted loudly at this, catching Solomon off guard and making him jump. She broke off a piece of dried fish and popped it into her mouth.

  "This is actually good, Sol," Sloan said. "I'll take more if you have it."

  Solomon blushed and stood to gather more fish from the cupboard. He brought it to the table along with fresh water from the spigot in the wall."

  "I think you have much kindness in you, Sloan," Solomon said. "The Orb can conduct a trial to clear you of all wrongdoings."

  "How?" Sloan said. "Why would anyone here care about me or what I did to Trevor?"

  "Not for Merrick, Sloan. For your friends. Your friends need to see that asking you to abandon your brother was too big a request. You acted in his self-defense."

  "So you guys actually talk to the Orb?" she asked.

  "I do not. But Hammel does, and he was very fond of Lilly. If you are a friend of Lilly, he will most likely try to grant you any request."

  Sloan squirmed inwardly at the thought of being friends with Lilly. But Solomon was fairly certain Hammel could get what her what she wanted. What did she want outside of going back to Earth? She wanted to be free to live a normal life with Michael and forget this Mars bullshit ever happened once she was home. That wouldn't be possible if she came home a felon.

  "I need the Orb to help me bring Trevor back to life," she said.

  Solomon stopped eating his fish. He looked horrified.

  "What? You said the Orb was your creator. Can't he recreate Trevor?" Sloan said.

  "I do not think the Orb has ever done this before?"

  "So you're saying my friend Mia is more powerful than your Orb?

  "I do not know this friend, Mia," Solomon said.

  "Well, she's a healer. She can stop people from dying. Your Orb is surely more powerful than her."

  "I believe you must be right," Solomon said excitedly. "The Orb is most powerful."

  "I will help you bring Trevor back to life if you promise to take me to your Earth when you return," Solomon said.

  "You've got a deal," Sloan said. Knowing she'd never bring Solomon back to Earth.