Page 169 of Death and Relaxation

“There is a war coming. Rising on the winds, lapping at the shores of Ordinary.”

“War?” Everything inside me went tight with panic, my broken heart momentarily set aside. War was way above my pay grade. I was trained to transfer god powers and keep the peace. I wasn’t trained to fight any kind of battle.

“What am I supposed to do about it?”

“Choose your allies carefully,” she said, as she released my hand, her eyes still holding me in place. “And fight.”

Then she was gone, leaving the faint scent of pomegranate perfume behind.

My heart was pounding too fast, the echo of her touch on my hand tingled with heat. There was no doubting that she had been here, in my car, warning me.

War.

“Great. As if the last week wasn’t crazy enough.” I lowered my head onto the steering wheel and just sat there for a minute, the warm afternoon sunlight pooling heat on my shoulders.

It reminded me of my dad’s wide, warm palm, comforting, steady.

I could do this. No,wecould do this. My carefully chosen allies and I. All I had to do was figure out who those allies might be.

I took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and straightened. “I got this. Whatever is coming toward Ordinary, will have to get through me first.”

And then I put the car in gear and followed the road home to face the storm.