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"Hazel Macht? Councilman Macht's daughter?" Leonard paused, dredging the name up from his memory. "I've never met her-how did you discover she was a Beyonder?"

Neph blinked and reached out to knock the rat over. It shakily climbed back to its feet and resumed gnawing on the hardtack on its plate.

"I caught her-teacher," she said. "Well, let's call him her teacher for now."

Her lips curved slightly. Leonard frowned, unable to understand what she meant. Just as he was about to speak again, Pallez stopped him. "I know what's going on."

"Old Man?" Leonard asked in surprise. "You know?"

Pallez didn't answer, merely instructing him, "Ask what Sequence that child is on the Marauder pathway now."

"Why the Marauder pathway?" Leonard couldn't understand.

"Just ask," Pallez told him.

"-The Old Man wants me to ask what Sequence she is on the Marauder pathway." Leonard looked at Neph.

"She should be Sequence 8 now," Neph answered after a moment's thought.

Leonard nodded with a frown. In any case, the Church of Evernight couldn't turn a blind eye to this, but it wasn't his responsibility either. After thinking for a few seconds, he ventured, "Can I ask you a question?"

Neph looked up at him, so he dispensed with tact and asked directly, "Why-do you call yourself Pure White?"

Neph froze for a moment. She gave Leonard another look, certain that this couldn't possibly be his own question. Tilting her head, she smiled. "Of course it's because-

"I was always supposed to be Pure White.

"If something hadn't gone wrong with my birth, I would have been Pure White."

Leonard clearly hadn't understood, but Neph had no intention of elaborating. Seeing that he couldn't get anything out of her, he gave up. Neph soon left his home, and only then did