“Something unbelievable,” he agreed. “Something wonderful.”
His praise thawed some of the ice in my stomach, in my veins.
“Seekers aren’t all that different from the rest of them,” I murmured to myself. “Nothing to be especially afraid of.”
He shook his head back and forth slowly. “There really isn’t anything you can’t do, is there?”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that.
“Having you with us is going to change everything,” he continued under his breath, talking to himself now.
I could feel how his words made Melanie sad, but she was not angry this time. She was resigned.
You can help them. You can protect them better than I could. She sighed.
The slow-moving taillights did not frighten me when they appeared on the road ahead. They were familiar, a relief. I sped up—just a little, still a few miles below the limit—to pass them.
Jared pulled a flashlight out of the glove compartment. I understood what he was doing: reassurance.
He held the light to his own eyes as we passed the cab of the truck. I looked past him, through the other window. Kyle nodded once at Jared and took a deep breath. Ian was leaning anxiously around him, his eyes focused on me. I waved once, and he grimaced.
We were getting close to our hidden exit.
“Should I go all the way to Phoenix?”
Jared thought about it. “No. They might see us on the way back and stop us again. I don’t think they’re following. They’re focused on the road.”
“No, they won’t follow.” I was sure of this.
“Let’s go home, then.”
“Home,” I agreed wholeheartedly.
We killed the lights, and so did Kyle behind us.
We would take both vehicles right to the caves and unload quickly so they could be hidden before morning. The little overhang by the entrance would not hide them from view.
I rolled my eyes as I thought of the way into and out of the caves. The big mystery I hadn’t been able to solve for myself. Jeb was so tricky.
Tricky—just like the directions he’d given Mel, the lines he’d carved onto the back of her photo album. They didn’t lead to his cave hideout at all. No, instead they made the person following them parade back and forth in front of his secret place, giving him ample opportunity to decide whether or not to extend an invitation inside.
“What do you think happened?” Jared asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“What do you mean?”
“The recent disappearance the Seeker mentioned.”
I stared ahead blankly. “Wouldn’t that be me?”
“I don’t think you would count as recent, Wanda. Besides, they weren’t watching the freeway before we left. That’s new. They’re looking for us. Here.”
His eyes narrowed, while mine widened.
“What have they been doing?” Jared suddenly exploded, slapping his hand loudly against the dashboard. I jumped.
“You think Jeb and the others did something?”
He didn’t answer me; he just stared out across the star-bright desert with furious eyes.
I didn’t understand. Why would the Seekers be looking for humans just because someone had disappeared in the desert? Accidents did happen. Why would they jump to that particular conclusion?
And why was Jared angry? Our family in the caves wouldn’t do anything to draw attention to themselves. They knew better than that. They wouldn’t go outside unless there was an emergency of some kind.
Or something they felt was urgent. Necessary.
Had Doc and Jeb been taking advantage of my absence?
Jeb had only agreed to stop slaughtering people and souls while I was under the same roof. Was this their compromise?
“You okay?” Jared asked.
My throat was too thick to answer. I shook my head. Tears streamed down my cheeks and fell from my chin to my lap.
“Maybe I’d better drive.”
I shook my head again. I could see well enough.
He didn’t argue with me.
I was still crying silently when we got to the little mountain that hid our vast cave system. It was actually just a hill—an insignificant outcropping of volcanic rock, like so many others, sparsely decorated with spindly creosote and flat-bladed prickly pears. The thousands of tiny vents were invisible, lost in the jumble of loose purple rocks. Somewhere, smoke would be rising, black on black.
I got out of the van and leaned against the door, wiping my eyes. Jared came to stand beside me. He hesitated, then put a hand on my shoulder.
“Sorry. I didn’t know they were planning this. I had no idea. They shouldn’t have…”
But he only thought that because they’d somehow gotten caught.
The moving truck rumbled to a stop behind us. Two doors slammed shut, and then feet were running toward us.
“What happened?” Kyle demanded, there first.