only an hour away, but we must remain vigilant. Once in Nevaeh, we’ll have added protection. The others are busy with the new semester’s intake, and they have strengthened the Bulwark,” Aunt Grace added.
I walked out, their conversation stopped abruptly.
“We ready to go?” I asked.
“More than you know,” Aunt Grace replied.
I glanced down at Aunt Grace’s right hand. It bore the same lobster redness my hand had before she’d touched it. I was shocked but said nothing. I trusted her to tell me more when we got to Nevaeh.
We made it to the parking lot adjacent to the gas station. Hudson stood outside next to his truck. He was clearly upset with the person he was talking to on his cell phone.
“What do you mean you knew? You knew and you didn’t think it was important to warn us?” As he finished his sentence he brought his hand up to his head and roughly brushed it through his hair. As we approached, he turned in our direction and quickly mumbled something into his phone and then hung up.
“You all right, Jace?” he asked, making a weak attempt to conceal how concerned he was. I played the whole situation down. I figured Jen would tell him all about the onyx-eyed girl during the remainder of their trip. If he had any questions about it we could talk about it at Aunt Grace’s.
“Everything’s good. We should all get going though,” I offered.
Aunt Grace spoke up, “Hudson, she’s safe. We need to be on our way before night falls.” She ushered me into her car.
Jen went over to Hudson and then turned back to Aunt Grace and me.
“We’ll be right behind you this time—not out of sight, all the way,” Jen said, lightly brushing her hand across Hudson’s right arm as she headed to the passenger side of his truck.
This registered a raised eyebrow from me to Hudson, who tried to look at me like, what, nothing there .
I saw him blush as he turned to get into the truck, something totally foreign and completely out of character for him. We headed towards Nevaeh. I sat quietly for the next half hour. I couldn’t let everything that transpired at the truck stop pass without asking some questions.
“Things are going to be different in Nevaeh, aren’t they?”
“There are a lot of things that are going to happen. You’ve seen things in the last week which most people wouldn’t be able to comprehend. There’s a lot I can’t tell you, but what I can say is that your Mom and Dad knew all about Nevaeh. They knew all about the ‘strange’ stuff you’ve been seeing and experiencing. I’m not trying to speak in riddles. You deserve a straightforward answer…but not yet, Jacey. It wouldn’t be safe or smart for me to discuss any of it with you. I’ve already revealed too much with the purple light episode you saw in the washroom.” She looked down at her right hand. It was still bright red.
“Will I ever get any answers?” I asked.
“Sooner or later,” she replied.
While we drove on in silence, my mind went back to the events in the washroom. Reliving this inevitably brought up all of the unexplained things which had happened lately. I came to a couple of conclusions that might explain everything:
A) Out of body experiences (abducted by aliens and such).
B) I was losing my mind… ( Probably the most logical and the most probable).
C) Magic ( the real hocus-pocus kind).
I knew A and B were most likely the right answers, but when ‘C’ popped up, it felt right. It had been sitting on the edge of my tongue. I’d know in time. I had to wait for any kind of explanation, but there was one thing I needed to know now.
“Did you see the way Jen and Hudson were together back there?” I asked.
“I did,” Aunt Grace replied.
“I’m not seeing things—well, other than purple healing lights and onyx-eyed girls with red sparks—am I?”
“I don’t know, Jacey. That’s something you’ll have to ask Hudson and Jen about. But to answer your question, yes, they do seem to be
I walked out, their conversation stopped abruptly.
“We ready to go?” I asked.
“More than you know,” Aunt Grace replied.
I glanced down at Aunt Grace’s right hand. It bore the same lobster redness my hand had before she’d touched it. I was shocked but said nothing. I trusted her to tell me more when we got to Nevaeh.
We made it to the parking lot adjacent to the gas station. Hudson stood outside next to his truck. He was clearly upset with the person he was talking to on his cell phone.
“What do you mean you knew? You knew and you didn’t think it was important to warn us?” As he finished his sentence he brought his hand up to his head and roughly brushed it through his hair. As we approached, he turned in our direction and quickly mumbled something into his phone and then hung up.
“You all right, Jace?” he asked, making a weak attempt to conceal how concerned he was. I played the whole situation down. I figured Jen would tell him all about the onyx-eyed girl during the remainder of their trip. If he had any questions about it we could talk about it at Aunt Grace’s.
“Everything’s good. We should all get going though,” I offered.
Aunt Grace spoke up, “Hudson, she’s safe. We need to be on our way before night falls.” She ushered me into her car.
Jen went over to Hudson and then turned back to Aunt Grace and me.
“We’ll be right behind you this time—not out of sight, all the way,” Jen said, lightly brushing her hand across Hudson’s right arm as she headed to the passenger side of his truck.
This registered a raised eyebrow from me to Hudson, who tried to look at me like, what, nothing there .
I saw him blush as he turned to get into the truck, something totally foreign and completely out of character for him. We headed towards Nevaeh. I sat quietly for the next half hour. I couldn’t let everything that transpired at the truck stop pass without asking some questions.
“Things are going to be different in Nevaeh, aren’t they?”
“There are a lot of things that are going to happen. You’ve seen things in the last week which most people wouldn’t be able to comprehend. There’s a lot I can’t tell you, but what I can say is that your Mom and Dad knew all about Nevaeh. They knew all about the ‘strange’ stuff you’ve been seeing and experiencing. I’m not trying to speak in riddles. You deserve a straightforward answer…but not yet, Jacey. It wouldn’t be safe or smart for me to discuss any of it with you. I’ve already revealed too much with the purple light episode you saw in the washroom.” She looked down at her right hand. It was still bright red.
“Will I ever get any answers?” I asked.
“Sooner or later,” she replied.
While we drove on in silence, my mind went back to the events in the washroom. Reliving this inevitably brought up all of the unexplained things which had happened lately. I came to a couple of conclusions that might explain everything:
A) Out of body experiences (abducted by aliens and such).
B) I was losing my mind… ( Probably the most logical and the most probable).
C) Magic ( the real hocus-pocus kind).
I knew A and B were most likely the right answers, but when ‘C’ popped up, it felt right. It had been sitting on the edge of my tongue. I’d know in time. I had to wait for any kind of explanation, but there was one thing I needed to know now.
“Did you see the way Jen and Hudson were together back there?” I asked.
“I did,” Aunt Grace replied.
“I’m not seeing things—well, other than purple healing lights and onyx-eyed girls with red sparks—am I?”
“I don’t know, Jacey. That’s something you’ll have to ask Hudson and Jen about. But to answer your question, yes, they do seem to be
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