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‘What happened to her?’ asked Jaide.
His face fell.
‘That was a long time ago,’ was all he would say. ‘What’s done is done, and best put behind us.’
‘David?’
He looked up when Grandma X called his name, and she waved to indicate that he should come over.
‘And now I’m going to forget it all over again,’ he told the twins. ‘It’s a relief, frankly. I feel better knowing that you’ll remember – and I’ll be grateful to both of you if you say nothing to remind me, afterwards.’
They stared at him, stunned, and nodded, one at a time.
‘Thank you.’
He strode heavily to join their grandmother, who whispered into his ear too softly for anyone else to hear.
‘Something terrible must have happened to Lottie,’ whispered Jaide.
‘Maybe she died,’ said Jack. ‘Or The Evil took her.’
‘Like Rodeo Dave’s sister.’
‘And Dad’s brother.’
They stood with their heads together, both struck by the same terrible thought.
All the Wardens they knew had been twins, just like Jack and Jaide. All of them had lost a sibling. Now they were all alone.
‘What are the odds of that?’ Jaide asked.
Jack shook his head, remembering something The Evil had told them when it had killed the previous Living Ward.
One always falls. Thus it has always been, and thus it will always be.
Could this have been what it was talking about?
‘No more secrets,’ said Jaide in her most determined voice. ‘From now on we make Grandma tell us about our family, about The Evil, about being troubletwisters . . . everything.’
Jack nodded, although he suspected that convincing Grandma X to do this might be the hardest thing they had ever attempted.
The rain was easing off. Somewhere nearby, a frog was croaking. The flashing lights of a police car were coming up the drive. Together, Jack and Jaide went down the hill to where the others were waiting.
Trouble is coming . . . The Evil must be contained.
