“—beautifulas a unicorn pony queen!”
Okay, that’s all I needed to hear to know she was the real Xtelle, but I’d seen too many movies where a bait and switch let the bad guy get away.
“Not you,” I said to Xtelle. “You.”
Than withdrew his hand and, still in a crouch, looked up at me. “You wish me to prove that I am who you think I am?”
“Yes.”
“And who do you think I am?”
“Nope. You’re going to answer three questions. If you get them right, I’ll believe you’re who I think you are.”
He sighed and stood. “Begin.”
I bit back a smile and squinted at him.
“What is your secret hobby?”
He stilled. “I have many secrets. I have many hobbies.”
“The one you hide away inside your house.”
The look in his eye was part amusement, but also a little bit of warning. He was willing to play along with this game, but I was going to pay for it.
Worth it.
“I garden.”
I nodded, but I couldn’t hide my relief. I knew this must be the real Than—for one thing the imposter was wearing different clothes, but I didn’t know how quickly a ghoul could transform into another shape. If it were instantaneous, then it was possible Xtelle could have kicked the heck out of the wrong grim reaper.
“What did you spend your recent time off doing?”
“Walking,” he said mildly.
“And?”
“Is that your third question?”
“No, it’s a modifier of the second.”
“Ridding myself of unnecessary inventory.”
“Hiding kites for kids.”
He just blinked, and waited.
I had a chance to ask him something more, something important. I supposed he could lie to me, but since this was to prove that he was really him, I had a feeling he’d stick pretty close to the truth.
I could ask him if he knew if this war everyone thought was headed our way would mean we would lose people.
I could ask him why he had come to Ordinary, why he stayed. I could ask him when I was going to die, when my friends, my family were going to die. I could ask him if he could bring my father back to life.
From the sudden heaviness in the air, I thought he knew what was going through my mind.
I took a breath and braced myself for his answer. “Do you like Myra more than me?”
That startled him. It was absolutely delightful to see the honest surprise on his face, the almost vulnerable confusion.
