I wondered absently if I should tell everyone about the meadow at the edge of town, wondered if there would be any purpose in it. If they saw what we’d seen that first night…
That decision was taken out of my hands, though. Accidentally, of course, but irrevocably nonetheless.
“Then lets meet there tonight,” Carly Simon said.
I was stunned for a moment, wondering if she meant what I thought she meant and how she’d known what I was thinking. But then I realized that I’d inadvertently let that thought flow out of me where it could be perceived by the others. And now they knew.
The rest of the group started clamoring about meeting there and I knew that they would be going with or without me. I figured it would always be a good idea for us to stick together as much as possible, so I went with it.
“All right, tonight then. We’ll meet at the meadow. Ride together as much as you can so that there will be fewer vehicles there. And whatever you do, don’t leave the meadow!”
My classmates began to talk amongst themselves after that, plotting and planning and wondering aloud. They began to separate into the small groups I was more accustomed to seeing them in, like the cliques every school has. I felt that the group would’ve broken up soon after that anyway, but we weren’t given the chance. Just then Mr. Salenger burst through the doors, threatening us all with detention if we didn’t move our butts to class.
As bodies scattered, Trace, Brady, Lacey and I took the opportunity to move in a different direction, making our way quickly to Brady’s Jeep and then off the school grounds. We were quiet for the first leg of the short trip home, each of us lost in our own thoughts about what had happened and what the future held for us. It was Lacey who broke the silence.
“That went well,” she quipped, sarcasm dripping from her tone.
Trace and I looked at each other in the back seat and then I met Brady’s eyes in the rearview mirror before we all burst into laughter. As usual, Lacey herself was the perfect tension breaker.
I sighed. “I’m sorry, guys. I just had to get away from all those minds, all those thoughts. I don’t know how Amity stands it.”
“She’s a nutbird, that’s how. And don’t even get me started on how I think she’s been putting thoughts in people’s heads all these years. I knew there was a reason no one sensed her pure evil soul. Now I know how.”
Although we all snickered at Lacey’s comments, I couldn’t help but wonder if she wasn’t at least partially correct. Amity had obviously learned to use her powers early. Maybe some people could tap into their second natures before Brady triggered them. Or maybe Brady just triggered an anger in them that brought it out in a physical way, a way that I could see.
“Great!” Brady announced with a frustrated sigh.
It only took me a second to realize what had agitated him. There was a red Volkswagen Jetta parked in the driveway at our house.
Aunt Julia was home.
Brady had stopped in the street at the end of the driveway, the engine idling in indecision.
“Just keep going. We can go somewhere else. She doesn’t have to know we were even here,” I suggested.
Before the last word had even left my lips, the front door opened and Julia stepped out onto the stoop. I held my breath, hoping she wouldn’t look up and see us, but she did. She looked straight at the Jeep and pinned us with her stare. It was almost like she knew we were out there.
No one said a word as she motioned for Brady to pull into the driveway. Obediently, he did so, though I could almost hear his gulp of dread. There were few things over which Julia ruled with an iron fist. Skipping school happened to be one of them. It was something she simply did not tolerate.
Reluctantly, guiltily, we all piled out of the Jeep and made our way slowly toward Julia. Brady and I stopped in front of her first, glancing nervously at one another as we waited for the axe to fall.
“Come inside,” she said bluntly. “We need to talk.”
Once again, Brady and I glanced at one another, this time puzzled. Julia’s tone sent fingers of unease skittering down my spine.
“About what?” I asked, not wanting to go one step further without knowing what lay ahead. I was
that
apprehensive.
“About what you are,” she answered simply. “What you all are,” she added, her eyes taking in Trace and Lacey as well. She turned to walk back into the house without waiting for us. She knew that, after an answer like that, we would be hot on her heels. And we were.
The four of us followed Julia into the living room. We all remained standing, fidgeting uncomfortably as she lowered herself down into an armchair. She crossed her legs demurely as though she were awaiting a tea cart from the butler, not a care in the world.
She glanced up at us and nodded toward the couch. Obligingly, we each took a seat—Lacey and me in the middle, Trace and Brady on either end. No one said a word. I think we were all afraid to. But then Julia spoke and we wanted nothing more than to listen.
“Let me tell you a story. It begins with two fallen angels, both very powerful in this world. One had power over the sun, the other over the moon. Their influence was minimal in the beginning, affecting only the oceans and the plants. Then they realized they could have an effect on humans to some degree—their personalities, their physical traits. Many scoff at their sway, calling those who study it—astrologers—quacks and lunatics. But here in Two Lakes, the two gods are undeniable, for this is the nexus of their power. We are those most influenced by them. We are the few who are gifted with a second nature.”
Although I was loathe to interrupt, I had to ask Julia, “What is your second nature?”
Julia looked at me and smiled. “I am a witch.”
I nodded, not knowing what else to say to that, not knowing which of the hundreds of questions that flooded my mind to ask next. As a result, I simply held my tongue and waited for Julia to continue.
“Most of your parents have a second nature, which is how you ended up here. They sent you to Two Lakes to mature, to be gifted with your own abilities.”
“Sent us? What do you mean?”
“No adult here is who you think they are.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Every parent has a choice to make. They can give up their children to the care of these ‘plant parents’ and let the children fully mature, which happens around eighteen, and trust that they’ll find their Order upon leaving Two Lakes. Or, they can elect to keep their children out of Two Lakes and live a normal human life with them, in which case they are exiled from their Order and their powers fade over time.”
“Wait a minute. Then how are you here?”
“I’m the only one who has ever been able to get back into Two Lakes without dying.”
“Shawn mentioned that, the witches who got back in.”
“Witches?” Julia asked, sitting up a little straighter in her chair. “Did he say witches, plural?”
I thought back to the conversation, wanting to be sure since she was obviously alarmed by the thought. “Yes, he said ‘witches’.”
“What are they up to?” she asked absently, coming to her feet and walking a short distance from her chair before turning to pace back again.
“Aunt Julia, what’s going on? We know some of this already. Why don’t you tell us what they want?”
“They all want you, Peyton.”
I wasn’t surprised at all by her statement. I’d figured as much.
“And they want you two, as well,” she added, indicating Trace and Brady with a nod of her head.
“For what?”
Julia turned her cool blue eyes to me. “To win, of course. To be able to trigger darkness in every other supernatural creature and then force you to wield it. With Trace’s help, the three of you would provide a wealth of power, an enormous advantage to anyone who had you within their ranks.”
I snorted. “As if we don’t have a choice.”
“You don’t.”
“What if I refused?”
“And how would you do that?”
“I could refuse to wield the powers. I wouldn’t do them much good then, now would I?”
“And then they would threaten your brother. Or your soul mate. They wouldn’t hesitate to use anyone or anything as leverage to control you.”
“What if they escaped? And I was the only one left? What if there was no leverage?”
“Then you’d do what? Kill yourself? Because that would be your only choice without Trace to help you. You would fall victim to the uncontrollable influence of everyone else’s power.”
“Then I’d…I’d…”
I had no plan, could see no way out. Other than not to get caught, of course. That would be my primary objective now and for the rest of my life—never to let these people get their hands on me. Or anyone I loved.
“Exactly. That’s why I did the unthinkable to get you in here and to stay with you.”
“The unthinkable? What’s that?”
“You don’t want to know,” she said uneasily.
“Why would you do that? Just for us?”
“You were foretold centuries ago. The importance of your birth cannot be overstated. It was the only responsible thing to do. Besides,” Julia said, her face softening, “you’re family. Family always comes first.”
“So you really are our mother’s sister?”
“Yes, I really am.”
“Did they really die on their anniversary, like you said?”
Julia see-sawed her head. “Sort of. And I know you’re curious about a lot of things and that you all have lots of questions, but we need to save that. There will be time for it later. Right now, you need to focus on getting your people in line and on board.”
“My people?”
“Yes, your people. The decisions you make will either save their lives or cost them. Your strength and your weakness will ultimately solidify their destiny. I think that makes them your people, don’t you?”
“What?” I asked, my heart pounding more loudly with every word she spoke. “Why me?”
“Because you are the oracle, you are the only one who can bring this about. You are the one God Himself gave the power to end this battle. It is your destiny,” she said dramatically. “It is the destiny of you three together.”
As we digested this information, Trace spoke up, his mind going in a totally different direction than what I would’ve expected.
“And how are we supposed to know you’re telling the truth?”
Julia’s lips twisted into a wryly appreciative grin. “You don’t. You must simply trust that what I’m telling you is true. Your gut should tell you. Can’t you feel it?”
As Julia spoke, I could feel exactly what she was talking about, almost the exact reverse of what I’d felt in the presence of Shawn Kramer.
“I can feel it,” I confessed.
“You’ve always been perceptive, Peyton. Highly intuitive. That could be a part of your gifting, part of being an oracle. Or maybe it runs in the family. Your mother was very much the same way.”
We all fell quiet again, but I noticed that Trace still watched Julia suspiciously.
“You’re asking me to trust you rather than my own parents.”
“Only one of the people you’ve met is a parent to you. Rebekah is simply an easily influenced human, like the rest of the ‘plant parents’.”