“I’m just trying to talk Hunter into going to a movie,” I said. “There’s a—a great new foreign film playing at the Pavilion,” I said. Actually, what was playing there was an action adventure I’d been dying to see that I knew Hunter would never go for. But it was made in Hong Kong—that made it foreign, right? “It’s still early,” I went on, glancing at the clock on the mantel. It was only six-fifteen. “We can grab a slice of pizza before the movie, and I can still be home by ten.” I put on my best overeager face and batted my eyelashes.

Hunter laughed and gave in. “All right,” he said, holding up his hands.

“Great!” I rushed to the kitchen to use his phone while Sky wandered back upstairs. I punched in the number for my house and listened as it rang a few times and the machine picked up. I left a message explaining that I was going to a movie with Hunter. Considering the way my parents had reacted to him last night, I figured they’d be okay with me spending some quality time with him. At least, until I got my history grade.

Hunter and I grabbed a quick slice at Pino’s Pizza, then drove over to the theater. When we walked up to the ticket window, Hunter said, “Two for Fire Dragons, please.” I gaped at him as he pulled out his wallet. He noticed the look on my face, and the corners of his mouth twitched up into a smile. “What?” he said. “You didn’t actually think you had me fooled with that line about going to see a foreign film, did you?”

I laughed and shook my head. The more I felt I knew Hunter, the more capable he was of surprising me.

The wind was blowing my hair around my face, and I pushed it back with both hands as we walked inside. The Pavilion used to be a real theater, the kind where you see plays and stuff, and the interior is decorated with images from Greek myths. I always liked to sit in the front of the balcony because the view is great and hardly anyone likes to sit there but me.

We made a quick stop at the concession stand for a medium popcorn and a Diet Coke for me. When I turned around, I came face-to-face with Bree and Robbie.

“Hey, guys,” Robbie said. He pulled a few kernels from the top of my bag of popcorn and stuffed them in his mouth.

“Watch it,” I joked. “Do you know how much that popcorn costs?”

“I’ll pay you back,” Robbie promised, and placed his order for a large popcorn and two sodas.

“And a box of Raisinets,” Bree added. I smiled at her.

The blond girl gathered their order and lined everything up on the counter. As she was ringing their total, she said shyly, “Robbie?”

Robbie gave her a blank look. “Yes?”

The girl blushed. “I’m Jessica Watts. . from Mrs. Carleson’s class? Fifth grade? You sat next to me.”

“Jessica Watts?” Robbie repeated. He sounded shocked.

I felt my own mouth drop open. Jessica Watts? I thought. As in “Mega Watts”? Bree and I had been in Mrs. Norton’s class in the fifth grade, while Robbie was across the hall with Mrs. Carleson. The classes didn’t really mix much, but Jessica Watts had been famous at our school. At the age of ten she had already weighed over 150 pounds. She got teased a lot and bullied because of her weight. Now it looked like she had lost thirty pounds—and grown four inches. She looked great.

“Wow, Jessica,” Robbie said, “you look terrific! I don’t know if you remember Bree and Morgan,” he went on, waving a hand at us. “They went to Widow’s Vale Elementary, too. And this is Hunter Niall,” he added.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hi,” Bree said, checking her watch. “Robbie, the movie’s going to start in five minutes.”

Robbie looked at her. For a minute I expected him to protest, but instead he just said, “Yeah, okay. We’d better find a seat. Great to see you, Jessica.”

Jessica grinned. “See you around.”

As we stepped away from the counter, Robbie was still shaking his head. “God, I can’t believe how great Jessica looks,” he said.

Bree snorted impatiently. “She went on a diet—big deal.”

“Bree!” I tossed a kernel of popcorn at her. She batted it away with annoyance.

Robbie gave Bree a look. “I’m not just talking about the weight,” he insisted. “Back in fifth grade, Jessica always looked like a dog who was expecting to get kicked. She looks so much more confident now. . ” His voice trailed off, but I knew what he meant, and he was right.

Bree didn’t answer, and I wondered why. She usually had an opinion to voice. I glanced at her sideways and noticed her fiddling with one strand of her dark, perfectly tousled hair. I had known Bree a long time, since we were little kids, and I knew what that gesture meant. She was worried.

But what about? I wondered. It wasn’t like Bree to get jealous or possessive. In fact, Bree had a history of never letting any guy get too close. She had left a string of love casualties in her wake. I decided to ask her later what was up. Bree didn’t have the world’s greatest family life. I wondered whether everything was okay with her.

“Are you two heading up to the balcony?” Bree asked as we neared the foot of the stairs.

“Yup. Want to come?” I teased, knowing what the answer would be. We’d been having the same debate since the seventh grade.

“Forget it,” Bree replied. “You know how I feel about that rickety old railing.”

“See you guys later, then,” Robbie said.

Bree and Robbie walked through the main entrance while Hunter and I headed up the side stairs. I smiled as we walked down the aisle to my favorite seats in the front of the balcony. Looking down on the theater below, I saw that there were quite a few heads in the main part. But the balcony was completely empty. We settled into our seats just as the opening credits began to roll. Hunter put his arm along the back of my seat and I leaned against him, feeling like a corny couple out of the fifties.

“What’s this movie about, anyway?” Hunter whispered as the title flashed across the screen in letters of flame.

“A bunch of guys kicking butt,” I replied.

“Ah. Lovely.” Hunter settled back against his chair.

About twenty minutes into the movie, I began to notice that he seemed uncomfortable. He shifted left, then right, then took his arm away from the back of my seat and gripped the armrest.

“Are you okay?” I whispered. Hunter didn’t answer. I turned to look at him and gasped. His face, reflected in the strange shadows of the flickering movie screen, was dead white, and his mouth was opening and closing as if he was trying to speak but couldn’t form the words. My heart pounded as Hunter squeezed his eyes shut and sucked in his breath. I grabbed his arm and was nearly crushed by the weight of some unseen force. Wave after wave of emotions flooded over me—despair, agony, longing, regret, fear. Deep fear. The sensations were so strong that I thought they would overwhelm me as they ripped through my body.

Then suddenly the flood of feelings stopped. Hunter sank down listlessly in his seat. It was over.

I flopped back against my chair, exhausted, and listened to the sound of Hunter’s breathing—or was it my own? We were both inhaling in ragged gasps.

“What happened?” I whispered.

Hunter was pale, and his chest was still heaving. “It was my father,” he said softly.

Cold fingers of dread crept up my spine. “Are you sure?” I asked in a hushed voice. Hunter’s father and mother had disappeared when Hunter was a child. In an effort to save themselves and their family, they’d placed their children with relatives and gone into hiding, running from the dark wave. Hunter hadn’t heard from them in years. . until recently, when he’d received a scrying message that he felt certain was from his father. The meaning of the message was still unclear, but Hunter had sent a spelled seedpod down the Hudson River in the hope that he might make contact. But until now there had been no word, and I knew that Hunter feared the worst.