Free Gatekeepers by Robert Liparulo Page B

said.
    â€œName’s Jesse. This is my friend Keal.”
    Xander leaned against the railing. “I heard, but who are you ?”
    â€œUnless I’ve miscalculated . . .” Jesse closed one eye as though he were struggling through a math problem. “I’m your great-great-uncle.”

CHAPTER
    nineteen
    W EDNESDAY, 1.27 A.M.
    David, Xander, and Toria stared down at the old man. They looked at one another.
    â€œCome on,” Xander said. He slapped David’s arm, grabbed his sister, and practically carried her down the hallway, out of sight of the intruders.
    David’s gaze connected with Jesse’s. Something about the kindness David saw in the old man’s face made him want to return it, however vague and unsupported by action it was. He held up his index finger. He said, “Be right back.”
    â€œTake your time,” Jesse said.
    When David reached Xander and Toria, he said, “I like him.”
    â€œYou don’t know him,” Xander whispered. “If we’re related, how come we’ve never met him before? How come we’ve never even heard of him?”
    Toria skewed her face. “How’s he related to us?”
    â€œIt’d be like . . .” Xander closed one eye, thinking, and David thought he looked an awful lot like Jesse at that moment. “Dad’s dad’s dad’s brother. The brother of our great-grandfather.”
    â€œOr great-grandmother,” David said.
    From downstairs, Jesse called, “Great-grand father .”
    Xander grabbed David and Toria’s arms. He walked backward down the hall and into the boys’ bedroom. “It’s too weird,” he said. He looked at David. “Why is he showing up now, and how does he know us?”
    â€œMaybe he’s on Mom and Dad’s Christmas card list,” David said.
    â€œThen he would’ve known Toria too,” Xander said.
    â€œWhat are you saying?” David asked. “He’s an imposter?
    Why?”
    â€œTo get in with us,” Xander said, as though it were obvious. “A spy. I wouldn’t put it past Taksidian.”
    â€œIf Taksidian sent them,” David said, “why would he try to break in through the closet at the very same time?”
    Xander’s frown said Good point . “To scare us, show us how much we need an ally.”
    â€œWe already knew that,” David said.
    Dad had told him that in old times when criminals were stoned to death, it didn’t always mean having rocks thrown at them. Just as often, a condemned man would lie on his back, and a board was placed on top of him. Then people piled stones on the board until the collected weight crushed him down so firmly, his lungs could not expand and he would suffocate. The King family problems felt like that . . . like being crushed to death.
    David said, “We need a break , Xander. Ever since we moved in, it’s been one bad thing after another. Why can’t something good happen for once?”
    â€œYeah,” Toria chimed in. “Why can’t Jesse be here to help?”
    â€œMaybe because he broke into our house?” Xander said. “At one thirty in the morning? Hmmm . . . yeah, that’s normal.”
    â€œNothing about this house is normal,” David said. “When help comes, it’ll have to be not normal.”
    â€œDavid, you’re being—” Xander stopped. He put his hand on David’s shoulder. “You’re right, we do need help. I just don’t want to be . . . I don’t know, so desperate for it that we take anything or anyone who comes along.”
    â€œCan’t we just talk to him?” David said. “Figure out if he’s telling the truth?”
    Xander nodded. He said, “Okay, but we stay together.”
    In the hall, Xander picked up the toy rifle. They stopped at the top of the stairs. Keal was kneeling beside Jesse’s wheelchair, one hand resting on the old