The Flight of the Silvers (Silvers #1)(127)

Zack squinted across the distance at the tiny waving goblin. “You’re wearing a mask.”

“No. This is just how I look in the morning.”

“Why the mask? I’ve already seen your face.”

“It’s for the Deps and their damn ghost drills,” Evan explained. “They can be a real hassle when they’ve got your mug in their system, as you’ll soon discover. The woman on your tail is particularly smart. In fact, I’d say she’s your next big problem.”

“I’m still stuck on the current one.”

Evan sighed. “I know. I’m a handful. Look, you took this call because you’re hoping to reason with me, to convince me to leave you guys alone. The good news is that there’s a way. Let’s just . . . Whoops. Here comes the concern brigade.”

Mia, Amanda, and Theo stood at the glass door, all watching Zack with leery caution. Theo and Amanda backed off at the sight of Zack’s assuring palm. Mia kept her nervous vigil.

Evan chuckled. “Ah, that Farisi. Such a little sweetheart. Enjoy it now before she changes.”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

“I mean all teenagers are wet clay, but Mia really takes a different shape. Sometimes she becomes a thin and pretty slut-tease, the Third Little Given. Other times she hardens into a fat and angry ass-kicker. That’s when she’s really fun.”

“Evan . . .”

“Most of the time, she just dies. It’s weird. She’s like the team’s cannon fodder. She rarely makes it to Year Two.”

Zack’s empty stomach churned. “You’re obviously trying to upset me.”

“No. If I wanted to upset you, I’d tell you how David turns out.”

He’d called Zack at the crack of dawn in the hope of dulling his sharp edge. And yet in the first four run-throughs of the conversation, Zack kept finding new and clever ways to gain the upper hand. Evan was determined to keep him off balance in Round 5.

“Why do you hate us so much?” Zack asked. “What did we ever do to you?”

Evan exhaled impatiently. It was like living in a world full of senile people. They never remembered.

“It’s not worth getting into. Just know that I only really have it in for the Givens. Theo and the kids? Meh. Take them or leave them. But you, mein Freund, I can never stay mad at. Truth be told, I really miss our chats.”

He grinned at Zack’s furrowed perplexity. “Strains the brain, doesn’t it? Once upon a time warp, I was part of the gang. We started out as an eight-piece band. You guys, me, and Jury Curado.”

“You mean the guy on the driver’s license.”

Evan laughed. “You’re lucky that’s all you know him from. You should be thanking me. He was a real *. Always yelling. Always convinced he was right. He was decent enough to the womenfolk, especially Hannah. He wasn’t so nice to us beta males, especially me.”

“So why don’t I remember any of this?”

“Because the story changed. I changed it.”

“How?”

Evan waved a curt hand. “Ah, I’m sick of talking about it. Let’s talk about culture.”

“Why don’t you just get to the—”

“I know you weren’t crazy about your old life. I hated mine. But man, do I miss the culture. You must have noticed how bad it is here. The shit that passes for entertainment.”

Zack sighed with forced amenity. “The movies are pretty bad.”

“It’s all bad. You know why? No foreign geniuses to shake things up. No Charlie Chaplins or Alfred Hitchcocks or Sergio Leones. Foreign films are illegal here. You think George Lucas would have come up with Star Wars if he hadn’t been able to see The Seven Samurai? Of course not. But they sealed the doors and nailed the curtains shut. So now all we have are five hundred brands of American vanilla.”

“I do miss Star Wars,” Zack admitted.

“God, I’d kill to see the original trilogy again. I’d only maim for the prequels.”

Zack was amazed to find himself smiling. “If I had known what was coming, I would have packed a portable movie player and a suitcase full of discs.”

“You and me both, brother. It kills me that I only had a few minutes to prepare. I think about all the things I could have grabbed from my room. Even the cheapest piece of crap would have been a treasure to me now. But oh no. Azral, King of Time, was running late and had to rush me.”

Zack tapped the railing, debating whether or not to press Evan for intel. Could his information be trusted?

“I’m guessing you know a lot more about him than I do.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t believe the things I know, Zacky. I’ve seen this tale from start to finish. You really want to know about the Pelletiers?”

“Tell me.”

Evan took a deep breath. He knew he was sailing into dangerous waters now.

“They’re Gothams,” he explained. “But from way the hell in the future. Distant descendants of Peter Pendergen’s people. Fiftieth generation, hundredth—I have no idea. I just know they’re insanely powerful. They’re one family you don’t want to mess with. And yet you always do.”

“How many are there?”

“There are three. Papa Bear’s on special assignment. He’ll rear his ugly head next year. That won’t be a fun day for any of you.”