She smiled and lifted her hand and had a ball of flames following the same path.
“Not bad.” He nodded. “Okay, how about this one.” His smile grew as he disappeared before her eyes.
“Invisible?” She gasped. “I’ve got to try that.” She narrowed her eyes and focused. She was focusing so hard that when her hand disappeared in front of her, she almost didn’t notice.
“Not bad,” Lucas said, reappearing.
She relaxed her mind and noticed that her hand reappeared.
“The next bit we should be on the ground for,” he suggested.
The trip to the skies had done what she’d wanted. Her mind was clear of the anger, but there were still answers she needed.
“Why did you wait until now?” she asked him.
Thankfully, her brother didn’t play dumb and answered.
“It wasn’t time. There is an order to things. Like when playing chess, you have to move your pieces around before you strike. If we’re going to win the next battle”—he glanced downwards to where the ranch sat directly below them—“we have to follow the pattern set before us. We can only move our pieces in certain directions.”
She followed his gaze below. “Scott?” she asked.
“And Mia.” He frowned, then looked back up at her. “I know she may not think it, but she is just as important as the rest of us. I could not have approached her myself. I needed her to meet you, first. To do that, I had to place Scott in her building.”
Selene narrowed her eyes. “All this”—she waved her hands—“was to get to Mia?”
Lucas sighed. “In a way. She is… a very important piece. There are two others that we will need, but not for this battle. Not until…” He shook his head. “I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s go down. It’s chilly up here and your friends are worried.” He motioned to below them.
Sure enough, she could see two small dots standing in the middle of the grassy yard now.
“One last question,” she said.
“Sure.” Lucas motioned for her to continue.
“How long did you know about Tara and me? Who you were? Who we were?” she asked.
“That’s three questions,” he said with a slight smile. “I was in the same field you were when Tara arrived.”
Selene frowned. “You were there? I… didn’t I see you?”
“Our sixteenth birthday. I had come into some of my powers, but after that night, everything became clearer. One of my powers is sight. Of sorts. Like Tara and you. Only… I can see multiple moves ahead. Possibilities. Outcomes if we chose the wrong path.”
“And this is our best possibility?” she asked as they started their descent.
“Yes,” Lucas said as their feet touched the ground a yard from Mia and Scott. “This is it.” Lucas’ eyes were on them. “It’s up to us.”
She didn’t want to tell him that she felt a little left out. After all, she and Tara had been left out of the last fight.
What good were her powers if not to fight? Her strength, her inability to be hurt, and even her flight and now invisibility—surely she had them for some greater purpose.
Was she just a taxi service to the Beyond?
For the rest of that day and the next few that followed, Scott worked with Lucas. The four of them grew more relaxed around one another. Mia even seemed to be warming up to Lucas, including him in her jokes.
If it wasn’t for Mia’s humor and good nature, the time would have gone by a lot slower than it did. Passing her nights in Scott’s arms didn’t hurt either.
Since Scott had yet to transform into a dog, Lucas suggested they remain on the ranch to continue the work. Since he was technically Scott’s boss and could easily arrange for his time away, they all agreed.
“I told them you’re working on a special project for me,” Lucas said, “which is technically true.”