FINALLY, ZANDER LET THE matter of Zena's party go. "Tru, tell me about your dream last night." I jumped at the chance to move away from that subject. Somehow we were able to multitask Mr. Mac's lecture and our conversation. I told Zander about the dream of Uriel and Caroline. I still didn't remember very much about the family I'd been born into, but the dream felt comfortable, like an old t-shirt. It fit as if it belonged to me, like a real memory. So, while I didn't feel a strong connection to the people in the dream, I did experience an emotional link to the moment itself. "I don't even know my brother's name," I said. "You'd think I'd remember his name if it was true."The vision I'd had at the Efoti's cabin had revealed my sister's name. It was a mouthful. Shannandoah. I tried to recall her nickname for me. It had sounded funny with her little kid accent ... something like "Dweah." My spine snapped straight as if someone had stuck me with a pin. In last night's strange black

IT SEEMED LIKE I'D only been asleep for a moment before I catapulted into a true dream. I was starting to recognize them. They were clear and crisp, every detail memorable. Regular dreams were intangible and fuzzy, nothing fitting together for very long. I was usually a participant in normal dreams. In true dreams, I rode along the memory like a passenger, unable to interact in any way. That's how it felt now. **The room stretched maybe twenty by twenty feet with laminate wood flooring and gray walls. A twin-size bed sat against one wall that was covered in pictures. There were magazine photos of landscapes and people in all types of clothing, some well-known celebrities and others I didn't recognize. Many portrayed scenes of families doing mundane activities like eating, playing sports, and laughing together. Personal drawings and paintings decorated the head of the bed. Someone had copied the magazine pictures using charcoal, watercolor, and bright oil paints. The artist's work e

I'D NEVER BEEN ACCUSED of skinny chicken legs in my life - quite the opposite, actually. But I appreciated his attempt to lighten the mood. We worked up to a fast jog, Knox running alongside us, and I allowed myself a moment to enjoy the beautiful greenery around us. It was easy to take the vibrant redwood forest for granted when you lived in it. I breathed in the spicy pine scent, letting it cleanse me.Eventually, my mind wandered back to Shanna and what her existence meant. "Caroline must know Shanna's alive," said Zander, breaking into my thoughts and making me wonder if he was reading my mind. "I don't understand why she left her there, especially if she's in any kind of danger.""I was thinking the same thing. Maybe Caroline was too crazy to care." I frowned at the thought. It didn't jive with her emotional response when we'd spoken about her children. At the time, I'd thought she'd been sad because they were dead. Unless ..."Do you think Caroline believes Shanna is dead?"

ZANDER AND I HEADED toward our regular lunch table where Ruthie sat waiting for us. Wynona and Luke sprawled across from her where the twins used to sit. My knee-jerk reaction was to look around for Isaac and Phoebe but I reminded myself they weren't coming back. After only two days, I really missed them. Classes weren't the same without them, but their absence was most noticeable at lunch. Now that the Efotis were aware that people from the Nasaru were in town, they were keeping the twins home, resuming their homeschooling. I couldn't blame them. Their children definitely stood out wherever they went. But it wasn't stopping us from them altogether. In fact, we were planning to meet up with them at my place after school today.I slid into my seat with a loud sigh."Wow," said Wynona. "You look like you lost your best friend."Ruthie threw an arm around me. "Never!" She squeezed me until I squawked."Why so gloomy?" Luke asked."She ran into Shrina again," said Zander. There wa

RUTHIE LAUNCHED INTO HER notes. "Number one on my list is: We are not alone!" Her eyes widened dramatically.Phoebe let out an unlady-like snort. "You mean the fact that there's life on other planets in other universes?""Yeah," said Ruthie. "That's way cool."We all agreed. "And the one other planet with life on it, that we know about, is called Nimbiru. It has humanoid beings that look a lot like us and they're called 'uli.'" Ruthie repeated the name a few times just because she liked saying it. "Uli, uli, uli."I cleared my voice. She stopped and gave me a thumbs-up before continuing. "And it has God-like beings known as suani or 'the Quiet Ones.' They turned the humanoid people into wolves, birds, and sea creatures. And they didn't age or die for five hundred freaking years. Then they were transformed again, this time into shape-shifters, half humanoid and half whatever creature they were before.""So damn weird," muttered Luke."Seriously," agreed Wynona as she attacked