not at all amused.
âI admit nothing,â Allie said with a smirk, which just made them believe it all the more.
Dinah, however was only partially convinced. âAll right, if you are who you say you are, then letâs see you skinjack.â The kids all voiced their nervous approval of the suggestion. âGo onâthereâs plenty of
fleshies
around.â Allie looked around them, and sure enough the moving blurs of the living swept by them on the street, so easy to tune out when one wasnât looking.
âIâm not a circus act,â Allie said sternly. âI donât perform on command.â
Dinah backed off, then turned her eyes to the other half of the team. âSo if sheâs Allie the Outcast, who are you?â
âMy nameâs Mikey.â
Dinah laughed. âNot much of a name for a finder.â
âFine,â he said, clenching his fists by his side. âThen Iâm the McGill.â
But that just made all the other kids laugh too, and Mikey, who had a low threshold when it came to being mocked, stormed away.
Allie still held the ornament out to Dinah, but she didnât accept it. A small boy that had been hiding in Dinahâs long trailing hair peered out.
âPlease, Dinah ⦠canât we keep it?â But Dinah shushed him.
âDo other finders come this way?â Allie asked.
Dinah paused purposefully before answering, perhaps to make it clear that she was in control of the conversation. âSometimes.â
âWell, Iâll give you this ornament,â Allie said, âif you promise to save all your really good finds for me.â
âWe promise, Allie,â all the little kids said. âWe promise.â Dinah nodded, reluctantly giving in to the wishes of the others, and took the ornament from Allie.
âYou also have to promise one more thing.â
Dinahâs face hardened. Allie could tell by that look on her face that although she appeared to be no older than ten, she was an old, old soul. âWhat do I have to promise?â
âThat if Mary the Sky Witch ever darkens the sky with her great balloon, youâll hide, and you wonât let her take you away.â
The kids all looked to Dinah for guidance. âThen who will protect us from the Chocolate Ogre?â Dinah asked. âWho will protect us from the McGill?â
âIt looks like youâve done a pretty good job yourself,â Allie told her. âAnd besides, thereâs no reason to fear the McGill or the Chocolate Ogre. Maryâs the one you need to worry about.â
They all nodded but seemed unconvincedâafter all
she
was the Outcast. No matter how starstruck they might be, Allieâs advice was suspect.
Dinah gave the ornament to one of the other children. âHang it on the coatrack,â she told him. âItâs the closest thing we have to a Christmas tree.â Then she turned back to Allie. âWeâll keep our promise; weâll save the best finds for you.â
It was a satisfactory business deal. She had won the loyalty of many groups of Afterlights. Noânot groupsâ
vapors,
she thought, with a bitter little shake of the head. In one of Maryâs annoying little etiquette books, she had insisted that a gathering of Afterlights was properly referred to as âa vapor.â A flock of birds, a gaggle of geese, and a vapor of Afterlights. It irritated Allie no end that Mary so effectively determined the language they all used. Allie wouldnât have been surprised if Mary herself had coined the name âEverlost.â
Allie found Mikey a street away, stomping on a huge lawn, watching the ripples it created in the living world. He seemed embarrassed to be caught doing something so childlike. Allie tried to hide her smile, because she knew it would embarrass him even more.
âAre we done here?â Mikey asked.
âYes. Where to next?â Allie made room for him