Because Jared was an archangel, a prince of heaven, many of our members insisted on addressing him as “Your Grace.” It wasn’t something he encouraged, but nobody listened when he discouraged it, so he just went along with the majority.
“Kenya. Nice to meet you.”
She pulled away as quickly as she could without being blatantly rude and cleared her throat.
“Don’t worry,” Jared said, leaning in to her. “If I were here for you, I wouldn’t shake your hand first.”
Sadly, we all burst out laughing, the tension was so taut, and I was worried poor Kenya would faint dead away. She did turn a lovely shade of green when he mentioned his job. So that was nice.
My grandparents had brought the church van, so we all fit quite nicely. We sat in the airport parking lot. Jared sat beside me in the middle seat. He held my hand, seeming to know I’d need the support as I explained what had happened.
“I was bombarded with visions yesterday. Everything changed. One minute I’m having visions about a fender bender here or a broken nail there, and the next—” I swallowed hard and Jared squeezed. “—the next, I’m seeing the end of the world.”
Granddad lowered his head in thought as Grandma shot him a worried look.
“It’s going to be like a storm. Like when Mom and Dad disappeared,” I said to them. “Low thunder clouds. A deafening wind. Rain. And darkness. A darkness that seems endless, like a fog or smoke that has the will to go where it wants. To do what it wants.”
“Demons?” Glitch asked.
“I think some are demons and some are spirits like we saw before. They will take over the earth. They’ll kill everyone. Everywhere. My leaving did nothing. It didn’t help at all.”
“Pix, your leaving accomplished what we wanted it to. It kept you safe until it was time for you to come home.”
“You knew? You knew I would have to come home?”
“Of course they did,” Kenya said. “You can’t outrun destiny.”
“She has a point,” Brooke tossed in. She was so helpful.
“I thought my leaving might change things. Might make things better.”
“It did,” Grandma said. “It kept you safe. Out of harm’s way.”
“But not for you,” I said to her. “Glitch told me what you’ve been going through. I’m so sorry.”
Grandma reached over and took my free hand. “Don’t you dare apologize. We knew exactly what we were getting into. We knew some would be very angry.” When she leveled an accusing stare on Cameron, he simply turned and did his signature distant stare out the window.
It would have been funny if not for the fact that it was all so serious. So blindingly real.
“You could have been hurt,” I said to them.
“Pixie Stick,” Granddad said, his voice stern, “stop worrying about us this minute. We did what was best at the time. If some don’t agree, it’s because they don’t love you like we do.”
“I love her,” Cameron shot out, completely offended. “You sent her off without me. Me! Her protector. I should have been with her.”
“That’s why we had Kenya,” Grandma said.
The fact that my grandparents knew about Kenya shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did.
Cameron looked at her anew, his astonishment palpable. “Her? This walking bleach factory? She’s human.”
Well, that answered that. I was beginning to wonder.
“And,” Kenya said, raising her chin a notch, “I’m a third-degree black belt in tae kwon do, an expert markswoman, and I’m certified to carry a concealed weapon in seven states, including this one. My parents have been training me since I was a toddler. So bite my ass.”
Brooke and I gasped at her use of the word “ass” in front of my grandparents, his being a minister and all, but they hid grins.
Cameron leaned over to her. “You’re still just a human.”
“And I saved your charge’s ass from a psychotic douche.”
Yep, we gasped again. If she did that any more, we’d probably hyperventilate.
“Where were you?” she continued.
When Cameron leaned even closer to her, Glitch leaned in between them. “We get it, Cameron,” he said. “You’re mad. Now, leave her alone. She did your job for you. The least you can do is say thank you.”
Cameron bit down, worked his jaw, then gathered his resolve and grinned at him. But it was his evil grin, the one he saved for special occasions and for tormenting Glitch, his favorite pastime.
“Can we get back to the ‘end of the world’ thing?” Brooke asked. “It seems kind of important.”
She took Cameron’s face between her hands and forced him to focus on her until his anger melted. Without taking his eyes off Brooke, he said, “Fine, then. Thank you.”
His expression of gratitude surprised everyone, but what surprised me was the look of forlornness on Kenya’s face when she glanced at Glitch. Glitch! She had a thing for him. For Glitch! I sat speechless and wondered if Glitch was still seeing Ashlee. There could be another war on the horizon if so. Messing with the Southern Belles was never a good idea, third-degree black belt or not.
“Maybe you could take another look,” Kenya said, recovering. She cast a pointed stare at me. “Maybe things have changed. We took care of the threat at Bedford Fields, the catalyst for your new visions. Maybe we set things right again.”