"She was left here by Martians on a field trip," Mason used to complain when they were teenagers. "No human species could have spawned this mutant aberration."
Faith was beautiful. Her blond hair floated around her in an unearthly cloud and her pale blue eyes seemed to see into another world, although they seldom saw what was going on around her.
They'd grown up on the run, moving from one Pacific island to another with parents who were, by turns, missionaries of a metaphysical religion, extortionists or con artists.
There was no nice way of saying it. The Ameses had been crooks, and they'd raised their children in a weird atmosphere of cunning and chaos, usually just one step ahead of disaster-and the authorities.
Faith and Mason had never minded it much. Normal life seemed boring to them, anyway. Charity had felt the brunt of the burden; she'd ached for some dignity and respect.
And so Charity had been the one to fix things when she could. When things went wrong, both her siblings still showed up on her doorstep, expecting her to shelter them from the cold, cruel world. And she'd never turned either one of them down.
Now she had Aunt Doris coming. Aunt Doris didn't want to be sheltered. Aunt Doris wanted to check on things. And Charity felt like a student on the eve of final exams.
"Going to dress up for your gargoyle?" Mason asked in all innocence just before he left the kitchen.
"Gargoyles are people, too," she reminded him, glar ing all the while. Actually she was planning to dress up. It was only around family members that she looked like a hobo. Before the world, she liked to present a more professional image.
Mason shrugged. "I'm going out to pick up some sup plies for the trip. If Paul gets here before I get back, enter tain him. Okay?"
"Sure," she answered absently, but she hardly heard the door slam as he left.
Gargoyles. Who needed them? She stared at her cell phone lying innocently on the counter. Maybe it would be best if she can celed the hired husband after all.