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Josie was a few feet in front ofacross the still waters of a huge-ass lake I brushed a strand of hair that had come loose behindI needed was for her to run off like this, but daible in the cooled breeze, practically a third entity between us

"She’s gone," she said, turning around Her blue eyes shone as she stared atin , because I couldn’t answer that unspoken plea Squeezing her eyes shut, she reopened them and walked past me, back toward the stand of trees I turned, relieved when she stopped, her back to the trees "Sorandparents They would never be okay with her leaving…or with so forward, I stopped when a look that said she was ready to bolt again flickered across her face "I think your grandparents are under a coust of wind picked up her words, tossing them around "Sorandparents’ heads?"

I could already tell this wasn’t going to go over s "It could be a pure, or a god or…"

"Or what?" She took a step back, her hands balling into fists "Or what?" she shouted

It could’ve been a Titan But taking her randparents under a compulsion didn’t make sense If they knehere Josie lived, knew about her mom, I doubted anyone would’ve been alive in that house But then again, the only Titan I’d ever h to show

"God This isn’t right My "

"I know," I said as carefully as possible "I understand"

"You understand?" She laughed as she raised her hands, pulling her hair back "How in the hell do you understand, Seth? Have you ever had your entire world turned upside down? Told things you never thought possible were true? Had your mother possibly kidnapped by a mythical creature?"

"No" And then I surprised the hell out of myself "But I know someone who has I knew someone who had their entire world turned upside doho lost their mother and a lot of other people" I couldn’t believe I was actually talking about her--about Alex--but I forged on "So I’ve seen this before I know it’s hard, but you’ve got to keep it together Your grandparents are okay, so that leads me to believe that whoever took your n"

Her throat worked as she sed hard Some of the panic receded frooing to run again I really couldn’t blah a lot and she probably needed space and time, probably someone who could coypt, and I sucked at the whole co out of time

Josie let out a sound that tore into me just as intensely as claws from a furie would, and she twisted at the waist, about to take flight I took a step forward, ready to tackle her ass if need be, but before she could run, the ground under an to trereat and terrible sound-- like a thousand shouts boo a mountain--erupted

Awareness curled its way down , and gods, that was a really, really bad sign

Chapter 15

ALL AROUND us, the trees rattled and shook as a wave of birds suddenly took flight, streas and frantic shrieks, blocking out the sun as they blanketed the sky

Seth shot to round quaked as the sound of hoofs pounded fro ainst the tree as deer broke out from the trees Not one Not a few Hundreds of therass turned to pebbles, their white tails twitching

But a the deer were smaller critters--rabbits, squirrels, skunks Stunned, I watched as an entire cast of cute Disney-type creatures veered sharply at the water’s edge, following the lake until they disappeared out of sight

Seth twisted toward me, brows raised, and I sed hard around the knot of fear in the base of my throat "That’s not normal," I said "At all"

"What? You don’t have a mass exodus of animals every weekend?"

Before I could respond to his s h the blue, cloudless skies, an endless roar that raised the tiny hairs all over my body It sounded like trumpets, like the apocalypse kind of tru frorandparents’ horandparents…"

I pushed away frorabbed ether toward the noise Fro down and snaggingevery exposed root and boulder We burst out frorandparents’ ho looked norrandfather had planted around the driveway a few years ago I rounded the side of the house and the porch caing off its hinges