Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 47

Chapter 47

When Lyra dragged her massive roots back to the pit area, she saw that all three pits were well-hidden. Her own pit had been expanded and stuffed with dry leaves.

Lyra didn’t pay much attention. She just reached down with a branch and tapped twice above Lina’s pit.

Tap, tap.

Lina peeked out through a gap and saw the gray bark and the corpse hanging from it. She almost bit through the reed ste again.

But she recognized the rhythm.

“Lyra?” Lina called out.

The ice tree’s trunk shuddered a little.

Lina lifted the cover and crawled out, then hurried over to help Lydia out of her pit. “Lydia! Lyra’s back!”

Lydia crawled out of the dirt, grass clippings tangled in her blonde hair, gripping the dark red book tightly in her hand.

Sergei was the last to peek out, squatting at the edge of his pit without coming out.

Lyra didn’t waste any words. She drove a thick branch straight into the mud at her feet and dragged it forcefully.

Three characters, each stroke carefully carved into the earth.

Jane Sullivan.

Lína leaned in, her lips moving as she sounded out the characters. “J… Jane… Su… Su…?”

She looked up at Lyra. “Is this the name of that ice tree?”

Lyra’s branch tapped once.

Lina’s face fell, a hint of shock flickering in her eyes. “That’s a Draconian name.”

Lyra’s branch tapped again.

Lina crouched down, staring at the three characters etched in the dirt for a long moment, her heart pounding, her voice barely audible. “Lyra, were these ice trees once people?”

Lyra didn’t answer. Instead, she used her branch to carve another line of words nearby,

“Let Lydia try.

Lina snapped back to reality, quickly pointed out the name on the ground to Lydia, and explained it in Ursarian.

Lydia listened, then looked down at the three Draconian characters, frowning slightly.

She opened The Book of True Names, but the dark red pages were completely blank, not a single word in sight.

“Jane…”

Lydia tried to pronounce it, but her tongue tied itself in knots.

The four tones of Draconian felt like a tongue twister to any Ursarian.

1/6

30

m

15:06 Tue, Jun 30 d

Chapter 47

Jane Sullivan,” Lina coached patiently, breaking it down syllable by syllable for her

Jane Surriwan,” Lydia echoed, mangling the tones so badly it barely sounded like the name.

The pages didn’t react.

Lydia tried again, biting down hard and spitting out each syllable like she was chewing gravel.

Finally, something happened-the Book of True Names responded.

On the dark red pages, letters started to race across the page, each stroke appearing in a blur.

Jane Sullivan.

Then, just beneath the name, a row of smaller letters faded in.

[Target locked. Forced command may be issued.]

Lydia’s eyes widened as she saw the change. She shot her head up, thrust the book toward Lina, and rattled off a stream of

Ursarian.

Lina leaned in, craning her neck to stare at the words on the page.

“It worked!” Lina exclaimed, her voice full of excitement.

“Lyra! The book reacted!” Lina called out.

“It says. “Target locked. Forced command may be issued!”” Lina added, her voice full of excitement.

Lina turned to look at Lyra’s massive, rough trunk.

“Lydia’s asking, what command should we give?” Lina called out.

Sergei stood up from the edge of his pit, watching Lyra.

Lyra’s massive, spiky trunk didn’t move, but a thin gray branch hung down from the main trunk.

The soil churned as Lyra’s branch etched into it.

“Wait, Lyra signaled.

Lyra etched the first word into the earth.

Her branch kept moving, swiftly etching more words into the dirt.

“Don’t use it yet,” Lyra cautioned.

Lina read the words aloud as she looked at them.

“Don’t use it yet?” she echoed, her head snapping up, confusion written all over her face.

Lyra etched into the dirt, “Almost an hour.”

“Save it for when your life’s on the line.”

After finishing the last four words, Lyra withdrew her branch.

Lyra tapped twice with her branch right on the name “Jane Sullivan” carved in the dirt.

216

30

O

m

O

Chapica 47

Tap. tap

Lina stared at the words on the ground, and she got it instantly

“Oh, right” Lina perked up

“We’ve almost been playing for an hour, she realized.

“If the pattern holds, the game’s probably about to throw something new at us!” Lina said, her voice full of excitement

Sergei smacked his thigh in agreement.

The last part-it’s always the most dangerous,” Sergei said, his voice low and serious

Lina nodded repeatedly.

“Lyra’s saying we should save the good stuff for when it’ll really make a difference,” Lina explained.

“Whether it’s the chest that’s about to respawn or some sudden twist in the last half hour,” Lina added.

“This forced command is guaranteed to work. It’s our trump card,” Lina said, her voice steady and confident

Lina turned to Lydia and quickly translated her analysis. Lydia listened, and her tense frown slowly relaxed

She glanced down at The Book of True Names in her hand and snapped it shut with a sharp snap.

She nodded firmly, tucked the book carefully into her chest pocket, and patted it twice to make sure it was secure

“Right!” Lydia said, her voice full of determination.

She took a step back and took a deep breath.

“Jane Sulliwan,” she muttered under her breath, her accent still mangling the name.

Lina heard her and turned to her. “No, no, it’s Jane Sullivan.”

Jane Sulliwan, Lydia repeated, gritting her teeth as she tried to mimic the pronunciation

“Your pronunciation is way off, Lina said, shaking her head.

Lina walked over and stood right in front of Lydia.

“Watch my mouth, Lina said, making sure Lydia was paying attention.

‘Sulli

Lydia stared at Lana’s mouth, trying to mimic her.

“Surri, Lydia tried, but her accent was still off

“No, not ‘Surri. It’s ‘Sulli-say it with a falling tone, Lina corrected, making a downward chopping motion with her hand

Lina demonstrated the downward motion in the air to show the tone

“Sullivan!” Lina said, emphasizing the pronunciation.

Lydia nodded vigorously, determined to get it right.

“Sullivan!” Lydia repeated after Lina, her voice a little shaky but determined.

3/6

30

O

m

O

Chapter 47

This time, she nailed it

“van. Lina said, slowing down her speech.

Lina slowed down her speech.

“wan. Lydia repeated, her tongue still a bit stiff.

Just press your tongue down a little,” Lina coached.

“van!” Lina said, making the sound sharp and clear.

Lydia tried to mimic Lina, adjusting her tongue as best she could.

“wan!” Lydia repeated, and this time her pronunciation was way closer.

“Last one-Jane! Make your lips stick out like this,” Lina said, exaggerating the motion.

Lina exaggeratedly puckered her lips.

“Jane!” Lina said, showing Lydia how to shape her mouth.

Lydia mimicked her, puckering her lips as best she could.

“Jane!” Lydia repeated, her lips puckered up.