1269_UgliesFreeBook

258 Scott Westerfeld
“David says that you made it all the way here on your
own,” Maddy said.
She nodded. “I was following a friend of mine. She left
me directions.”
“And you decided to come alone? Couldn’t you wait for
David to come around again?”
“There wasn’t time to wait,” David explained. “She left
the night before her sixteenth birthday.”
“That’s leaving things until the last minute,” Az said.
“But very dramatic,” Maddy said approvingly.
“Actually, I didn’t have much choice. I hadn’t even
heard of the Smoke until Shay, my friend, told me she was
leaving. That was about a week before my birthday.”
“Shay? I don’t believe we’ve met her,” Az said.
Tally looked at David, who shrugged. He had never
brought Shay here? She wondered for a moment what had
really gone on between David and Shay.
“You certainly made up your mind quickly, then,”
Maddy said.
Tally brought her mind back to the present. “I had to. I
only had one chance.”
“Spoken like a true Smokey,” Az said, pouring a dark
liquid from the kettle into the cups. “Tea?”
“Uh, please.” Tally accepted a saucer and felt the scalding
heat through the thin, white material of the cup. Realizing
that this was one of those Smokey concoctions that burned
your tongue, she sipped carefully. Her face twisted at the