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
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.”
“I know. He’s stuck with Jared.”
“What do you mean Principal Davis suspects something?” Jared asked, straightening. “Suspects what?”
“I had to go to his office,” I explained. “He had every yearbook from the seventies in there. He found a picture from the day his brother died. You were in it.”
“He’d circled your image,” Brooklyn said, “like he knows something.”
“That could be problematic.” He wrinkled his brows in thought. “I don’t know why I’ve locked on to this plane, but while I’m here, I shouldn’t disturb the natural order of things any more than I already have.”
“You mean to tell me, someone took your picture?” Cameron asked, taken a back.
“Not really his,” Brooklyn said. “It was a picture of Elliot Davis, Mr. Davis’s brother, taken on the day he died.”
“And, what,” Cameron asked Jared, “you struck a pose?”
He turned toward the window. “I was waiting.”
“I’m kind of surprised your picture can be taken,” Brooklyn said, “you know, that you even show up on film.”
“When I shift onto this plane, I take a physical form. I’m solid, like you.”
Brooklyn snorted. “I don’t think you’re anything like me.”
Cameron scoffed and leaned his head back against the seat. “So you slither onto this plane to rip some poor schmuck right out of his skin, and you get caught on
“He’s not the grim reaper,” I said, suddenly defensive. And very thankful that we’d been wrong. “He’s an angel.”
“For Pete’s sake, Lorelei.” Cameron shook his head as though floored at my naivete. “He’s an angel, all right. The freaking angel of de—”
“Perhaps you should stop talking now,” Jared said.
“Or what?”
“I’ll make you stop.”
“If you didn’t hit like a girl in a pink party dress, I might be inclined to worry. Wait a minute.” He sat up again, his expression amused. “You don’t want her to know.”
Jared sat up as well. They’d been shoulder to shoulder in the small space as it was, but now they were facing each other, a murderous scowl on Jared’s face, an almost comical one on Cameron’s.
Though neither actually made a move to initiate another fight, the last thing I needed was a rumble in the Subaru. I turned to them angrily. “Am I going to have to pull over?” I asked, pointing a finger at each of them in turn.
They both frowned and backed down, turning to look out their windows and pout. Satisfied, I refocused on the road. Which was a good thing, since I was driving.
“Can I ask why you came for Mr. Davis’s brother?”
I watched in the mirror as Jared thought back. “Elliot Davis knew he was dying. He felt it and he prayed for just a moment more. He had a message for his brother Alan. Because the message was one of absolute unselfishness and he had such faith, I was sent.”
“To tweak the timing,” Brooke said, amazed.
“Yes. I waited for him to deliver the message, then I took him.”
“What was the message?” she asked.
He grinned. “I cannot say.”
“Man.” She frowned in disappointment, but my thoughts had veered in another direction.
I slowed the car to a stop. Fortunately, the road was deserted. I turned back to him and asked, “Did Mr. Davis see you?”
He blew out a slow sigh then admitted, “Yes, he did. For a split second in time, he saw me materialize and take his brother.”
