Page 19

At some point you’ll need to stop acting like a—

Kara froze. She blinked three times, then rubbed her eyes.

Three tables away, a sharply-dressed man sat reading a newspaper. He was exceptionally tall, with long legs and olive skin. A pair of half-rimmed glasses rested high on the bridge of his nose…

It can’t be.

Kare drew closer, searching for the little details that would tell her she had the wrong person. Those details never came. Instead, the complete stranger’s features grew even more recognizable. Thick wavy hair. Dark stubble peppered over a cleft chin…

“Jeremy?”

The man looked up. His face registered instant shock and surprise before breaking into a forced smile. “Kara?”

He stood up and leaned in, the two of them staring each other up and down for a moment. Awkwardly he hugged her.

“What the hell are you doing here?” asked Kara. When he looked confused, she slid into the opposite seat and motioned for him to sit back down.

“I— uh… wow.”

They stared at each other over the table. The distance between them was only a few feet. It might as well have been miles.

“Wow what?”

“

Xiomara told me she was sending help,” Jeremy began. “I just never thought—”

“That it would be us?” Logan interjected. Now it was Kara’s turn to be startled as her companion pulled up the next empty chair He sank down beside her now, staring back at Jeremy.

“Yeah,” Jeremy admitted. “I guess so.”

Kara heaved a big, mournful sigh. You’re such an asshole, Xiomara.

“Funny,” she said at last. “She told us the same thing.”

They stared back at each other awkwardly, the three of them, like gunfighters waiting on the first move. It was Kara who broke the ice.

“So… you get in last night?”

Jeremy shook his head. “No. Been here for a bit already.”

“What’s a bit?” asked Logan.

There was a slight pause. “Three weeks.”

“Three weeks!” Kara nearly bolted out of her chair. It was incomprehensible. Not only had the old woman refused to send her alone, but she’d also sent a third member of the Order… three weeks ahead of time?

“Yeah,” Jeremy admitted. He lowered his voice. “Apparently this place is considered high priority right now. The Order sent me in to—”

“Holy shit,” Kara breathed. She said it again to cement it. “Three weeks!”

There was another pause, during which Jeremy downed a long pull of his own coffee. It only made Kara more desperate for her first cup.

“I’m not sure I’m aware of you,” Logan said nodding across the table. “No offense.” He turned to face Kara. “Wanna fill me in on who this guy is?”

Kara’s gaze dropped. If I have to.

“This is Jeremy Manning,” she finally said. “Order archivist and historian. He’s a sensitive medium, with specialties in apparitional communication.”