Chapter 6

Before Lorna could finish, I opened the door and asked her to leave. She pinched the bridge of her nose and had no choice but to get up and head out.

As she brushed past me, her hand touched my arm. She froze. "Jude, why are you so cold? Are you not feeling well?"

She grabbed my hand and held on tight.

For a moment, I thought she actually cared about me.

Before I could say anything, Arlo called. "Lorna, where are you? Something's wrong with my suit. Can you come take a look?"

Lorna let go of my hand and spoke into the phone. "Coming! I'll be right there."

Without another glance at me, she hurried off. The moment the door closed, every last bit of color drained from my face.

On the seventh day, Mom, Dad, and Lorna all went with Arlo to his wedding photo shoot.

I listened to them leave in high spirits. Then I changed into my best clothes and walked out the door too.

I hailed a cab and gave the driver the address. "The old shrine on Greymantle Mountain."

The driver glanced at me. "Kid, that place is in the middle of nowhere. What are you going out there by yourself for?"

"To get married," I said.

The driver paused, probably thinking I was joking. He chuckled and pulled away from the curb.

The car headed out of town. The city skyline faded behind us, and the outline of Greymantle Mountain grew closer and closer.

I looked out the window and felt strangely calm.

…

Lorna watched Mom, Dad, and Arlo throw themselves into the photo shoot, yet a sense of unease kept creeping over her.

She did not understand it. Her favorite brother was about to break the prophecy, and I had finally stopped making a fuss. Everything was going smoothly.

Yet her mind kept drifting back to the last look she had given me before she left the guest room.

I used to be so full of life. Somewhere along the way, my face had gone completely numb, as if nothing could ever make me happy again.

Lorna's chest tightened.

I was her brother too, yet I had been forced to give way again and again because of that prophecy. I had been shortchanged more times than she could count.

For the first time, Lorna wanted to make it up to me.

When she heard Mom, Dad, and Arlo talking about taking a family portrait while they were at it, she let out a quiet breath and called the housekeeper.

"I'll send you an address. Tell Jude to come down here."

The housekeeper agreed.

After hanging up, Lorna went to the coffee shop across the street. She remembered that I seemed to like the pretzels there.

She was paying for them when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Lorna turned around and found her good friend Sabine Rutherford standing behind her.

Sabine was a police officer, and she was also the woman Lorna had always meant to introduce to me. When Lorna said she would find me a better match, she had not been joking.

Before Lorna could say hello, her phone rang.

The housekeeper sounded terrified. "Jude left the house! I asked around, and people said he was headed for Greymantle Mountain!"

Before Lorna even had time to panic, Sabine frowned. "Greymantle Mountain is bad news. Yesterday, a few men came into the station to turn themselves in. They said they beat up some young guy out there a few nights ago."

Lorna suddenly found it hard to breathe. "A few nights ago? When exactly?"

"Let me think. Oh, right. It was the night before your brother Arlo's engagement party."

Lorna's phone slipped from her hand and hit the floor with a sharp crack.