Everwild Read Online Free

she had, but another, more selfish side of himself hoped that she remained here in Everlost, so he might see her again someday.
    â€œLook,” said Charlie, “Mary’s already leaving.”
    Sure enough, Nick could see the
Hindenburg
in the distance, rising up to the sky.
    â€œI should have stayed there by that tree,” Nick said. “Then she’d have to face me.”
    â€œWouldn’t work,” said Johnnie-O. “If she saw you there, she’d never get out of that ship.”
    Johnnie-O was, right, of course. Still, Nick longed for the moment they came face-to-face. It wasn’t just about seeing her frustration—it was about seeing
her
. Being close to her again. In spite of everything, he still loved her. It made no sense to Charlie or Johnnie-O, but it made perfect sense to Nick, because he understood Mary more than she understood herself. She was a victim of her own righteous nature—a slave to the order she tried to impose on Everlost. If he could, Nick would open her eyes to the truth of it, making her see that she was creating far more harm than good. Then, he would be there to comfort her in that moment of revelation, when all she believed about herself crumbled before her. Once she understood what was
truly
right, Nick had to believe she would embrace it, and together they would free as many souls from Everlost as they could.This was the Mary he loved. The Mary that
could
be.
    Each time Nick arrived at one of her traps, and freed one of her snagged souls, he hoped for that moment of confrontation, where her anger would be undermined by the love he knew she felt for him. But she never came forward to face him. Instead, Mary always left without affording him the dignity of a proper slap in the face.
    â€œShe’s heading northwest,” Charlie said. “D’ya want to follow her again?”
    â€œWhere are we?” Nick asked.
    Charlie looked at his map. “Somewhere in Virginia. East of Richmond.”
    This was the farthest south they’d ever been—but there were Afterlights who Nick had come across, who spoke of things even farther south than this. Rumors. Things that could not be believed in the living world, but in Everlost, anything was possible. So Mary would not face him—and now he suspected she never would without a full-out war. There was no question her soul traps were all about gathering up an army.
Fine, Mary,
thought Nick.
If that’s what you want, then I’ll play.
    â€œHead south.”
    Charlie shook his head. “Can’t. I haven’t charted any tracks south of Virginia. Why d’ya wanna go south anyway? Nothing there but the Everwild.”
    Nick grunted in frustration at the mention of it. “That’s all I ever hear! Everwild to the north, Everwild to the west, Everwild to the south—”
    â€œHey, it’s not my fault no one knows what’s out there!”
    â€œAnd to the Afterlights there,
we’re
in the Everwild.”
    Perhaps the living world had finally connected coast-to-coast and around the world, but Everlost was a new frontier. It was just like the days when America was still the New World, and no one knew what breathtaking vistas and unforeseen dangers lay over the next ridge. Perhaps the unknown wouldn’t have been so daunting if they had an entire crew—but unlike Mary, Nick hadn’t been interested in collecting followers. His job was to get rid of them, which made it hard to maintain more than just the barest of skeleton crews—namely, himself, Charlie, and Johnnie-O. It was time to change all that.
    â€œCome on, Charlie—let’s tame the Everwild! We’ll chart the rails, and mark the deadspots on the way!”
    And although Charlie was reluctant to travel to places unknown, Nick knew he was tempted. There was a certain excitement in breaking away from the familiar, and shattering old routines.
    â€œWe’ll need to look for a finder