“Do you see him?” Ian whispered. I looked around for a tall man with hair the color of hay and a smattering of sun-faded freckles. But we were too far to really see what any of them looked like.
“Wait—there,” I said excitedly. I pointed to a man in a navy blue fly-fishing vest with bright orange piping. A khaki fishing hat shielded his face from the afternoon sun. But it wasn’t his taste in fishing gear that caught my attention. It was the way the water moved around him—not just rippling, but swelling, breathing. Like he was moving it with his mind, or—
“Rogue powers?” Ian said.
“I think so.”
Ian looked at me and raised his eyebrows.
“Well,” he said. “There’s only one way to find out.”
“What are you going to—”
“Dad!!!” He shouted, standing on his tiptoes and waving his arm at the man.
“Stealthy,” I said.
The man’s head turned, quickly, to look at us. He seemed to squint against the sun.
“What if he doesn’t recognize me?” Ian asked. “I’m older and manlier now.”
“That’s true.” I rolled my eyes. “Maybe yell, Dad, it’s me, Ian!”
I didn’t expect him to take me seriously, but he did exactly what I suggested.
“Ian!” I hissed. “Well, I think it’s safe to say our cover’s blown.”
But at Ian’s words, the man froze. His fishing rod dropped into the river and was swept away by the current.
“Do you think he saw us?” Ian asked.
Ian’s question was answered when the man began to make his way toward us. When he got close enough that I could see his face, I gasped. Short, sandy hair. Freckles scattered across his nose from being out in the sun. Like Aaron Ward, he was easy to recognize from my vision—the same, but older.
Like us . . . but older.
He regarded Ian with a mix of fascination, wonder—and caution. Like Aaron, he, too, seemed on edge at the mention of something that could tie him to the Rogues.
He opened his mouth, then closed it again.
“Ian?”
“Dad.” Now that we were here, face-to-face with him, Ian seemed unsure of what to say. For a minute, the two men stood there, silently, regarding each other.
And then in a flash, they embraced each other tightly.
“Son,” said James, his voice cracking slightly. “How did you—did your mother—what do you—”
“Know?” Ian asked. “Everything, Dad. I know everything.”
“I wanted to tell you,” James whispered into his ear. “But I knew I had to protect you. And that meant leaving. When your mom told me to get out, I didn’t argue. But I couldn’t stay with those Rogues. It was just too hard, and being around that little girl of theirs, well, it reminded me too much of you.”
I smiled. I could feel tears springing to my own eyes. All this searching, all this waiting, wondering if and when we would find James Harrison—Ian’s dad, the third Rogue my parents had gathered together—had paid off in the best possible way.
“That little girl?” Ian said. “She’s right here.”
James stared at me. “You’re Skye?” He turned to Ian. “Mer and Sam’s daughter?”
“That’s the one.” I grinned.
“God, you’re so grown-up! Both of you are.” He wiped his eye with the back of his hand. He had the same open, earnest energy as Ian, and I couldn’t help but immediately like him. “Do you kids have time to stay? Because—” He saw the look in our eyes, and his face fell. “I guess there’s a reason why you know all about me now.”
Ian looked at me for support, and I nodded.
“There’s a lot we have to tell you, Mr. Harrison—er, Sharpe,” I said.
“It’s James, Skye. I guess it’s time I go by James again.”
I nodded. “James. Ian and I have to fill you in on what’s going on.”
We did exactly that.
James didn’t seem quite as resistant to the idea of coming back with us as Aaron had—but then, Aaron had reasons to be nervous about his return to River Springs. James had left because of his secret, but now that he didn’t have to hide it from his son anymore, he had nothing to fear in returning. His biggest concern was helping us.
And that was how I gathered the whole group back together again—with some new additions, of course. James flew back with us to River Springs, helping me along with boosts of power when I needed it. He decided to stay with us at Aunt Jo’s, not quite ready to face Ian’s mom, the one person who still didn’t know his secret. He, Aunt Jo, and Aaron began to practice combining their powers, preparing for what was to come.
I learned more about the Rogues and the kind of power they harnessed every day. They drew from the Rebels, but as only half angelic, they couldn’t harness the full power of the elements. Instead, each Rogue, I learned, had some small spark of talent or skill. Aunt Jo was able to manipulate the earth in small ways, which apparently was the reason she had started running excursions out of Into the Woods Outdoor Co. in the first place. Aaron had some power over the wind and sky. James, as we’d seen in Wyoming, was handy with water. When the three of them combined their powers, they could do some serious damage. One afternoon, they actually forged a river through the field behind our house.
And now that the three of them were back together, we were one step closer to calling a Rogue army.
In the middle of all this, final exams ended. And I didn’t go back to school after the very first final I ran out on. Aunt Jo called to tell them I was out due to a family crisis, which wasn’t even a lie, and that I would have to take an incomplete. I could finish the credits in summer school. Of course, none of us knew if we would make it till then. But wasn’t that kind of the point?
I could see into the future—see flashes and signs of things to come. But my visions only took me so far. I couldn’t see how it would end. I didn’t know who would win. Just like the dream I’d had over and over, I was hovering on the edge of a great precipice. The biggest, steepest, most challenging ski slope of my life. And I knew that now, the time had come for me to strap on my skis, pull down my goggles, and take the plunge into the unknown.
I couldn’t control everything in my life anymore. I had to just let go.
Junior year was almost over—the weirdest, hardest year of my life—and senior year stretched out before us. But while everyone else was preparing for prom and summer vacation, my friends and I prepared for some kind of epic battle. And none of us knew if we would survive.
We gathered every night during finals week, in the days leading up to prom. Our house was fuller than ever before—and I loved it. It had been me and Aunt Jo, just the two of us, for so long. But now, I didn’t ever want to go back to those cold winter days where the house was empty and I stared out my window at the moon, alone. I wanted a full house, and everything that came with it.
My mind kept coming back to Earth. She had become like a sister to me, and I still had a persistent, lingering feeling that she was the fourth Rogue in my mother’s original vision. Shadowy, hard to see, because she hadn’t been born yet. It made sense. But the idea of having her play such a crucial role in all this made me ache. She was just a little kid. How could I throw her in harm’s way? How could I take her into battle with me?
Our parents had tried to protect us, too. They hid the truth from us all our lives. But we found our way to it anyway.
I couldn’t put it off any longer. I had to ask my mom. One last piece of advice, before it was time to put the past behind me and face the future on my own.