Oops! What was I supposed to say to that? “It…I found it abandoned last night. Had a hole in the hull. Total hunk of junk. I bet someone was just trying to dump the thing.”
Hondo rubbed the stubble on his chin. “If the boat had a hole, how did it get there?”
“How should I know? Maybe it got the hole right before it got to shore, or…” I gave a light shrug. “Or maybe it was magic.”
“Magic…” Hondo muttered as he reached behind him, pulled something out of his waistband, and flashed Ren’s book. “Like this?”
I stared at the libro. Crap! I’d forgotten to go back for it last night.
I tried to snatch the book, but Hondo swept it out of reach before I could even touch it. His reflexes were quicker than ever. He’d once been a champion wrestler, and he’d taught me all sorts of moves that, let’s be honest, saved my butt from plenty of demons—and a few bullies, too. But these last few months, he’d been training like I’d never seen him train before. It was like he was on his own mission. He got up at dawn to run, lift weights, and practice ninja moves like backflips and one-armed handstands. He even started yoga to become more flexible but made me promise not to tell anyone. Maybe he secretly wanted to try out for American Ninja Warrior or something.
“Good description of me as a tank, by the way,” Hondo said. “You really think I’m that strong?”
Okay, he’d read the book. “Truth paper wouldn’t let me lie, remember? So, everything in there is one hundred percent true.”
“I scanned most of it—went right to the parts about me. Then I got to the chapter about those poisonous meatballs that sent me into sleep-hell mode….” His smile turned into a frown. “Just reading about it made me feel like I was reliving the nightmare.” He clenched his jaw. “If I ever meet up with those sons of—those loser twins again…”
I nodded. “Can I have the book back? I, uh…” I didn’t want Brooks to get her hands on it. What would she think if she saw all that stuff I’d written about her being beautiful, and like the sun, and pretty much the fiercest, most incredible person I’d ever met?
“I got you, bro. You don’t want Brooks to read it,” Hondo said. “I bet she wouldn’t be surprised. I mean, the way you look at her? I thought I taught you how to be cool, man.”
My head felt like it was on fire. I didn’t want to talk about this anymore. I had bigger things on my mind, like saving my dad, and dream barriers, and living nightmares, and stupid invisible walls.
“You should burn that thing,” I finally said.
“Dude! That’d be, like, sacrilegious. You’re not supposed to burn books.”
“You don’t even read.”
He held up the libro and flashed a smile. “I do now. I can’t wait to get to the part about me storming the Old World.”
“Whatever.” I turned to leave, but Hondo jumped in front of me, blocking the door.
“Brooks is still zonked out, if that’s where you’re headed, so just a warning to stay away. You know she sleeps like the dead and hates being woken up,” he said. “But I met the new girl.”
I tried not to look stunned as I stopped in my tracks and gazed down at Hondo. I mean, what was I expecting, that I’d bring Ren here and no one would notice her? I guess I just thought I could introduce her myself. “Right. Ren.”
“I was doing my morning training—”
“You mean yoga.”
Hondo blew a frustrated breath. “I mean training on the beach, and that’s when I saw her out on the playa, staring out at the sea like some sad ghost. Like she was waiting for someone.”
Yeah, like an army of shadow monsters, I thought. “Where is she now?”
“She went to town with your mom, to check things out.”
Ren was with Mom? I groaned. That meant Ren would tell her everything. It’s a gift my mom has—she can get the truth out of anyone. And once Mom found out Ren was a godborn, she’d ask a million questions, questions that might lead to her trying to keep me here. Believe me, her guilt trips were far more effective than any invisible wall.
“So, who is she?” Hondo asked.
It w
asn’t that I didn’t want to tell Hondo about Ren or even my plan to save my dad. But I’d learned from Brooks that knowledge can put people’s lives in danger.
“Uh—she got here last night. She…she’s just a girl.”
“Right.” His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Comrades don’t keep secrets from one another.”