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Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Barren Again
Vuko POV
We come out on the other side of the staticky, magic-drenched crossing that was once the looping highway around the city. I shake myself, relieved to be rid of the feeling of ants under my skin. Esme is staring ahead, her face grim.
The Barren stretches out before us in early dawn light, no different than when I had first crossed it. Sand stretches as far as the horizon, a dull grey color more like ash than sand. Rocks and pebbles pock the surface of the arid land. Just looking at it makes my throat feel parched. There is no hint of movement or life.
Because there isn't any, I remind myself. Now I can hardly believe believe the strange apparition I encountered on my way through the Barren toward Loop City. It feels long ago, far off, though it was less than two weeks ago. The dreamers and the man who Esme says is her son feel like something I must have dreamed up. An exhausted hallucination.
I gulp and my throat itches from t
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