“I saw you too, Gabby. All those homes. You could never let your guard down.”
Finally she sank into a chair, and I knew they believed me.
“We’re not alone. There are six of us. We need to find the others but can’t trust anyone. When we do, we die...or worse.”
Michelle looked troubled.
“You said you knew why we had our abilities?” Gabby asked.
“Kind of.”
“I see lights,” she admitted. “I just want to know why.”
“Because you’re our Hope. But also our biggest weakness. With you, they would be able to find us all.”
Her eyes widened in understanding. “Six of us,” she whispered.
I gave her a smile. “And you,” I said looking at Michelle, “are Prosperity. You always bring fortune to those around you.”
“And you know all this because you remember?” Gabby asked.
“It’s not simply remembering. I relive our past lives through dreams. Not just my past lives but all of ours. When I wake up, they stay with me—every detail. Our abilities and how we used them in those lives,” I tapped my head. “We’ve died so many times.”
“So you know what our abilities are for? Why we are like this?”
“The dreams are still coming. I’m not naive enough to believe I’ve learned everything. But I do know we exist because something was needed to keep the balance between humans, werewolves, and the dogs of death,” I answered tiredly.
“Excuse me?” Michelle glanced at Gabby as if saying “did you hear that too?”
“Urbat. A cousin to Lycan,” I explained. “They’re close, but not quite the same. They tried to wipe out the werewolves almost a thousand years ago.”
“Oh,” Michelle said looking suddenly enlightened. “I think Nana Wini told me something about that. But she didn’t mention any cousins. Just that there was a huge fight—they weren’t sure of the reason—and that it decimated their numbers.”
“Of both sides,” I said before turning to Gabby for confirmation. “Right? You can see the difference in their sparks. Are there more werewolves or Urbat?”
Gabby looked slightly stunned. “I knew it,” she murmured. “Two different kinds.” Her expression grew vacant and then troubled. “There are more Urbat. At least double.” Her worried gaze flicked to the door, and she chewed on her lip for a moment. “So what does it mean that I’m Hope?”
“So far, I just know that you’re the key to bringing all of us together. You know where the other three are.”
Her attention returned to me. “Two,” she corrected. “Charlene is one of us, too.”
“Who’s Charlene?” The name sounded familiar. “Where is she?”
“Here,” Michelle said. “She’s Emmitt’s mother.”
“Mother?” Emmitt had to be at least in his twenties. “How old is she?”
Michelle shrugged. “In her forties. I’m not exactly sure.”
“What’s her ability?” I asked.
“She admitted she could control people.”
Of course! The dream starring Penny the bully. I felt like jumping up and down and cheering. “Strength,” I sighed with a happy grin. “We are just missing Peace and Courage.”
I looked at Gabby. “Where are they?”
Gabby’s gaze grew slightly unfocused, and I was glad she didn’t ask what I meant. “Both on the East Coast. One is very far north and the other just a little south.”
