kind of sucks, being on the fringe like that.â
âOh, I donât know. Thereâs a lot to be said for the fringe.â I should know. Iâd been living on the fringe ever since we started moving around. âYou can watch everything thatâs happening without risking your own neck. And sometimes you can see things more clearly than everyone on the inside.â
âWell, thatâs true.â She dropped her hand and looked at me. âFor instance, I see that even though you like to keep yourself separate, you really want to be part of the big picture.â
I pressed my lips together. âWow, Jenny. Psychoanalyze much?â
âWhy else would you get involved with the Benandanti?â
âUm, to save my brother ?â
She squinted at me in the dark. âWhat does your brother have to do with this?â
Holy crap, she didnât know. I had to hand it to Alessia for not spilling that secret. With a grunt, I hoisted myself up on my elbow. âJonah is a Malandante. I figured Alessia told you.â
âShit.â Jenny whistled long and low. âSo thatâs why they broke up.â
âYep. Nothing like finding out your boyfriend is actually your archenemy.â
âI warned her,â Jenny said in a disgustingly smug voice. âI warned her that he was a bad boy.â
âYeah, yeah, youâre smarter than the rest of us,â I said, then added, âHeâs not evil. He wants out of the Malandanti. Alessia and I are trying to figure out a way to do that.â
Jenny brushed her hair away from her face. âYou canât just resign your post from the Malandanti. Or the Benandanti. My dad tried when I was born, but they wouldnât let him.â
âIn it for life, baby.â I slid back down under my blanket. In some ways, there was not much separating the Malandanti from the Benandanti. Both sides required absolute dedication from their members. Both sides made you sign a contract for life. No exceptions.
Except . . .
There was an exception. I squirmed a little, trying to get comfortable. That thing Iâd found, buried deep in the Angel Falls book, that thing that no one wanted to talk about. A Benandante could die and willingly gift his or her essence to a Malandante, turning one side into the other.
The bedroom door creaked open and Alessiaâs shadow stretched across the floor and the wall opposite. She shucked off her boots and tiptoed past me, obviously under the mistaken impression that I could possibly sleep.
âHowâs the new guy?â I asked when sheâd put her foot on the bottom rung of the ladder up to her bunk.
âJesus!â She stumbled off the ladder, her hand pressed to her chest. âYou scared the crap out of me.â Taking a deep breath, she looked from me to Jenny and back again. âHowâd you know it was a guy?â
I shrugged. âJust assumed, since Mr. Foster was.â Actually, that wasnât true. Iâd sensed his maleness, just like Iâd sensed his Calling. But I wanted to keep my sharpened senses to myself for a little longer.
âYeah well, Iâd be a lot happier if he was a girl.â Alessia pulled her sweatshirt off, padded out of the room, and returned a moment later with a glass of water. âThis guy, Cal âheâs been obsessed with the Benandanti since he was like a toddler. His mother had a vision that heâd be Called. A vision. â She gulped down the water so hard that some splashed onto the front of her tank top. âHeâs all like, âIâve been to Friuli! Iâm going to defer my acceptance to Yale because nothingâs more important than the Benandanti! Donât you think nothingâs more important than the Benandanti, Alessia?â God! â
Jenny started laughing. I leveled my gaze at Alessia and asked, âDoes my brother need to be worried?â
Alessia stared at me. âWhat? No.