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“Did, um, did you see anything else?”
“No. Did you?”
Isaiah felt guilty about the river vision. What if what he’d seen had been some warning about Sarah Beth? She wouldn’t see her own future coming for her, probably. He didn’t know for sure, and he didn’t want to scare her. What if she didn’t want to be his friend anymore?
Sarah Beth stamped her foot. “Isaiah!”
“You, uh, you said your mama doesn’t let you go in the water?”
Sarah Beth growled low in her throat and twirled around. “She won’t let me do a doggone thing!”
“What if your mama’s right about that river being dangerous?”
Sarah Beth rolled her eyes. She put her hands to her hips. “Don’t tell me you’re gonna fuss at me, too! Never you mind about Mother. Tell me what else you saw!”
“I saw his throne in the forest. All made of bones!”
Sarah Beth nodded. “Me, too. But how come I didn’t see you there?”
“Dunno.” He thought for a moment. “Maybe we can only talk to each other.”
“Maybe. Well, no matter. Now we know where he keeps himself. That’s something, isn’t it?” She wiped a hand across her brow. “Whew. Moon glowing sure does make you tired, though. Doesn’t it?”
“Sure does.”
There had been a rock covered in blood. Her shoes. Her socks. Isaiah’s stomach hurt from keeping this secret. He wished he knew what to do. He lay back in the grass and stared up at the clouds changing shapes in an effort to calm his racing mind.
“At least we’re learning how to control it some. Neither one of us has had a fit since you’ve been here. I reckon if we keep at it, we’ll get so strong we’ll never be tired at all.” Sarah Beth lay down next to Isaiah. He could feel the heat of her small body. It made him nervous, though he couldn’t say why.
Isaiah got quickly to his feet. “Let’s go feed the mama cat.”
They walked back to the house, carrying the pail of minnows between them. Isaiah resolved to keep Sarah Beth safe. He’d make sure she didn’t get hurt in the river. He’d keep her away from it, if necessary. As they walked, Isaiah told Sarah Beth all the “Who’s this?” jokes he knew, and was delighted when she laughed and asked for more, and soon, his earlier worry eased.
His smile vanished, though, as they rounded the barn. Bill Johnson was drinking from a cup of water. A memory flooded Isaiah. In a vision months ago, he’d seen a man like this, tall and broad-shouldered and mighty as an African prince, and there had been a warning in it. Ghosts on the road. Isaiah hadn’t thought of Bill at the time because the man in his vision had been young and strong and Bill was still Blind Bill Johnson and he was old and worn out. Isaiah had seen a fat wall of dust billowing up in the distance with something mean and white glinting inside it. Ghosts on the road.
“What’s the matter?” Sarah Beth asked.
There was no scary wall of dust out there now that Isaiah could see, only a plain dirt road leading nowhere for miles. The day was sunny and fine, and Bill Johnson was fine, too.
“Nothing,” Isaiah answered and let that go, too.
Sam couldn’t remember ever being so exhausted. “Even my tongue is tired,” he said as Mrs. Olson rang the bell for supper.
“Not tired enough,” Jericho said.
The Diviners washed up and joined the Olsons at the table, where they tucked eagerly into a hearty dinner of roast beef and potatoes. Theta asked Sarah Beth about the vision that had brought them to Bountiful in the first place. “Y
ou said you know how to stop the King of Crows?”
Sarah Beth nodded, beaming.
“She waiting for an invitation?” Sam muttered to Memphis, who elbowed him to keep quiet. “Fine, no hurry,” Sam grumbled. “It’s only the end of the world we’re worried about here.”
Sarah Beth glared at Sam. “I don’t have to tell you if you’re not going to be a gentleman. I only like gentlemen.”
Memphis flashed Sam a Didn’t I try to tell you? look. “Apologize,” he whispered to Sam.
“I’m sorry, Sarah Beth. Go on,” Sam said, chastened.
