I reached across the desk and picked up my sketch pad to tuck Samson’s drawing inside. I flipped open the pad to the picture I’d done of Nikolas the night we met. Laying both sketches side-by-side, I realized I’d drawn the two of them as I’d seen them on the very same night. Samson was laidback and smiling in his picture, enjoying himself as he played to the crowd. Nikolas was fierce, almost predatory as he brandished the sword. They were as different as two men could be: one golden and warm and the other dark and furious. One wanted to be part of my life and the other wanted to run my life. One was sweet and easy to be with and the other caused a maelstrom of conflicting emotions to twist my stomach in knots.

I slammed the sketchbook shut and threw it on the desk. “Ugh! Why do guys have to be so complicated?”

Oscar rubbed against my legs and I bent down to pick him up. “I wasn’t talking about you,” I crooned, stroking his fur. He purred and butted his head against my chin then curled up in my lap and went to sleep without a care in the world. It was the first time I was ever jealous of a cat.

*     *     *

I spent Sunday morning working on my English paper and trying to keep Oscar away from the attic and his growing unhealthy fascination with imps. “Trust me, you don’t want to mess with those little monsters,” I warned as I chased him away from the crack beneath the attic door for what seemed like the hundredth time.

By some stroke of luck he finally managed to corner one in the bathroom and the angry chattering tore me from my work. I shooed Oscar away from the bathroom and looked at the tiny demon. Six inches tall, pasty white and bald, the little fiend stood on the toilet tank with one hand on his hip and the other waving a fist at the cat. I felt something brush against my leg and knew Oscar had not heeded my warning to stay away. The imp began to jump up and down, emitting little furious shrieks at the sight of the cat, his loincloth fluttering around him.

“Oh stop it,” I scolded him. “The last thing I need to see is your nasty little demon parts.”

The imp halted immediately and looked down at the bit of cloth covering him. They liked to pretend they could not understand humans but I’d suspected all along they were faking. “Got you!” I said with a smirk before I bent down to pick up Oscar and carry him over to the bed. “You stay there if you don’t want to get bitten. I don’t think imp bites will go over too well with the vet.”

At noon my phone rang and I scrambled to answer it, ready for a distraction. “Hey, Roland.”

“Finally. I thought you were ignoring me. I texted you like four times yesterday.”

I sat on the bed and fell back until I was staring at the ceiling. “I was ignoring you.”

He gave a nervous laugh. “I take it Samson called? Before you say anything, he’s a great guy and I thought you two hit it off last weekend.”

I let out a loud sigh. “I do like him. But you know I can’t get… involved with anyone now, especially with my life as crazy as it is right now.” I didn’t mention the whole immortal thing. Roland and I hadn’t talked about the fact that we wouldn’t age together. I’d already tried to imagine him at forty when I still looked like a teenager but the thought had freaked me out so I’d shoved it away where I didn’t have to deal with it.

“I just thought you could use some fun in your life. Now that Greg’s gone you can expect more guys to ask you out.”

Wait. What? “What are you talking about?”

He laughed and I could picture him shaking his head. “Sara, Greg let every guy in school know that he’d take it personally if anyone hurt you or broke your heart. They were all too scared of him to go near you after that.”

“You’d better be kidding me.” My face burned. I couldn’t believe Greg had done something like that. Actually, yes I could, which is why I was mortified.

“Greg was a bad ass but he had a soft spot for you. Probably because you were the only one in school besides his friends who wasn’t afraid of him.”

“Because I knew there were a lot scarier things out there.” I groaned into my hand. “God I can’t believe he did that.” Wait till I sent him another email. He was going to hear it from me.

Roland’s tone grew serious. “Listen, I actually called because Pete and I want to talk to you about something. You want to go get something to eat.”

“Can you give me a hint?”

“No.”

“Cryptic. Okay see you in a bit.”

They picked me up twenty minutes later in Peter’s mother’s car and after a quick discussion we headed for the mall. A lot of the stores were closed on Sundays but the food court was open and the boys loved the burgers and milkshakes from Benny’s. We got our food and grabbed a table away from everyone else. I let them take a few bites before I asked them what they wanted to talk about that couldn’t be said over the phone.

They shared a look and Peter said, “I overheard Dad and Uncle Brendan talking last night – about you and your parents.”

My hand stopped halfway to my mouth. “What?”

“Dad said they lost Madeline’s – your mom’s – trail and they were trying to piece together what happened to your father. He said Aunt Judith told him you thought it might have something to do with your mom being Mohiri.” Peter took a deep breath. “He said Aunt Judith was afraid you were too involved in this and might do something careless. What did he mean by that?”