cemetery gave me a sense of peace. And Relly beside me, talking about gods, made me want to run and never turn back.
The strangest thing was not that I'd have these feelings, but that I'd have them at the same time. How could I hold such opposites in my heart? But I did. I hated Relly
for the way he made me feel. And I never wanted to say goodbye. I loved being in the graveyard with him and I wanted to escape like a drowning swimmer wants air.
"OK, we're gods," I said. No point in arguing with him. He was so matter of fact. "So what does that mean?"
"First, we're not like everyone else." That was almost funny. Me and Relly like other people? A couple of Ghost Metal kids on a date in the cemetery. How could anyone think that was normal?
"I mean that the same rules don't apply to us. Because we're gods."
"So I can skip school and I won't get in trouble? Secret gods don't have to take final exams?"
"I'm serious, Zee. Serious as a heart attack."
"All right. So we're different and the rules don't apply to us. What else?"
"They'll do anything to get what they want from us. From you."
"Who's they?" I asked.
"Knacke, for starters. And Frankengoon. He's part of it, too. And Scratch. That's the one who called you, the guy with the big eye."
"OK, so the bio teacher, the assistant principal, and the janitor are going to get us somehow?"
"You can laugh all you want, Zee. But sooner or later you're going to understand. You're going to believe."
"I'm trying to understand!" I was almost yelling now. "But this is all totally insane. You get that, right? This is not the way things are supposed to work."
"Yeah, I get it. And it's still the truth. They'll do anything to get what they want. There's a war coming, Zee. A battle to the death."
"A battle between a teenage heavy metal band and a high school janitor?"
"That's what it looks like on the outside. But on the inside, it's a lot bigger, a lot scarier, and way more important. And anyway, Scratch isn't really a janitor. He just was there yesterday to see you, to get at you. He won't be back with the mop and bucket. He'll take some other form."
"Like what? An evil librarian? The lunch lady from hell?"
"Making jokes won't change anything, Zee. What I'm saying is true. When the four true elements come togetherâfire and water, air and earthâthen there's power like you can hardly imagine. Then it's real."
"What's real?"
"Think about it, Zee. What do gods have that mortals don't?"
"Funny names."
He scowled. "What else?" I thought of the Ghost Metal sound, the crowd at Waterstreet going nuts for us. "What else?" he demanded.
"You mean like people worshiping, making offerings?"
"And?"
"They live forever."
He nodded. "That's what Knacke wants. He's old, Zee. Way older than he looks. He's sick. And he's going to die soon if he doesn't get what he needs."
It was already way too much. Every answer he gave stirred up another dozen questions. My brain was already in overload mode. Words came out of Relly's mouth. And I guess I understood them. But it was too much. I started to shut down.
Soon enough he saw what was going on. "We should get on back," he said. "Are you cold?"
I nodded. He put his arm around me. It didn't drive off the cold. But the numb, faraway feeling wasn't so bad anymore.
Twelve
W E DID A NEW TUNE, with words from my notebook and music by Relly.
It was weirdly wild, full of sudden starts and stops, like a crash-test joy ride. I finally got the riff under my fingers and could whip it off just as fast as Relly. Of course, on the bass it was way heavier, like somebody tap-dancing with cement blocks strapped onto their feet.
"OK. I think we've got it down," Relly said after we'd run it a few times.
Jerod read over the lead sheet again, trying to figure out the words. "What does
hellebore
mean?"
"Ask Zee," Relly said.
"You wrote this?" He looked at me. I mean he really looked, eye to eye, for the first time.
"Yeah. Me and Relly together."
"So
The strangest thing was not that I'd have these feelings, but that I'd have them at the same time. How could I hold such opposites in my heart? But I did. I hated Relly
for the way he made me feel. And I never wanted to say goodbye. I loved being in the graveyard with him and I wanted to escape like a drowning swimmer wants air.
"OK, we're gods," I said. No point in arguing with him. He was so matter of fact. "So what does that mean?"
"First, we're not like everyone else." That was almost funny. Me and Relly like other people? A couple of Ghost Metal kids on a date in the cemetery. How could anyone think that was normal?
"I mean that the same rules don't apply to us. Because we're gods."
"So I can skip school and I won't get in trouble? Secret gods don't have to take final exams?"
"I'm serious, Zee. Serious as a heart attack."
"All right. So we're different and the rules don't apply to us. What else?"
"They'll do anything to get what they want from us. From you."
"Who's they?" I asked.
"Knacke, for starters. And Frankengoon. He's part of it, too. And Scratch. That's the one who called you, the guy with the big eye."
"OK, so the bio teacher, the assistant principal, and the janitor are going to get us somehow?"
"You can laugh all you want, Zee. But sooner or later you're going to understand. You're going to believe."
"I'm trying to understand!" I was almost yelling now. "But this is all totally insane. You get that, right? This is not the way things are supposed to work."
"Yeah, I get it. And it's still the truth. They'll do anything to get what they want. There's a war coming, Zee. A battle to the death."
"A battle between a teenage heavy metal band and a high school janitor?"
"That's what it looks like on the outside. But on the inside, it's a lot bigger, a lot scarier, and way more important. And anyway, Scratch isn't really a janitor. He just was there yesterday to see you, to get at you. He won't be back with the mop and bucket. He'll take some other form."
"Like what? An evil librarian? The lunch lady from hell?"
"Making jokes won't change anything, Zee. What I'm saying is true. When the four true elements come togetherâfire and water, air and earthâthen there's power like you can hardly imagine. Then it's real."
"What's real?"
"Think about it, Zee. What do gods have that mortals don't?"
"Funny names."
He scowled. "What else?" I thought of the Ghost Metal sound, the crowd at Waterstreet going nuts for us. "What else?" he demanded.
"You mean like people worshiping, making offerings?"
"And?"
"They live forever."
He nodded. "That's what Knacke wants. He's old, Zee. Way older than he looks. He's sick. And he's going to die soon if he doesn't get what he needs."
It was already way too much. Every answer he gave stirred up another dozen questions. My brain was already in overload mode. Words came out of Relly's mouth. And I guess I understood them. But it was too much. I started to shut down.
Soon enough he saw what was going on. "We should get on back," he said. "Are you cold?"
I nodded. He put his arm around me. It didn't drive off the cold. But the numb, faraway feeling wasn't so bad anymore.
Twelve
W E DID A NEW TUNE, with words from my notebook and music by Relly.
It was weirdly wild, full of sudden starts and stops, like a crash-test joy ride. I finally got the riff under my fingers and could whip it off just as fast as Relly. Of course, on the bass it was way heavier, like somebody tap-dancing with cement blocks strapped onto their feet.
"OK. I think we've got it down," Relly said after we'd run it a few times.
Jerod read over the lead sheet again, trying to figure out the words. "What does
hellebore
mean?"
"Ask Zee," Relly said.
"You wrote this?" He looked at me. I mean he really looked, eye to eye, for the first time.
"Yeah. Me and Relly together."
"So
Similar Books
