Chosen

“Not really,” I answered, and my stomach promptly betrayed me by growling. Willow put her hands on her hips.

“You need food, whether you want it or not,” she scolded me.

“How about someone brings you a plate down?” Finn suggested, and I sent happy vibes toward him; wishing that I could just spend time with only him for a couple of days and forget about everything else that was happening. Unfortunately, avoiding death threats wasn’t an option.

“That would be wonderful,” I grinned at her sheepishly. At that, everyone began to gather their things and stood up to leave for Zara’s. I gave Dad a long hug and realized that I didn’t want to let him go - but I knew that I wasn’t the only one who needed rest. His eyes had sunken in and he’d become pale since I’d been in my vision. The last to leave were Carmen and Willow, who let it be known how worried they were about me. Finn put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head.

“The Sons will be right outside all night, so you’re completely safe here,” Finn reassured me.

“I was hoping you’d stay with me.” My request came out more desperate than I had intended, but I’d been hoping to tell him about my vision. “I need to talk to you about something.”

“I’ll be back first thing tomorrow morning,” he explained. The hesitancy and compassion in his deep blue eyes told me that he didn’t want to leave, anymore than I wanted him to. “My father has requested my presence for a meeting tonight. I can’t miss it.”

“It’s alright, I’ll probably just sleep all night anyway.” I tried to hide my disappointment, but I’m not sure I fooled anyone. At least this would give me some time to think and collect my thoughts.

“I’ll be back before the sun comes up, I promise,” he assured me with another kiss before reluctantly leaving the cottage.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Willow asked me, unconvinced.

“You know we can tell when that head of yours is about to pop off,” Carmen pressed with presumption.

I sighed and gave in easily to their interrogation, “My vision wasn’t exactly what I thought it was going to be. I’m just not sure Zara is who she claims to be, but I don’t know how to find out or if it even matters at this point.” I ran a hand through my hair. “I feel like I’ve got a million problems piling up and I’m being forced to pick and choose which ones to worry about.”

“Well, the most important problem right now is how to keep you alive,” Willow told me sternly. “Everything else can wait.”

“She’s right,” Carmen said. “You need to concentrate on your training, and figure out how to keep from getting whacked when Keto and Nadia come a-knocking.”

“You are not helping.” Willow cut her eyes at Carmen and then regarded me once again, “You do have one advantage, however.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Kick ass friends.” She smiled widely before continuing, “We’re about to eat up there, and Zara isn’t home yet. We’ll perform some reconnaissance work and report back.”

“Just be careful,” I warned them. “If she’s talking to Keto, we’re really playing with fire.”

“Keto?”

“In my vision, Keto had gone to Zara’s house to meet up and talk,” I explained, and their eyes grew wide. “So just be careful.”

“We will,” Carmen hugged me. “Now, you get some sleep. Doctor’s orders.”

Finally alone, I collapsed onto the couch and massaged my temples. I wondered if a person’s head really could pop off. It seemed feasible. I closed my eyes and laid back, hoping all the answers would magically appear in my thoughts. Instead, the world faded away as sleep took me hostage.

Chapter 36

The next time my eyes opened I had no idea how long I’d been sleeping on the couch, but there was a full plate of cold food on the coffee table in front of me. Either Willow couldn’t wake me up, or she had left me sleeping. I thought about re-heating the food, but decided against it; slinking back to the bedroom and climbing into bed. I rolled over onto my back and stared up at the ceiling.

Surprisingly, it stared back.

A solid line of at least fifty glow-in-the-dark stars of all sizes ran the length of the ceiling from window to wall. From there, it trailed down and disappeared into the closet. I switched on the small lamp on the bedside table and hopped out of bed; curiosity getting the best of me. I crossed the room and opened the door to a large walk-in closet that seemed to go on for miles. Blouses, pants, and dresses were stuffed on either side; not allowing room for much else.

I stuck my head inside, but only the eerie glow from the line of stars that continued to run along the ceiling could be seen. I stepped farther inside and spun around slowly. There was a good chance the stars had been there for years, but I hadn’t noticed them the night before. Maybe Zara had thought I’d like them? Or maybe Finn did it? Giving up, I was about to walk out when I heard a light stirring near the back of the closet. I stepped farther in, looking for some kind of weapon in case a murderer, or more appropriately, Nadia, was hiding behind one of the dresses. My breath hitched as I pictured a rat the size of a small dog launching itself at me.

Funny - how a rat could elicit more fear in me than a murderer or Nadia. I didn’t have much more time to contemplate who was sharing the closet with me before three figures plunged out from the darkness and smothered me in a hazardous four-person hug in the middle of the closet.

“What are you guys doing here?!” I screeched at my three roommates. “I thought you were a murderer! Or a…rat. Or…whatever! You shouldn’t be hiding in my closet!”

“It was the only hiding place we could all fit!” Carmen jumped on the bed and tested out its springiness.

“The perfectly good living room wasn’t big enough for you?” I put my hands on my hips.

“Sticking stars to the ceiling and hiding out in your bedroom closet were much more fun.”

Willow laughed. “Plus, the guards outside let us in because we had food.”

“I voted for cutting off the electricity and blasting the door down, but Carmen said that would be too obvious.” Phoebe shrugged as she inspected the pictures on the wall.

“Or…” I emphasized slowly with sarcasm. “And this might sound crazy, but you could have just knocked on the door and woke me up.”

“Once again, that doesn’t involve stars or closets,” Phoebe informed me. “Not to mention, we wouldn’t have had an excuse to get all dressed up like army guys!”

She twirled around to show off her outfit. All three of them looked more like duck hunters than army men, as they were covered in camouflage from head to toe with black war paint smeared on their faces. Willow’s gorgeous hair was tucked up under a bright, neon-orange knit hat.

“Good thing you wore camouflage - If it weren’t for your hair, I wouldn’t be able to see you right now.” I rolled my eyes and laughed.

Carmen put her hands on her hips, “I sacrificed at least three dollars for these diamonds in the rough at a yard sale last week. I knew they’d come in handy some day. Besides, yours are in this bag.

We can’t bust you out of here in that.” I looked down at my jeans and sweater and then back at Carmen with skepticism. She tossed the bag at me with a wicked grin. “You’ve got two choices. Put them on or we put them on for you. You pick.”

 “And just what are you busting me out of here for?” I retaliated. “And just how do you propose we get back out without the Sons seeing us?”

“I can be very persuasive,” Carmen answered darkly.

Phoebe snickered and rolled her eyes, “Your money can be very persuasive. Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dumb didn’t take a lot of convincing to agree to be our escorts for the night.”

“And what exactly do we need camouflage outfits and armed guards for?” I wasn’t convinced.

I eyed my own camo outfit awaiting me in the bag sitting on the bed.

“Operation ‘Zara Dark Thirty’,” Carmen announced, clearly proud of the name they’d come up with; a play