Lies

that way, probably. But what could they do, really? Zane was the star. So smart, so cool, so good looking. As good looking as Lance.
    Zil had realized very early on that he would never, ever, ever be the star. Zane owned that role. He was charming, handsome, and ever-so-smart.
    And he was so so so nice to little Zil. “You need some help with that math homework there, Zilly?”
    Zilly. Rhyming with silly. Silly Zilly. And Zane the Brain.
    Well, where are you now, Zane? Zil wondered. Not here, that’s for sure. Zane was sixteen. He had poofed on that first day, that first minute.
    Good riddance, big brother, Zil thought.
    “So we take out the dangerous freaks,” Turk prattled on. “Take them out. A few we keep around basically as slaves. Like Lana. Yeah, we keep Lana. Only maybe keep her tied up or whatever so she doesn’t get away. And then the others, man, they have to find some other place to go. Simple as that. Out of Sperry Beach.”
    Zil sighed. That was Turk’s latest idea: to rename the town Sperry Beach. Make it clear for everyone that Perdido Beach now belonged to the Human Crew.
    “Humans only. Freaks out,” Turk said. “We’re going to rule. Can you believe Sam didn’t come after us? They’re all scared.”
    Turk could carry on like this forever, talking to himself. It was like he had to go over everything ten times. Like he wasarguing with someone who wasn’t answering back.
    The last part of the trip was the long trudge across the rutted fields. When they reached it there would be nice, clear, clean water, at least, even if there wasn’t any food. Emily and Brother had their own well. Not enough water to take a shower or anything because the power was off to the pump, so everything had to be pumped up by hand. But you could drink all you wanted. That was rare in dry and hungry Perdido Beach.
    Sperry Beach .
    Maybe. Why not?
    Zil led the way up the stairs. “Emily,” he called out. “It’s us.”
    He knocked on the door. This was surprising because every other time Emily had seen them coming she’d pulled her usual pop-up-behind-you freak trick. Sometimes she played with them, disappearing the house and letting them wander around like fools.
    Freak. She’d get hers eventually. When Zil was done with her.
    Emily opened the door.
    Zil’s instincts screamed danger.
    He backed away, but something stopped him. Like some invisible giant had wrapped a hand around him.
    The invisible hand lifted him slightly off his feet, just enough so that his toes dragged as he levitated inside, past Emily, who stepped aside with a rueful look.
    “Let me go!” Zil cried. But now he could see who had him. He fell silent. Caine sat on the couch, barely moving his handbut utterly controlling Zil.
    Zil’s heart pounded. If there was any freak as dangerous as Sam, it was Caine. More dangerous. There were things Sam wouldn’t do. There was nothing Caine wouldn’t do.
    “Let me go!”
    Caine set Zil down gently.
    “Stop yelling, huh?” Caine said wearily. “I have a headache and I’m not here to hurt you.”
    “Freak!” Zil spat.
    “Why, yes. Yes, I am,” Caine said. “I’m the freak who can smack you against the ceiling until you’re nothing but a skin sack full of goo.”
    Zil glared hatred. Freak. Filthy, mutant freak.
    “Tell your boys to come on in,” Caine said.
    “What do you want, freak?”
    “A conversation,” Caine said. He spread his hands, placating. “Look, you little creep, if I wanted you dead, you’d be dead. You and your little crew of losers.”
    Caine had changed since the first time Zil had seen him. Gone was the smart Coates blazer, the expensive haircut, the tan, and the gym-rat body. Caine looked like a scarecrow version of himself.
    “Hank. Turk. Lance. ’Toine,” Zil yelled. “Come on in.”
    “Have a seat.” Caine indicated the La-Z-Boy.
    Zil sat.
    “So,” Caine said conversationally, “I hear you’re not a big fan of my brother, Sam.”
    “The FAYZ is for humans,” Zil muttered. “Not freaks.”
    “Yeah, whatever,” Caine said. For a moment he seemed to fade, to draw in on himself. Weak from hunger. Or from something else. But then the freak pulled himself together and, with visible effort, plastered on his cocky expression.
    “I have a plan,” Caine said. “It involves you.”
    Turk, showing more nerve than Zil would have expected, said, “The Leader makes the plans.”
    “Uh-huh. Well, Leader Zil ,” Caine said with only minimal sarcasm.