New York: Allie's War, Early Years

He winked at me, heading back for the alley. "Even so. You're a doll."

As he disappeared through the swinging doors, I unfolded the square of paper the rest of the way and flattened it on the bar. A drawing stood there, in black marker.

The symbol looked vaguely familiar to me, but I couldn't remember where I'd seen it before. Under it, someone had written in jagged, hurried-looking script:

Will you be the First?

The one into which the others Flow?

Not the one in the Middle.

Nor the Second.

But the First?

Who will take up the call? Who will be The Balance of the World?

Who will witness the events of the End?

Who indeed, is the Bearer of our Final Word?

I flipped the piece of paper over, looking at the other side. It was blank. No signature, not even so much as a smiley face. A little weirded out, I passed it to Cass.

"What does that mean, do you suppose?"

Cass looked at it, read the lines, then flipped it over like I had. Leaning over to hand it down the bar to Jon when he clicked his fingers at her, she shrugged at me.

"That your freak magnet is still fully operational." Shaking her head, Cass snorted. "Jesus, Allie. We only got here a few hours ago. How the hell do they find you? Did you go out in the middle of the street and scream 'Here I am!' when Jon and I were using the toilet or something?" Suppressing a smile, she cocked an eyebrow at me, folding her arms under her breasts and pushing them up slightly. "How the hell do you do it? Seriously? This must be a world record, even for you..."

"You were with me the whole time!" I protested. "I haven't talked to anyone but you guys...and that bellhop at the hotel who stashed our bags. How could this possibly be my fault?"

"How is it ever your fault, Allie?" Cass said, rolling her eyes. "You know that's not what I meant. It just boggles the mind. Seriously." Smirking, she glanced at Jon. "You don't suppose it's the bellhop, do you? Maybe some of his bellhop pals? Maybe you could go rough him up a bit, Jon. Use some of your kung fu magic to get the truth out of him..."

Jon laughed from the other side of her, but there wasn't much humor in it.

"This is so unfair," I complained. "This time, I really didn't talk to anyone. Not a single weirdo...I haven't even made eye contact with anyone." I turned to Jon, who was still looking at the note. "Seriously. How could anyone even know I'm here?"