Suddenly her hands and feet went numb. The golden haze disappeared, leaving her in a cold, gray reality. "I'm sorry," the human was saying, but to Thea the voice seemed to come from a distance. "I didn't mean to startle you. I was just kidding. I really was enjoying the story-sort of a modern legend for kids, right?"
Thea's eyes focused on another human behind the adult. Eric. He'd been listening, too.
"Mom's such a kidder," he said nervously. His green eyes were apologetic-and intense. As if he were trying to make a connection with Thea.
But Thea didn't want to be connected. Couldn't be, to these people. She was surrounded by humans, trapped in one of their houses. She felt like the rattlesnake in a circle of big creatures with sticks. Sheer, raw panic overtook her. "You should be a writer, you know?" the human woman was saying. "All that creativity..." She took a step inside the room.
Thea stood up, dumping Rosamund on the floor. They were coming at her-by now, the very walls seemed to be closing in. They were alien, cruel, sadistic, terrorizing, evil, not-her-kind. They were Cotton Mather and the Inquisition and they knew about her. They were going to point at her in the street and cry "Witch!" Thea ran.
She slipped between Eric and his mother like a
frightened cat, not touching either of them. She ran
down the hall, through the living room, out the door.
Outside, the sky was clouded over and it was getting dark. Thea only stopped long enough to get her bearings, then headed west, walking as fast as she could. Her heart was pounding and telling her to go faster.
Get away, get away. Go to earth. Find home.
She turned corners and zigzagged, like a fox being chased by the hounds.
She was ten minutes from the house when she heard an engine pacing her. She looked. It was Eric's jeep. Eric was driving and his mother and Rosamund were passengers.
"Thea, stop. Please wait." Eric stopped the jeep and jumped out.
He was on the sidewalk in front of her. Thea froze.
"Listen to me," he said in a low voice, turning away from the jeep. "I'm sorry they came, too-I couldn't stop them. Mom feels awful. She's crying, Roz is crying... please, won't you come back?"
He looked close to crying himself. Thea just felt numb.
"It's okay. I'm fine," she said at random. "I didn't mean to upset anybody." Please let me go away.
"Look, we shouldn't have eavesdropped. I know that. It was just... you're so good with Rosamund. I never saw anybody she liked so much. And... and... I know you're sensitive about your grandma. That's why you're upset, isn't it? That story is something she told you, isn't it?"
Dimly, somewhere in the pit of Thea's mind, a light shone. At least he thought it was a story.
"We have family stories too," Eric was saying, an edge of desperation in his voice. "My grandpa used to
tell us he was a Martian-I swear to God this is true. And then he went to my kindergarten Back to School and I'd told all the kids he was a Martian, and they made these beep-beep noises at him and laughed, and I felt so bad. He was really embarrassed...."
He was babbling. Thea's numbness had receded enough that she felt sorry for him. But then a shape loomed up and she tensed again. It was his mother, silky hair flying.
"Look, Thea," Eric's mother said. Her expression was wretched and earnest. "Everybody knows your grandma, knows how old she is, how she's a little... quirky. But if she's scaring you-if she's telling you any kind of weird stuff-" "Mom!" Eric shouted through his teeth. She waved a hand at him. Her little glasses were steamed up. "You don't need to deal with that, okay? No kid needs to deal with that. If you want a place to stay; if you need anything-if we need to call social services-"
"Mom, please, I'm begging you. Shut up." Social services, Thea was thinking. Dear Isis, there'll be some sort of investigation. The Harmans in court. Gran accused of being senile-or being part of some cult. And then the Night World coming in to enforce the law....
Her terror peaked and left her deadly calm. "It's okay," she said, turning her gaze toward Eric. Not looking at him, but going through the motions exactly. "Your mom's just trying to be helpful. But really"-she turned the same face toward his mother-"everything's okay. Gran isn't strange or anything. She does tell stories-but she doesn't scare anybody."
Is that good enough? Close enough to whatever you believe? Will it make you leave me alone?
Apparently so. "I just don't want to be responsible for you and Eric-well..." Eric's mom exhaled nervously, almost a laugh.
"Breaking up?" Thea made a sound that was also almost a laugh. "Don't worry. I'd never want that." She turned a smile on Eric, looking down because she couldn't meet his eyes. "I'm sorry if I got- touchy. I was just-embarrassed, I guess. Like you said about your grandpa."
"Will you come back with us? Or let us take you home?" Eric's voice was soft. He wanted her to go back to his house.
"Just home, if you don't mind. I've got homework." She lifted her eyes, making herself smile again.
Eric nodded. He didn't look happy, but he wasn't as upset as he had been.
In the backseat of the jeep, Rosamund pushed up against Thea and squeezed her hand.
"Don't be mad," she hissed, fierce as ever. "Are you mad? I'm sorry. Want me to kill somebody for you?"
"I'm not mad," Thea whispered, looking over the top of Rosamund's shaggy head. "Don't worry about it."
She had reverted to the strategy of any trapped animal. Wait and watch for your chance. Don't fight until you see a real opportunity to get away.