At the Hand of Fate

Chapter Twenty

Carissa reads over my shoulder. "What the hell does that mean?" I look up at her, my heart in my throat. "I don't know."

   We both run to her car, and she tears out of the parking lot. "Derek just told me to meet him at his house." Carissa rips into the turn, almost missing it. I look around me. "Wait, when did you get a new car?" She throws on her blinker, ramming down Forsette Avenue. "My parents got tired of picking me up on the side of the highway what was beginning to be every day, so they junked the yellow one and got me this." She turns onto Derek's road, coasting to a stop in his driveway.

   We both jump out of her car, and Derek's standing in his front doorway waiting for us. He pulls me into him as we reach the front door. I can feel the tension radiating off of him. He holds me at arm's length. "What happened to you? You look like you fell off a cliff." I chuckle. "Nothing. What did you want to talk about?"

   He shakes his head as he rubs my cheek. "All in time, Blake. All in time." He motions for me to follow him as he walks inside, and I shoot a bewildered look at Carissa. We follow him, and I don't know what's going to happen.

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   I glance over at the antique cup filled with basil tea as Derek finishes another clarinet concerto. Carissa hums a piece they're doing in chorus to herself as I race through my mind, wondering what Derek wants to talk about. Every time I try to pry it out of him, he just repeats the same thing. "All in time, Blake. All in time." Ugh. What the hell does that mean?

   He pulls out another book, and I hear footsteps coming down the hallway. Carissa and I both snap to the doorway as Alec walks in. Carissa gives me an uneasy glance as Derek looks up, setting his clarinet down. Alec gestures to me. "Is this the infamous Blake?" Derek nods, and Alec extends his hand towards me, the other carrying a highball glass of scotch on the rocks. I rise to shake it, and I see that Alec reads me instantly by the spark that flashes across his eyes. My heart races.

   "Please, Blake, have a seat again. Our last guest should be here any moment." Our last guest? What the hell is going on?

   Derek puts away his concerti and his clarinet, and pulls three wingback chairs up to the couch where Carissa and I are sitting. Carissa and I exchange another glance, but it's cut short as the front door creaks open. Derek disappears down the hallway, coming back a few minutes later with Mrs. Lindzer on his arm.  My jaw drops to the floor. She smiles at me. "Blake, dear, close your mouth. You'll catch insects."

   Derek helps her into the chair in the middle of the three, and Derek and his dad flank her. She crosses her ankles and folds her hands on her knee. "Blake, dear, you're probably wondering why I called you here." I frown. "You called me here?" She nods. "I had Derek text you since I knew it would get you here faster." Alec hands her a cup of tea, but she holds a hand up. "Double Kentucky bourbon on ice, please, Alec." He nods, and returns a few moments later with a highball glass of bourbon.

   I shake my head. It's beginning to throb. This is too much for one day. "What is this all about? Seriously." Mrs. Lindzer takes a sip of bourbon. "Are you familiar with The Order of the Immortals, Blake?" My heart stops. "Um, what are you talking about?" She chuckles. "Blake, I may be old, but I'm not stupid."

   She takes another sip of her drink. "I know you know who The Order are." She glances over at Alec. He clears his throat. "I know what you think you know, Blake." He glances uneasily at Derek. "But, there's really no easy way to tell you this, so..um.." Mrs. Lindzer shakes her head. "Oh, Alec, hush. You're confusing the boy." She faces me. "Honey, what do you know about The Order?"

   I can't get my heart to calm down, and my mind's sprinting in my head, trying to figure out how I can bust out of that huge ass window on the other side of the room. "I know that they've been around as long as there's been humans, and they hunt down deities. " Mrs. Lindzer nods. "Which you are, dear." My heart skips a beat. "Um." I clear my throat. I'm slipping into autopilot. "And I know that a really long time ago, we faced off and killed all of the members because they were killing all of us off. We faced off in Arizona."