“Mommy!” He trotted down the porch steps and launched himself into her arms.
“Thank God!” Jacqui hugged him hard, then held him at arm’s length. “Don’t you ever do that again!” She shook him lightly. “Anything could have happened. Someone could have stolen or hurt you!”
He started to sob. “Wanted to fin’ Angel. She’s my friend.”
She scooped him up, cuddled him tightly to her. “You scared me, baby.”
Zach looked from her to Eli. The man’s bright blue gaze met his. He smiled slightly.
“I came to help you.”
“I don’t need your help.” Zach narrowed his eyes. “Get out of my head.”
Jacqui interrupted their silent exchange. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“No thanks necessary,” Eli said, standing. “Glad I happened along.”
“Where was he?”
“The bus stop.”
“My God. She tightened her grip, so much that Zander squirmed. “Do you live in the neighborhood?”
“Up the way.” He motioned vaguely. “I’ve seen you two around; and when I saw him alone, I knew something was wrong. He didn’t want to come with me, but I convinced him.”
Eli shifted his gaze to Alexander. “Remember what I said, Zander. Listen to your mom. The street’s no place for a little guy like you to be.”
Zander nodded, squared his shoulders, though his chin wobbled. “Cross my heart.”
Jacqui frowned slightly. “I’m going to get him to bed. Thank you, Mr.—”
“Just call me Eli.”
“Eli,” she repeated, then looked at Zach. “Thanks, both of you.”
She held his gaze. He nodded slightly. “I’ll be in touch.”
The moment the door snapped shut behind them, Zach faced the other man. “Get the hell out of my life. I don’t need you, Uncle Parker, the professor, or any of the rest of you.”
“You do need us, whether you want to or not. That is, if you plan to save Angel and Micki.”
Zach’s heart sped up. “What do you know?”
“Everything but where they are. I’ll explain while you’re driving.”
Zach hesitated a moment, then headed to the Taurus, parked by the curb. He unlocked it and they both climbed in. He started the engine, but made no move to shift into Drive.
He looked at Eli. “You know what’s going down, but not where. How is that?”
“You don’t get it, Zach. You take for granted that others can do what you do. We can’t.”
“Pick up thoughts, memories, feelings; influence others to buy drinks or spill them; get girls to say yes—these are all nifty tricks. But if not for Angel, I wouldn’t know where they were either.”
“Her dreams and premonitions, that’s what she does. That ability makes her special. It’s why we need her.” He looked at him. “And we need you, Zach.”
“Right,” he muttered. “For what? My parlor tricks? To be your trained monkey?”
“Like I said, you underestimate and undervalue yourself. Yes, Angel’s a prophet. But you’re a tracker. That’s unique. Even among Full Lights.”
“A tracker?” he repeated. “What the hell is that?”
“Just what it sounds like.” He paused a moment, as if giving Zach a moment to connect the dots, then went on, “You possess the ability to track Dark Bearers. And not just the mini-me-minions, but the original: The Ancient One.”
“Whoa, back up, brother. The Ancient One?”
“The original. Everything starts somewhere.”
He snorted. “Like the snake in the garden.”
“A rather brilliant metaphor, but yes. The snake, Lucifer, Satan, the dragon, destroyer. He appears in some form in every culture and belief system across the globe and throughout history.”
Evil in the world. He’d already accepted it existed, he wasn’t about to quibble over who came first, at least not now. “I followed the energy trail, big deal.”
“Actually yes, a big deal. A very big deal. You feel its energy, have a physical response to its presence. You saw it attacking Brite. I can’t do that. Lester can’t. It’s a very special gift, Zach.”
Zach flexed his fingers on the steering wheel, processing. He looked back at Eli. “If you don’t pick up the Dark Bearer’s energy, why the fear of touching Angel after her brush with it?”
“You saw what happened when you transmitted to Parker. That’s a best-case scenario. Worst case, the Dark Bearer uses her to get to us.”
“That night I went into Kudzu’s, I felt nothing. No energy at all.”
Eli’s lips lifted slightly. “Yeah, you did. You felt the absence of it. Loudly, I’ll bet. They can’t hide from you, Zach. Which brings us to tonight. Without you, we wouldn’t be here. We wouldn’t have the opportunity to stop the final conversion. That’s why Parker recruited you; he hoped you inherited it from your mother.” He paused. “It’s why we need you.”
“She was a tracker, too.”
“Yes. And fiercely loyal to our cause.”