"It sounds like it."
"That's what Morgead thought-that's why he thought the little girl might be a Wild Power even though she was human. But what I can't figure out is what it means by 'where two eyes are watching.'"
"Mmm..." Hugh gazed into the distance, as if he liked the challenge. "The only thing I can think of that combines the idea of 'Day* and 'eyes' is a poem. It goes something like 'The Night has a thousand eyes, and the Day only one.' The one eye being the sun, you know, and the thousand eyes the stars at night."
"Hmpf. What about the moon?"
Hugh grinned. 'I don't know. Maybe the author wasn't good at astronomy."
"Well-that doesn't help much. I thought it might be a clue. But the truth is that we don't even know if it's the human Wild Power we're after."
Hugh put his chin on his knees again. "True. But I'll let Circle Daybreak know about that prophecy. It might help eventually." He was silent a moment, then added, "You know, they dug up something interesting, too. Apparently the Hopi Tribe predicted the end of the world pretty accurately."
"The Hopi?"
"I should say, the ends of the worlds. They knew that it had happened before their time, and that it would happen again. Their legend says that the first world was destroyed by fire. The second world was destroyed by ice. The third world ended in water- a universal flood. And the fourth world-well, that's ours. It's supposed to end in blood and darkness- and end soon."
Jez murmured, "The first world-?"
"Don't remember your Night World history?" He tched at her, with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"The first civilization was the shapeshifters'. Back when humans were scared to go out of their caves, the shapeshifters ruled and the humans thought of them as gods. Animal spirits, totems. It was Shapeshifter World. That lasted for about ten thousand years, until a bunch of volcanoes suddenly became active-"
"Fire."
"Yeah. The weather changed, people migrated, and the shapeshifters lost control. After that it was really Witch World. The witches did better than everybody else for ten thousand years, but then there was an Ice Age-"
"And the Night Wars," Jez said, remembering. "When the vampires fought the witches."
"Right. And after all that, the vampires were in control; it was Vampire World. Which lasted about another ten thousand years, until the flood. And after the flood, human civilization really started. It was Human World, and it has been for a long time. The Night People have just been hanging on around the edges, hiding. But. . ." He paused and straightened. "That started about eight thousand B.C."
"Oh."
"Yeah. The millennium marks the end of our ten thousand years." He gave his gentle, half-mocking smile.
"We humans are about to lose our lease. Something's going to happen to bring blood and darkness and then there'll be a whole new world."
"Only if we don't stop it," Jez said. "And we will- because we have to."
Hugh's smiled changed, softening. "I think we're lucky to have people like you trying." Then he lost the smile completely. He looked uncertain. "Jez- you know, Old Souls aren't really beyond 'stupid human things.' We're as human as anybody. And we ... I mean, and I..."
Jez's heart was beating uncomfortably fast. The way he was looking at her-she'd never seen Hugh look
like that at anything or anyone.
Another rumble in the distance, and then a train came rushing in.
Hugh blinked, glanced up at the digital clock display above the platform, then checked his watch. He cursed.
Tm supposed to be somewhere. I'm late."
Jez's heart gave a strange thump. But not of disappointment. Weirdly, it was more like relief.
"Me, too," she said. "I'm supposed to meet Morgead before everybody else gets out of school. I ought to take the next train to San Francisco."
He still hesitated. "Jez-"
"Go on," she said, standing up. "Ill call you if I turn up anything. Wish me luck."
"Be careful," he said instead, and then he was hurrying away.
Jez watched him go. She couldn't help wondering what he had been about to say.
Then she turned to walk back to the central part of the station. She was partway around the concrete guardhouse when she heard a noise on the other side.
A stealthy, sneaking noise. Not the kind a security guard would make.
Jez didn't hesitate. Smoothly, completely soundless herself, she changed course, turning back and going around the structure the other way to get behind the sneaker. The instant she had a clear view of the intruder's back, she jumped.
She landed on top of her quarry, with a control hold on the person's wrist. But she already knew that this wasn't going to be a fight to the death.
"Jez-ow-it's me!" Claire spluttered.
"I know it's you, Claire."
"Let go of my arm!"
"I don't think so, Claire. You having an interesting morning? Hear any good jokes?"
"Jez!" Claire struggled, hurting herself, then got mad and hurt herself more trying to hit Jez. Jez allowed her to sit up, still keeping hold of her.
Claire's face was flushed and wrathful, her dark hair sticking in strands to her cheeks. Her eyes were shooting sparks.
"Okay, so I'm sorry for eavesdropping. I followed you when Greg Ludlum drove you here. I wanted to know what you were doing. I didn't know that you were completely freaking insane!"
"Well, it's too bad you didn't figure it out earlier. Because unfortunately I have to kill you now to keep you from talking."
Claire's eyes widened and she choked. Jez suddenly realized that underneath all the sparks and the yelling her cousin was terrified.
She let go of Claire's arm and Claire slumped away from her, rubbing it.
"You-you are insane, aren't you?" Claire looked at her sideways, through clinging strands of hair. "I
mean, all that stuff about the world ending-it's some kind of bizarre game you're playing with your weird friends, isn't it? Some kind of Dungeons and Dragons stuff..."
"What do you think, Claire?" Jez stood up and offered Claire a hand, worried that someone might notice them. She kept that hand on Claire as she herded Claire back behind the guard house.