[This post is from Thomas Merlin Ambrose’s point of view.]
“Us,” Kailey echoed, her tone incredulous. “Why the hell would they be looking for us?”
“Not ‘us’ as in you and me,” I said, stomach twisting as if my guts knew something the rest of me didn’t, “‘us’ as in everyone here in the Valley. They were looking for the Valley. Not something or someone specific—us as a group.”
Hecate was watching me; I could feel the weight of her stare and it was starting to be a little uncomfortable. I tried to hide the discomfort, instead focusing on Kailey, who stood a few feet away, staring at me, slack-jawed and almost—almost—horrified.
“Why?” she asked, shaking her head. “I don’t understand why they’d be looking for us.”
“All things are revealed in time,” Hecate said, her voice quiet. I recognized her tone—it was the one she used when she was trying to prevent some kind of explosive outburst from her daughter.
At that, Kailey turned her glare on her mother, though only for a moment, before her gaze returned to me. “You seem so damn sure of it, Lin.”
“Well, I’m not,” I admitted. “I’m just listening to my gut and what feels right. That’s what my gut’s saying, but we’ll find out soon enough—like Aunt Hecate said, in time.”
“Sooner rather than later, I suspect,” Hecate said, standing. I blinked, watching her as she headed for the door.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“We’ll see,” she said as she opened the door, revealing a slightly startled—and definitely perturbed—looking Phelan. She canted her head to one side, studying him for a moment. “You want me to take over in there?”
“Yes,” he said through clenched teeth. “Yes, I think that would be best.”
She nodded. “Will you stay with them?”
He nodded once, glancing at me and then at Kailey. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll stay. Go on. Matt needs you more than he needs me.”
She chuckled at that, slipping out the door. “He only thinks he does.”
The door clicked closed behind her.
