“That boy thinks the world of you,” Xiaolang murmured. “And…” he visibly hesitated, slanting a questioning look at me from the corner of his eye.

“And…?” I encouraged him. Xiaolang rarely hesitates in his speech. When he wanted to say something, he said it.

“He’ll be very important in the future,” Xiaolang murmured. “I’m not sure how to put this…” he paused, mouth rummaging for words. “Something will change very soon, Garth. Someone will be discovered who will change everything. When that happens, you need to trust Trev’nor like he trusts you. Much will be lost otherwise.”

I looked, really looked at Trev’nor. Trev’nor has always been special, a child prodigy in a life that had no child prodigies. My head was swimming with questions after Xiaolang’s revelation. Who was the boy we were to rescue, and why was Trev’nor so important for that boy?