“Sons?” I asked, enchanted. “Did they have visions too?”
Jared shook his head. “It seems the gift is inherent only in the female descendants. It should be noted, Lorelei, that this lineage is on your father’s side, not your mother’s.”
For some reason, that surprised me. I wasn’t sure why.
“You are the first female to be born in the lineage of Lara Beth in over thirty-two centuries. And yet you are just as gifted as both she and her mother were.”
I focused on the ground, unable to fully comprehend, or accept, what he was saying. But he was an angel. Maybe he couldn’t lie. Even so, I just couldn’t manage to swallow everything he suggested. “I just think you have the wrong person,” I said, begging him to reconsider. “There has to be another female descendent from another branch of the family tree. You know, like a long-lost cousin or something.”
“All other lines have been severed. You are the last, Lorelei. Heaven has been waiting a long time for you. And you’ve caused quite a stir.” He took in a deep breath. “They were expecting you a couple of days ago, in fact. I’ve probably caused quite a stir myself.”
“And now you’re stuck because of me. Because you broke a law for me.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes glistening in amusement. “They’re pretty touchy about their laws.”
“Yeah, but you only have three,” Glitch said, deciding to chime in with his usual genius for timing. “How hard can it be?”
Brooklyn backhanded him on the leg, then raised a hand, gesturing for his help to stand. He pulled her up. “So what now?” she asked, dusting off her backside.
The question stunned me. What now, indeed. I couldn’t imagine how he must feel. Jared was stuck on earth with no family, no money, and no home. If I were in his shoes, I’d be terrified. But I wasn’t a supreme being with the power of the sun in my left pinkie.
Still, the mere thought of him scared and alone broke my heart. I had to help. Surely the four of us—I glanced at Cameron—the three of us could come up with a solution. But first, the boys’ tortured-in-prison-camp getups had to go. Time to get them cleaned, clothed, and fed.
“Okay,” I said, forcing the whole prophet thing to the back of my mind and authority into my voice, “first we get you two cleaned up. Then we figure out what to do next. We can go to my house.”
“You can’t just invite it into your home, Lorelei,” Cameron said, suddenly back on full alert.
I didn’t need his paranoia or his temper just then. “Yes, Cameron, I can.”
“Listen to me.” He stood and pointed toward Jared. “He’s stuck here because he saved your life. What do you think he’ll do to get back? Maybe it’s as simple as rectifying his mistake.”
“Are you saying he would kill me to get back?”
“I could just kill you instead.” Jared stepped toward Cameron. “Do you think that would get me back?”
Cameron strolled forward until he was inches from him. They stood on the verge of another battle, each more than willing to begin the game again.
In a moment of sheer frustration, I hauled my right foot back and kicked Cameron’s shin. As he cursed and limped backwards, I turned to Jared, with his smug expression, and did the same to him.
He grabbed his leg and let loose a string of what was surely curses in another language, his teeth clenched in agony.
“Stop it!” I said, anger and a throbbing toe bringing tears to my eyes. “Both of you, stop it! No more fighting.” I looked at Cameron. “You. Did I ask for your protection? Your help? No! And for your information, I don’t care if Jared was sent here to cut me to pieces with a rusty machete. He saved my grandparents’ lives. Even if I had died, he saved my grandparents’ lives.”
I fought back the emotion that tried to take hold of me. My grandparents were all I had in the world. And Jared had saved them. The fact that he’d been sent to take me instead of save me didn’t matter in the least. Cameron needed to understand that.
“That’s all that matters, Cameron,” I said. “He could be a serial killer from Pluto, I don’t care. But what I do care about is this ridiculous death wish you each seem to have. Why do you guys hate each other so much?”
My question seemed to surprise Jared. He stepped back as though coming to his senses. But Cameron shut down. I could see a curtain being drawn around him, and I knew he wouldn’t explain. “Fine. Don’t answer me. But you will stop fighting, both of you, or neither one of you will be able to walk when I’m done.” I headed for the door. “Now, get to the car.”
GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES
Because I had ordered Glitch to drive Cameron’s pickup to my house, I ended up driving the Subaru home. Glitch didn’t want to leave us alone with either one of them, but I threatened to grill him about what had happened that spring break in the second grade. He stopped arguing instantly.
Brooklyn sat in the passenger’s seat, which put Cameron and Jared in the back. If I’d been smart, I’d have separated them. But I wanted to be able to watch them both at the same time.
Brooklyn turned to me as I adjusted the rearview mirror, bringing both the boys into focus. “I am so stoked you’re a prophet.”
“Yeah,” I said with a stifled laugh, “I’m getting that.”
“So, we’re going to call him Jared, right? I mean, changing his name to Azrael might be awkward right now. You said it yourself, Principal Davis suspects something.”