Finale

blood. I remembered his savage march through the Devil’s Handbag, and the way his
hand had flashed out. I remembered his victim. I remembered how she’d looked just like me.
    A vicious snarl hardened his expression, and he stalked through the trees with purpose. His chest bore a recent wound, small and circular, as if a knife had been used to crudely cut out a piece
of flesh. Something cold and unforgiving gleamed in his eyes, and I shuddered.
    Dante and I stayed in the trees until the party moved on. When we were back on solid ground, I said, “How did they find us?”
    His eyes turned on mine, hooded and cold. “They made a big mistake coming after you like this.”
    “Do you think they’ve been spying on us?”
    “I think someone tipped them off.”
    “The lanky one. I’ve seen him before, at the Devil’s Handbag. He attacked a Nephilim girl who looked a lot like me. Do you know him?”
    “No.” But it seemed to me he paused a half moment before answering.
    Five hours later I was showered and dressed, I’d eaten a healthy breakfast of Egg Beaters with mushrooms and spinach, and as a bonus, I’d finished all my homework.
Not bad, considering it wasn’t even noon.
    Down the hall, Marcie’s bedroom door opened and she emerged. Her hair stuck up all over the place, and there were dark circles under her eyes. I could almost smell her morning breath from
here.
    “Hey,” I said.
    “Hey.”
    “My mom wants us to rake leaves in the yard, so you might want to hold off showering until after we finish.”
    Marcie’s eyebrows pulled together. “Come again?”
    “Saturday chores,” I explained. I understood that this was probably a new term for Marcie. And I thoroughly enjoyed being the one to teach it to her.
    “I don’t do chores.”
    “You do when you live here.”
    “All right,” Marcie said reluctantly. “Let me get breakfast and make a few calls.”
    On a normal day I didn’t think Marcie would be so agreeable, but I was beginning to think her willingness could be an apology for her big screwup last night. Hey, I’d take it any way
I could get it.
    While Marcie poured cereal for breakfast, I went to the garage to find rakes. I was halfway done raking the front yard when a car rumbled up the street. Scott parked his Barracuda in the
driveway and swung out. His T-shirt hugged every bulge of muscle, and for Vee’s sake, I wished I had a camera.
    “What’s up, Grey?” he said. He pulled leather work gloves out of his back pocket and tugged them on. “I’m here to help. Put me to work. I’m your slave for the
day. Never mind your boy Dante should be here, not me.” He kept teasing me about Dante, but I couldn’t tell if he believed in the relationship. I always detected a slight note of
mockery. Of course, I detected that same mockery underscoring one out of every ten words he spoke.
    I leaned on my rake. “I don’t understand. How did you know I was raking the yard?”
    “Your new best friend told me.”
    I didn’t have a new best friend, but I had a perennial archenemy. I narrowed my eyes. “Marcie recruited you?” I guessed.
    “Said she needed help with chores. She has allergies and can’t work outdoors.”
    “Total lie!” And I’d been naive enough to think she was actually going to help.
    Scott grabbed the extra rake I’d propped against the front porch and came over to help. “Let’s make a really big pile and toss you in.”
    “That defeats the point.”
    Scott grinned and nudged my shoulder. “But it would be fun.”
    Marcie opened the front door and came out on the porch. She perched herself on the steps, crossing her legs and leaning forward on them. “Hi, Scott.”
    “Yo.”
    “Thanks for coming to my rescue. You’re my knight in shining armor.”
    “Oh, gag,” I said, rolling my eyes melodramatically.
    “Anytime,” Scott told her. “I can’t pass up an excuse to torment Grey.” He came up behind me and stuffed a fistful of leaves down my shirt.
    “Hey!” I shrieked. I picked up my own handful of leaves and flung them in his face.
    Scott dropped his shoulder, barreled toward me, and took me down, scattering my tidy pile of leaves everywhere. I was mad that in one moment he’d obliterated my hard work, but at the same
time, I couldn’t stop laughing. He was on top of me, cramming leaves down my shirt, into my pockets, and up my trouser legs. “Scott!” I giggled.
    “Get a room,” Marcie said in a bored voice, but I could tell she