Thousand Year Switch

Chapter 18

I took the stairs two at a time, and paused at mom's door. It was open a crack, and when I peered inside the room was empty. My heart sank, and I crept down the hallway as quietly as I could. Sure enough there was a strip of light under the door of Sara's old bedroom. I raised my hand to knock, chickened out and leaned against the door frame for a minute. How was I supposed to talk to her? I'd just told her the truth and she'd flipped out, and now she was crying in my dead sister's bedroom, over the loss of her one obedient child, cursing the single rebellious act that Sarah had indulged in. The one that had cost us so much. I turned and walked into my bedroom instead of going to her.

I was a coward.

I threw together a bag, jeans, a couple pairs of underwear, a few shirts and a toothbrush. I didn't need much else. I scribbled a note for mom on the back of a receipt.

Gone to the church on the hill. Will be back. Love you.

Would I be back? Who knows what would happen at the church on the hill...

We left in an all fire hurry. They loaded my bag into the trunk, shoved me into the back seat of the SUV between Aden and Morgan and we were roaring down the road, the vehicles kicked up huge clouds of dust as we tore past the crumbled structures of the city. One of the beef cake guys, the driver, flicked on the radio, where Aerosmith was wailing, "You're My Angel". 

Go figure.

"So," I said, raising my voice over the music. "I've been meaning to ask, how do the fates choose the replacement? Is there some kind of check list or criteria or something? Do they decide who has the best personality?"

Aden said, "I think it's pretty much whoever they happen to take a liking to."

"So, it's sort of like a cosmic game of spin the bottle?"

Morgan laughed. "That's an accurate description."

I noticed the driver eyeing Morgan in the rear view mirror, and wondered if he objected to a Malake riding along. Aden had certainly objected to her at first.

"Good to know it's organized," I grumbled. "It really makes me wonder about my chances of survival."

The driver snorted. "You're up against Sloan. I wouldn't worry."

I looked at the back of his head incredulously. "The guy is God."

"God's an idiot."

His buddy in the passenger seat, a guy with tight black curls, laughed at that, and even Aden cracked a smile.

Curly added, "I knew that little twerp before the switch. Can't understand for the life of me how he was chosen. Power hungry little bastard."

"You know him before he was God?" I said curiously.

"Sure." Curly turned in his chair to look at me. "The fates switch every thousand years, but we live even longer then that."

"Unless someone kills us," Aden said flatly.

"Okay, Sunshine," I said. "Everyone can die, but at least you get a shot at living way longer."

"You'll get to live for a thousand years," Aden said. She looked out the window then, and a shadow crossed her face.

"And even more if you go back to being human after," Morgan added.