32

Kai sat on the edge of the couch in the office at the OS with a cup of coffee turning cold on the table next to him.

Elden sat opposite, looking like a war victim with his head wound bandaged tight, while Runt played with her cats on the mat.

“So are you telling me that you were never truly on their side?”

Evazee patted Elden’s leg, and her voiced dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “He knows Jesus and everything. I saw it with my own eyes.”

Elden grinned at her, then his smile withered. “I know it looked like I was working for the other side. But who do you think kept reprogramming the Naviband every time you came back? Who kept giving you security access? I’m sure you didn’t think it would be that easy to waltz in and out of a facility with such high-level security. Why do you think I let them mark Evazee? You were right about the amulets. The only way to take them out was to bring their owners in. So really it all worked out brilliantly. Should I go on?”

Bree sat in silence next to Kai, staring at her brother. Every now and then she’d shake her head but actual words were beyond her.

“And what do they call you again?” Kai’s brain might have exploded from all the info he was taking in.

“A Seeker. We work undercover. We aid and assist wherever we’re needed. Then you get Water Workers, and they are all about healing and restoring. You know some of them actually. Beaver and Shrimp?” He waited for Kai to nod before carrying on. “Liberation Crew...the Stone City rebels are Liberation Crew through and through. They lead rescue missions to free the marked ones out of the most dangerous situations. All of us are Spirit Walkers working towards the same goal. There are a bunch of different areas you can specialize in depending on your gifting.”

“And there are some people who want to talk to us about becoming Spirit Walkers too?” Kai frowned deeply.

“They’ve been following you all over. The first time they tried to make contact was at TrisTessa’s art gallery. They saw you go in, but there was no way she was giving them any information on you. She chased them away with her paintbrush swinging.”

Kai sat up in shock. “I remember that day. She made me paint with her. I was terrible, but she made my clumsy attempt at art look good. She shuffled me out of there when they arrived.”

“There’ve been other occasions too, but you just kept slipping from their grasp. Don’t tell them I told you, but they’ve already got some tasks lined up. Getting rid of all the serum produced at the factory, that’s way up on the priority list. Part of that is helping your dads adjust to their new mission. They are feeling very lost right now.” Elden shot a quick glance at Bree, but she was boring holes in her hands with her eyes as she rubbed her palms together, tracing her fingertips over the healed skin.

“Fetching all Zulu’s boys back from the testing arch and training them. Also, the priests of Zulu’s village are ready for a visit.”

Kai laughed, “Are you nuts? They would string me up and feed me to their worms.”

Elden looked puzzled. “Worms? I don’t know about worms, but I know the priests are ready now.”

Bree clasped her hands together and eyed her brother from across the room as if listening to a stranger talk. “You could have told me, you know. All I wanted to do was rescue you from being indoctrinated, sucked deeper into that whole mess, but you just stubbornly ignored me. I was worried sick.” She shuffled a bit closer to Kai, close enough that he felt the warmth of her leg next to his. It was a feeling he could get used to.

Elden tried to glare at it her but failed. “And you should have listened to me. How many times did I tell you to go home? You are at least as stubborn as I am!” He shook his head with a laugh. “And yet that stubbornness and love is exactly why you’d make an excellent Spirit Walker. You two should think about it.”

Kai curled a lock of Bree’s hair around his finger, winding it tight before letting it slip off with a bounce. “What do you think, Bree? Should we do this?”

“Well, I’m only just getting to know Him. But you? I’ve watched you work with Tau. All the titles and tasks, it’s all just a technicality. You’re already doing the job. He calls, you answer.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing though. I’m like a kid with crayons, messing up the master artist’s canvas.”

Evazee laughed. “We’ve been through so much, but you still don’t get it. All you have to do is be you. That’s enough. He does the rest. Ask me, I know.”

“Like my painting with TrisTessa.”

“Exactly like that.” Evazee sat next to Elden with her eyes shining and her imprint sparkling between her collar bones. She was glowing much like the first time she’d slapped him in the desert.

Bree stared at Evazee as if she were an oasis in the desert. A slow smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “You should listen to her, Kai. The girl speaks sense. Between you and Tau, you’ve got this down to a fine art.”