Chapter Twenty-Three

“Hello?” a voice mumbled into the receiver.

“Grandpa?”

“Arra? What’s wrong honey? What happened?” His voice was frantic. I could hear him shoving away his blankets. I thought he would be up already. Weren’t all old people up before sunrise?

“Grandpa, it’s okay,” I said. Well kind of. “Grandpa I saw the end of the dream. Kivera did exactly what you said she did. She gave up the lives of her daughters to save herself from being a sacrifice.” Tanner took my hand and rubbed his hand up and down my back to give me strength. I soaked up every ounce he could give me.

“Was there anything specific in the agreement? Anything we could use to undo it?” he asked.

“I don’t think so, Grandpa. She made a covenant with the priest and then they sacrificed the guards in her place. It was just a promise. No secret steps or magic potion. It was just a promise between her and Tlaloc.”

My grandpa sighed. I had been hoping for something more useful too.

“Arra, go back to sleep if you can. If Katie and Maera were any indication, you should have until about noon,” he said. His voice was steady, but I could hear his fear. He hadn’t formulated any plan yet. That seemed clear. Because there was no plan that would work, I told myself grimly.

“But, Grandpa,” I began before he cut me off.

“Now listen, Arra, I don’t completely understand all of this, but whatever happens, you will need all your strength. I will get you through this, I promise. Please, get some more rest. Meet me at the park near your house at ten o’clock. I haven’t given up yet and neither should you.”

“Grandpa, wait,” I said, “we had an idea.”

“We? Did you tell your parents?” He sounded absolutely horrified.

“No,” I said quickly, “of course not. But I did tell someone. I told Tanner everything.”

“Tanner? Why?” he asked.

Wasn’t that the question of the day? “Because, Grandpa, I needed someone to talk to and he was willing to listen. We were talking about it this morning after I woke up from the dream and he had an idea.”

“You talked to Tanner when you woke up from the dream?” Silence. “Is he there right now?”

For crying out loud. Was that really what he needed to be worrying about right now?”

“Yes, Grandpa, he’s standing right next to me. And he has an idea,” I repeated.

“Arrabella, it isn’t even dawn yet. How long has Tanner been there?” he asked.

My body was rigid with anger, embarrassment, frustration, and just about every other emotion. Tanner looked at me with a question in his eyes. My grandpa was not going to let up. I didn’t have time to try and lie to him.

“He stayed with me all night because I was too afraid to fall asleep alone,” I said quickly. Tanner’s eyes widened in alarm. “And before you ask, no we didn’t do anything and no my parents don’t know he’s here, and please don’t tell them. I promise it won’t happened again.” Tanner pouted at that. I couldn’t help but throw him a devilish smile. “That is, if I ever even get the chance to sneak a boy into my room again. Okay? Now can we get back to what’s really important this morning, Grandpa?”

My grandpa cleared his throat. I think my mentioning that this would be a totally moot point if I didn’t make it past noon alive quelled any further desires he had to question my choices or threaten to tell my parents. “So, uh, what was Tanner’s idea?”

“Do you know Father Margulies?”

“The priest over at Saint Michael’s Parish? What does he have to do with anything?” he asked.

“Tanner attends church there. He thinks Father Margulies might be able to help us think of a way out of this mess,” I said. “Would you please just meet us there? It’s worth a try, isn’t it?”

It took him longer than it should have to answer. I did not understand his hesitation. He had promised to help me in any way. Why would talking to a priest seem so bad? My family wasn’t particularly religious and neither was my grandpa, but I was perfectly willing to go.

“Grandpa?” I urged.

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” The line went dead.