Outside, the light was starting to fade. Across the yard, the three vehicles were still parked in front of a small house. Ethan and I were stuck with these people. We had no car to get away from them. And, honestly, unless they proved to be a threat like those other things chasing us, I was starting to think we might be better off with them on our side. Except for Carlos. He’d gotten under my skin in there.
I headed in the direction of the house, glad I’d landed a few shots in the beginning that would leave a mark. The feel of his fingers lingered on my ankle, and I began to doubt why he hadn’t landed any hits. Like Ethan, I had a feeling Carlos hadn’t wanted to. Something about that thought had my stomach flipping weirdly.
“Wait up,” Ethan said, jogging to catch up to me. “I thought it was a good fight. But you’re acting like it wasn’t. What’s going on?”
I rolled my shoulders. I was tense again, but not because of an overload.
“I don’t know. I’m drained.” In that regard, the fight with Carlos was the best match I’d ever had. But something about him bothered me. Probably the way my stomach was acting. Then again, I hadn’t eaten anything after emptying it.
“I think I just need some sleep and something to eat.”
“I’ll find the food. You see if you can find a shower. You need it.”
I snorted and shook my head at him.
“You love my stink.”
“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.”
“Cycle?”
“We’re reborn every one thousand years,” she said as if it were an inconsequential point. “Isabelle, I think ending this cycle will turn off our abilities. Completely.”
Now she had my attention. The idea of walking into a room full of people and feeling absolutely nothing...hell, yes. Maybe they were crazy. But she knew things no one could know. And I’d seen the way the werewolves and Urbat could change from man to dog. There was at least some truth to this craziness. And if there was some truth, why couldn’t getting rid of our crappy gifts be true, too?
“All right. I’m in.”
“Just like that?” she asked.
“Just like that.” I stood. “I need a shower. Can anyone point me in the right direction?”
“To the left, down the hall,” Carlos said from behind me.
I nodded and glanced at Ethan. Though I was willing to go along with them on the chance of getting rid of what I could do, I didn’t trust them. Especially not with Ethan.
He gave me a slight shake of his head then turned to look at Carlos and Grey.
“Got any food around here?”
He always thought he was so tough. He was. But these people were tougher.
I looked at Bethi. She watched me closely.
“Go,” she said. “Shower. Everything will be fine for five minutes, I think.”
I went down the hall.