that… well, that Olivia hasn’t really taught me a lot of yet.”
I tried not to grimace. That didn’t exactly fill me with confidence.
“How’d you get involved in this, anyway?” Baylie asked. “Is it like a family thing?”
Ellie nodded. “More or less, yeah. I mean, if they think you’re smart enough and teachable enough to be worth the time to train, then it is. Mom and Dad could have been elders, easy. They just weren’t into it. Mom prefers teaching and Dad loves his job as a programmer, so…” She shrugged. “But we’d visit Grandpa for the holidays and the two of us would spend hours talking about history or looking at all the cool things in his study…” She seemed embarrassed. “You probably think I’m a total dork.”
“No,” Baylie assured her. “Of course we don’t.”
I made a noise of agreement. I was the kid with the psycho parents who’d grounded her for coming near a yard sprinkler, and I could count on one hand the times I’d had an actual conversation with my mom or dad – since in my book, lectures and arguments and screaming matches didn’t exactly count.
Ellie’s childhood sounded great from my perspective.
“Okay,” Ellie said, a shy smile hovering around her mouth. “But yeah, the elder stuff is mostly a family thing. I just work with Olivia because she lives closer to us than Grandpa. Her grandmother was an elder, though, and Grandpa’s uncle trained him. Your mentor keeps teaching you till they think you’re ready and… and sometimes that can take a while.”
My brow flickered down at the hint of discomfort in her tone.
The door to the house opened again. Olivia stuck her head outside.
“Ellie, your parents are on the phone. They’d like to speak with you.” She paused. “I get the impression your grandfather’s been calling them.”
“You think he knows we’re here?” I asked, tensing.
“Probably not for certain,” Olivia allowed. “Though I suspect he’ll think of it.” She returned her gaze to Ellie. “But your mom and dad are worried. They say they’ve been trying to reach you.”
The girl grimaced. “I was going to call…”
“Talk to them now. And you two,” she looked to me and Baylie, “wake your friends. We’re going to meet several of the others outside town. Harman knows where my office is located, so that’s not the safest place. We’ll head out in a few minutes so that if anyone does come looking, they won’t find you regardless.”
I swallowed. I didn’t want to think about the greliarans or who-knew-what-else coming after us again. I’d be happy if they all just stayed on the other side of the country forever. Or the world.
“Alright,” I agreed with a jerky nod.
Olivia ducked back inside. Ellie climbed to her feet and followed.
I glanced to Baylie, seeing the same tension on her face that I could feel on my own.
“I’ll go wake up Noah,” she said tightly.
“Thanks.”
We rose and headed into the house, the bright summer day feeling so much more threatening than before.
Chapter Five
Zeke
Consciousness returned at the feeling of a hand shaking me. I tried not to groan. I couldn’t have been out for very long. Everything in my body was still attempting to drag me back down to sleep like I was wrapped in anchor chains.
Blinking tiredly, I looked over to find Chloe crouched beside me.
“Hey,” I said, a smile spreading over my face as my exhaustion quickly became second in my priorities.
My hand reached from beneath the blankets to slide around her waist.
She tensed. “Hey,” she answered, pulling back a bit.
I stopped. Confused, I glanced around the room, noting that Noah was nowhere to be seen.
And yet she still didn’t want me to touch her. That wasn’t exactly a good sign.
“What is it?” I asked cautiously, pushing away from the cushions to rest my weight on an elbow.
“Olivia thinks Harman will figure out we’re here. She wants us to pack up and leave with
I tried not to grimace. That didn’t exactly fill me with confidence.
“How’d you get involved in this, anyway?” Baylie asked. “Is it like a family thing?”
Ellie nodded. “More or less, yeah. I mean, if they think you’re smart enough and teachable enough to be worth the time to train, then it is. Mom and Dad could have been elders, easy. They just weren’t into it. Mom prefers teaching and Dad loves his job as a programmer, so…” She shrugged. “But we’d visit Grandpa for the holidays and the two of us would spend hours talking about history or looking at all the cool things in his study…” She seemed embarrassed. “You probably think I’m a total dork.”
“No,” Baylie assured her. “Of course we don’t.”
I made a noise of agreement. I was the kid with the psycho parents who’d grounded her for coming near a yard sprinkler, and I could count on one hand the times I’d had an actual conversation with my mom or dad – since in my book, lectures and arguments and screaming matches didn’t exactly count.
Ellie’s childhood sounded great from my perspective.
“Okay,” Ellie said, a shy smile hovering around her mouth. “But yeah, the elder stuff is mostly a family thing. I just work with Olivia because she lives closer to us than Grandpa. Her grandmother was an elder, though, and Grandpa’s uncle trained him. Your mentor keeps teaching you till they think you’re ready and… and sometimes that can take a while.”
My brow flickered down at the hint of discomfort in her tone.
The door to the house opened again. Olivia stuck her head outside.
“Ellie, your parents are on the phone. They’d like to speak with you.” She paused. “I get the impression your grandfather’s been calling them.”
“You think he knows we’re here?” I asked, tensing.
“Probably not for certain,” Olivia allowed. “Though I suspect he’ll think of it.” She returned her gaze to Ellie. “But your mom and dad are worried. They say they’ve been trying to reach you.”
The girl grimaced. “I was going to call…”
“Talk to them now. And you two,” she looked to me and Baylie, “wake your friends. We’re going to meet several of the others outside town. Harman knows where my office is located, so that’s not the safest place. We’ll head out in a few minutes so that if anyone does come looking, they won’t find you regardless.”
I swallowed. I didn’t want to think about the greliarans or who-knew-what-else coming after us again. I’d be happy if they all just stayed on the other side of the country forever. Or the world.
“Alright,” I agreed with a jerky nod.
Olivia ducked back inside. Ellie climbed to her feet and followed.
I glanced to Baylie, seeing the same tension on her face that I could feel on my own.
“I’ll go wake up Noah,” she said tightly.
“Thanks.”
We rose and headed into the house, the bright summer day feeling so much more threatening than before.
Chapter Five
Zeke
Consciousness returned at the feeling of a hand shaking me. I tried not to groan. I couldn’t have been out for very long. Everything in my body was still attempting to drag me back down to sleep like I was wrapped in anchor chains.
Blinking tiredly, I looked over to find Chloe crouched beside me.
“Hey,” I said, a smile spreading over my face as my exhaustion quickly became second in my priorities.
My hand reached from beneath the blankets to slide around her waist.
She tensed. “Hey,” she answered, pulling back a bit.
I stopped. Confused, I glanced around the room, noting that Noah was nowhere to be seen.
And yet she still didn’t want me to touch her. That wasn’t exactly a good sign.
“What is it?” I asked cautiously, pushing away from the cushions to rest my weight on an elbow.
“Olivia thinks Harman will figure out we’re here. She wants us to pack up and leave with
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