They walked back down the hill toward the palace. Ben had been willing to concede this much. They would go to the center of action and find out what was happening with the fires in the plains. Ben knew Isika still had other plans brewing, that most of all she wanted to go and see if she could discover who Auntie was talking about. Who made Auntie this afraid?
Benayeem hoped someone at the palace would stop Isika from going any farther. He shivered as they walked. The night was eerie, the trees were outlined in light, and Ben realized that the whole western sky was glowing. He stared as they walked, entranced by the orange color in a sky that should be black and filled with stars, so distracted that he crashed into Isika when she stopped walking.
“Ben,” she hissed, “pay attention. Look up
