“Thank you,” I shrieked, wanting to hug him again, appreciating his thoughtfulness but held back as he requested. I didn’t want to upset him any further.
Reese’s jaw clamped tightly as he turned to Brent.
“If you mess this up or you hurt her, there is no place you can hide that I won’t find you,” Reese warned. His voice was thick with anger and I didn’t doubt his threat.
Anticipating a fight, I moved in close, positioning between the two of them. Brent simply extended his hand to Reese conceding.
“I won’t,” Brent said, shaking Reese’s hand.
Reese returned Brent’s handshake, staring at him unnervingly. Neither of them wanted to be the first to release their hand.
“Okay, so what now?” I coaxed, trying to put an end to their pissing contest. “Do we go start chasing Kace now?”
“Patience, Claire,” they chimed in unison. This caused them both to start laughing, which finally broke the handshake.
“Jinx,” they howled, again at the same time, then a “double Jinx” from Reese as he smiled proudly, getting one up on Brent. For the first time, they sounded their age. The display of two young men interacting accordingly made me smile.
“I’m glad the two of you think I am so funny,” I scoffed, only half joking.
“You’re not ready yet, Claire,” Brent responded. “You don’t have your full abilities and we still need to figure out how everything has changed.”
That had me scratching my head. Is that not what we were supposed to do?
“So…we just wait for now? I thought we were Chasers? Doesn’t that mean we are supposed to chase?” I asked, thinking that waiting seemed like a waste of time.
Reese laid out the reason. “Yes, we are Chasers, but the worst thing we can do, is go up against Kace when we aren’t prepared.”
‘Okay, so what then?’ I asked, searching for an answer from either of them.
They both considered briefly what do.
“We need to talk to an Agent,” Reese proposed.
“No, no way, it’s too dangerous. We can’t go back there,” Brent objected, positioning himself as the one who would decide.
Reese defended his idea. “Brent, you know it’s the only way. We need answers,” he persuaded. Brent refused, shaking his head adamantly.
“Are you saying there’s an Agent at my aunt’s house?” I was still trying to figure out what they were talking about.
“No, not at your house, exactly,” Brent offered.
“Is there a way into The Realm at my house then? Is that where we’re going?” I asked, still baffled.
Brent laughed. “No Claire, there is only one way into The Realm and since we all still have heart beats, we won’t be journeying there today or any day soon if I can help it.”
“The Agents have always come through your aunt’s house,” Reese clarified. “We need to go there and figure out how to get one to pay us a visit.”
I glanced at both of them totally bewildered. “Can’t we just ask Maggie?”
They both looked back at me dumfounded that they hadn’t thought of the idea.
“Right, I’ll get my cell,” Brent volunteered retrieving his cell phone from the counter and handing it to me.
I dialed Maggie’s phone number, put the phone to my ear, and waited patiently as the phone rang. Both boys stared at me with anticipation. After a few rings, I whispered, “voicemail” with my hand over the receiver. After the beep, I removed my hand and started my message. “Hey Maggie, it’s me, Claire. I’m fine. I know you were probably worried. Can you call me back on Brent’s phone when you get this message? We need to ask you about something really important. Ok, thanks. Bye….oh, I love you. Talk to you soon, k…Bye”.
Clutching the phone to my chest, I tried not to let my thoughts get away from me.
“I don’t like this. Maggie would be worried about me. She’d answer her phone on the first ring. Something’s wrong,” I said, worry weighing me down, making my body feel heavy.