“I do.” He grinned and pulled open the door for me.
Everyone was in the kitchen when we walked in. A few sat at the table but most leaned against counters or lingered in doorways. Their anxiety, fear, and impatience made me itch as much as their sudden silence and regard. Ethan moved close to me and threaded his fingers through mine.
“Are we interrupting something?” he asked.
“No,” Bethi said. She sat at the table along with Luke. His gaze flicked down to Ethan’s hand wrapped around mine.
“We’re just waiting around for Isabelle to let off enough steam so we can talk.”
I eased my hand from Ethan’s and pulled out a chair.
“The steam’s been vented. So talk.” I sat. Ethan stood behind me.
Bethi glanced around the room.
“We should probably start with introductions and the basics.”
“Sounds pretty smart,” I said. I didn’t quite manage to keep the sarcasm from my voice, and the man next to Bethi narrowed his eyes.
“How’s the face, ginger?” I asked him.
Bethi reached over and laid a hand on his leg.
“This is Luke. My Mate,” she said, watching me closely as if waiting for a reaction.
“I have a feeling you’re not using an English term for friend.”
“No. I’m not. Most of the people in this room are werewolves. A few of us are like you. Gifted humans.”
“Gifted? I’d like to return mine. It sucks.”
She actually smiled at me instead of being offended.
“Mine, too. I die just about every night. Fun stuff.”
It sounded anything but fun.
“Anyway, to your right is Jim.”
I looked at the man she indicated, and he nodded.
“Then, Thomas, Charlene, Michelle, Emmitt, Winifred,” she turned to her left, “and Sam. Gabby and Clay are upstairs.”
“She’s still out?”
Bethi nodded but didn’t say more about them.
“Behind you are Carlos and Grey.”
I turned and eyed the older man. Everything about him matched his name from his hair to his eyes.
“Grey,” I said. “Your name I’ll remember. The rest of you might need nametags for a while. So, why am I here?”
“Because you’re one of six Judgements. We’re here to keep the balance between three races. Humans, werewolves, and Urbat. Urbat are the ones you met in the hotel room.”
“Okay. Sure,” I said. Ethan and I needed to ditch this crazy as soon as—
“I know you don’t believe any of this. I didn’t either. Not until I started having the dreams. I’ve dreamt of our past lives, some so long ago we still wore animal-skin clothes. Isabelle, I’ve already started dreaming details of our current lives. I saw the day you and Ethan met on the playground. I saw you walk him home the day he came to school with a black eye. I saw you cry when you brought his father to the floor.”
My mouth hung open. No one knew about that. Even Ethan’s dad didn’t remember what happened that day. I’d drained him hard, broken him.
“I’ve been in your skin, felt how tight and angry you get. I’ve cringed with you over the bruises you gave Ethan when you sparred as children. And I’ve felt the shame you carried in the belief that you were as bad as his father was.”
“That’s enough,” Ethan said. He sounded angry, but he was keeping it in so I didn’t feel it. He gave my hair a gentle tug. “She’s way prettier than my dad. A better fighter, too.”
Great. Now I’d have to listen to him lecture me about how I wasn’t anything like his father.
“Fine. You dream, I suck emotions. Which one levitates?”
Bethi smirked.
“Michelle is the lotto. She has premonitions that make other people rich.”
“Why couldn’t I get that one?” I said, looking back at Ethan.
“It’s no picnic,” Michelle said, drawing my attention. “If I don’t share the information, it’s very painful.”
“Imagine putting your brain in a microwave,” Bethi said. “It sucks, too. Gabby can see us in her head. Like an old sonar. And Charlene can control people with her mind.”
I swiveled in my chair and stared at the blonde woman.
“If that’s true, control me. Make me stop absorbing everything.”
She looked troubled.
“I’m sorry. I can’t. We’re not like normal humans. Ethan I could control easily—”
“Hey,” he said indignantly.
“—but we’re different. Just like the werewolves are different.”
Bethi heaved a sigh, and I felt her impatience.
“The five of us make up Strength, Hope, Prosperity, Wisdom, and Peace.”
I stared at her. I could buy that she somehow saw our pasts, but the rest? No way.
“Do I look like I eat bullcrap with a spoon? What are you on? Seriously. I want some.”
“She’s as bad as you are,” Luke said to Bethi.
Bethi grinned at him before focusing on me again.
“I wish I was on something. It might make some of my nights a little easier to bear. You asked why you’re here. You’re here because all six of us need to be together to pass Judgement on the races and end this cycle.”