Holding his breath, Cody waited for Moss’s reply.

The ogre narrowed his eyes into nearly invisible slits before letting them widen again. “Orion is a human?”

Cody nodded. “Yeah. Same age as me. Dark brown curls—less unruly than mine.” Cody’s hair was bouncy, almost untameable. Orion’s was always perfect, every strand in place. “Um...” Suddenly he didn’t know how else to describe the boy. That he had unusually long lashes, or that his eyes were the color of blueberries, or that his jawline looked like it had been carved by an artist—those were details Moss probably wouldn’t help much.

Cody felt his cheeks heat up. Did he really just think all that? Embarrassment swept through him. Quickly, he tried to picture Fleur’s face, but it suddenly seemed so... ordinary.

A loud thud broke the silence.

Cody’s heart pounded as he stumbled backward. It took him a moment to realize what the sound was: Moss had clapped his hands together—hands the size of dinner plates. His mouth seemed to stretch twice as wide as before. 

“Are you here to court this Orion?”

“What?” Cody shook his head furiously. “N-no, of course not.”

“Hmmm.” With obvious disappointment, Moss let his arms drop to his sides. “I could hear your heart beating so loud. Ka-boom. Ka-boom. That’s how mine always sounds when I think of Oak.” The ogre’s eyes went wide as he glanced around in alarm and pressed his palms to his mouth. Cody could’ve sworn wisps of steam rose from Moss’s cheeks. “Did I say that out loud?”

Despite his own discomfort, Cody let out a quiet laugh. “Is Oak an ogre too?”

Moss nodded so enthusiastically Cody briefly worried his head might fly off. It made a dangerously creaky sound. “Oak is the bravest ogre I know. Strong as a mountain. Fearless as a volcano. Tough as granite. And her eyes... they sparkle like diamonds.” He sighed with adoring longing.

“And does she like you back?”

“Hmpf.” Moss kicked at a chunk of stone—Cody couldn’t help but wonder if it had been part of Moss himself—and nearly lost his balance. He gave a shake that seemed to rumble from deep within, like an inner earthquake. “She’ll never notice me. I’m not... like the other ogres.” He ran his hands over the mossy patches between the rocks on his body. “Too porous.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. Orion’s different too. And—” He bit his lip. He was supposed to explain why he’d fallen for Fleur. Why he’d been with her. She was beautiful, she was kind, she was... starting to fade into a vague outline in his mind. The realization clenched at his stomach. She suddenly felt so unreachable, so distant, that even his memories of her began to blur. What did that mean? Was the disaster that struck Holtgaard finally catching up to him too? He had to hurry!

As endearing as Moss’s crush was, Cody moved on and explained where he came from and what had happened in the village.

“I’m afraid my memories are starting to slip away too. That’s why I have to find Orion. I hope he’ll help me. He’s smart—and more skilled with magic than I am.” His own magic mostly involved summoning plants or objects—basic stuff. Most Holtgaarders had that kind. Anything beyond it was usually forbidden. But Orion and the other exiles no longer had such restrictions. Maybe Orion knew a way to track down the stolen memories—or even had an idea who the thief was.

“Not far from here is the Valley of Men. Young ogres sometimes like to go there to scare the humans. Whoever collects the most screams gets a gemstone from the others. They collect them.” A grinding sound came from Moss’s mouth, like he was chewing stone. “I never liked scaring people.” He looked down at the rocky clumps that made up his feet. “Sometimes they try to catch my scream too.”

“Can you take me to that valley?”

“Of course.” Moss looked around and scratched his head. “I think. I’m actually a bit lost. But that’s okay,” he added quickly. “I get lost all the time. Eventually I always find something I recognize.”

That didn’t exactly make Moss the ideal travel companion, but it was better than wandering alone.

Moss spun around in place and then pointed in a direction. “That way. I think.” The last two words were mumbled.

Cody noticed the ogre couldn’t meet his eyes, as if he was embarrassed again. It wasn’t exactly helpful, but Cody was just grateful Moss was willing to help and didn’t take offense. “Then let’s head that way! We’ll run into a landmark eventually.”

He took a few gulps of water and then slung his bag over his shoulders with a grin. “How do you even catch a scream?” he wondered. “They don’t hurt the people, right?”

A branch cracked under Moss’s foot. Though Cody had chosen to walk beside him, he instinctively stepped farther away when the ogre nearly stepped on his foot without noticing. “They use screamcatchers. They take the web of a ghost spider and stretch it between big leaves. The web captures the sounds of other creatures: sometimes to lure prey, sometimes to scare off predators. Every scream gets stored in a thread. Move the thread, and you hear the scream or roar again.”

That was... unbelievable. Cody imagined a huge spider walking over its web, plucking at the strands like some kind of harp. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of such an intelligent spider.

“Do those spiders eat meat?” Cody asked timidly. “H-human meat?”

“Hmm. I don’t know. I don’t know much about humans. Or spiders.”

Cody wondered if he was afraid of them too, but kept the question to himself. He didn’t want Moss to feel even more embarrassed—especially since fearing a giant spider was far from shameful. “Well, I’d better stay far away from them.”

“That seems wise.” Mos nodded solemnly. “Humans are very fragile. Very different from ogres. Other ogres, I mean.” His shoulders drooped again. “There’s probably more left of you than me if we fall down a slope.”

“Let’s not test that theory,” Cody said with a crooked smile. His eyes drifted again to the moss-covered stone of Moss’s body. He was a fascinating creature. What did ogres eat? Could they get sick? What did their homes look like?

One question after another tumbled from his lips as they set off in search of the Valley of Men.

A purple glow lay over the forest by the time Cody and Mos finally found the valley. Cody’s soles ached, and a painful blister had formed on his heel.

The sun was beginning to set. In response, tiny flowers bloomed all around them, glowing with a soft violet light. Cody found it breathtaking—he found everything breathtaking.

During their long trek, they hadn’t encountered any dangerous beasts. From time to time, Cody did feel eyes watching him from the bushes, but those just seemed like curious creatures, as curious as he was.

Dangerous or not, the Valley of Men was surrounded by a tall wooden fence topped with sharp spikes. Apparently, there were enough creatures here worth fearing.

The settlement didn’t look anything like Holmgaard. No central square, no market, no cozy paths lined with flower boxes or children racing through the grass.

From where Cody stood, he could see the entire valley and counted about fifteen houses. Six were clustered together, the rest scattered across the valley. Cody figured the people in the outlying homes lived there only because they could still call on each other in times of need.

His gaze drifted from house to house, though he was too far away to make out any details. Where would Orion live? Surely not all alone. He’d never been shy or withdrawn.

Though that was five years ago. Who knew what the wilderness had done to him?

Halfway down the steep slope, a path cut through the greenery. There was too much growth along the ridge to see where it began. Even though his feet cried out in protest as soon as he started moving, Cody made his way toward it.

By the time he reached the bottom, it would likely be pitch dark. Hopefully, someone would notice him—and let him in.