The bus made so many stops and we had to switch over so many times that it was the wee hours of the morning when Derrek and I dragged our feet up the sidewalk to Wes's door.

I knocked lightly, hoping that he'd be able to hear it. I heard Wes on the other side of the door checking out of the peephole. I mustered up all the energy I had and made a funny face at the peephole, hoping to lighten everyone's mood.

Wes opened the door up slowly, but he was pushed aside by Garrett's body as he got to me as fast as he could and threw his arms around me. He kissed the top of my head at least five times and held me so tightly I was having trouble breathing. "I've been so worried about you, Cade. I didn't know if you'd made it away or not. We have just been waiting by the phone for you to call. I'm so happy to see you." He squeezed me even tighter as he said it.

"Ok." I spit out breathlessly. "I am happy to see you too, but...I can't really...Breathe, Garrett."

Everyone laughed as Garrett stepped back a little. Everyone except Derrek, who defensively moved closer to me and put his arm over my shoulders. I thought I noticed a hard glare between the two boys, but I ducked out from under Derrek, and passed by Garrett on my way into the house before I could dissect what that look meant for sure.

If the look itself was unclear, the tension was made obvious when Garrett tried to shut the door in Derrek's face. "Woah, man." Derrek said calmly as he pushed the door back open and passed through it.

"Oh, my bad." Garrett said innocently. "I thought you were going home."

"Well I'm not."

"Ok."

"Ok, then."

"Anyway," I said loudly, drawing their attention back to me. "Wes, what should we do? Is it safe for me to be here?"

"Let's go talk in the study." Wes said. "I think there are a lot of things we need to discuss. I think you're probably fine here. You didn't notice anyone follow you?"

"No." I reassured him as we all followed him down the hall. "I ditched my phone at the hotel like you said, and then I used Derrek's phone to buy some plane tickets in my name back home to Cali, and I ditched his phone too before we left Florida."

"Great idea, Cadence." Wes smiled. "They would have gone to the airport to take you before you boarded your plane, so they wouldn't know that you had evaded them until well after you were already out of town."

Wes sat down in his chair behind his desk, and I sank down into the middle of the old couch. Garrett and Derrek both quickly sat on either side of me, even though the couch was not really big enough for two big teenage boys and one small girl. I awkwardly squeezed out from between them and went to sit in the chair by the desk.

"So, Cadence, are you wanting me to try to arrange for another destination for you to start over? Clearly we need to go further out. We could try Germany? It is very nice this time of year." Wes told me. I shook my head slowly and he nodded his. "So you are ready then?"

"I'm ready." I said firmly, even though I was feeling a little more apprehensive than I had been a few hours ago.

"So you are coming back for good, then?" Garrett asked excitedly.

"Yes." I said. "I'm not running anymore. I need to know the full truth, Wes. I want to know it all."

Garrett cleared his throat loudly. "Come on, Derrek." He said standing up. "I will walk you out."

Derrek crossed his arms over his chest but didn't move from his spot.

"Garret, I don't want him to leave." I said.

"Well, if we are about to have a talk with Wes, I think it should just be us." He countered.

"Garret, I already know everything." Derrek said to him.

Garrett's face was only surprised for a split second. "Whatever it is that you think you know, that doesn't mean you should be here."

"Yet, here I am." Derrek smiled coyly.

"You don't belong here. You need to leave." Garrett said angrily.

Derrek hopped up from his spot and the two of them were right in each other's faces and I was just waiting for one to hit the other.

"Gentleman." Wes said with authority. "Either the both of you sit down and close your mouths, or you both can excuse yourselves from this room."

"Thank you, Wes." I chimed in.

Garrett and Derrek took a step away from each other and went to different areas of the room. Derrek went to sit back on the couch, while Garrett leaned against one of the shelves of books.

"Now." Wes said. "We need to form a plan. These people have been overusing their power for far too long, and it is time that it came to an end. I've always hoped that the prophesy would be true, and that it would happen in my lifetime. I never dreamed I'd actually get to have a hand in it, though. I'll admit, it excites me. I want you to be very certain that this is what you want though. Just because you are the one told of, doesn't mean you have to do this. It is all up to you, love."

"I want to do it, Wes." I told him. "Just tell me how."

Wes nodded, unable to hide the small smile that danced on his lips. "Very well." He stood from his desk and walked over to the books, pulling down the one on Trysaimens and a couple of others we'd never looked at before. I got a little giddy feeling in my stomach that I was finally getting to delve into the books I have been thinking about since I found out about all of this.

"So who are these people, Wes?" I asked excitedly.

He licked his finger and thumbed through the book in his hands then passed it over to me. I was surprised at how old the book seemed to be. The pages were very thick and yellowed. The script used wasn't one that you typically saw anymore either. "The Order of Potentes." Wes said as I was reading the line in my own head.

"Who are they?" I asked.

"Much like regular humans have a government, and councils, so do the Potente people. Of course, we abide by all the same rules and whatnot as regular humans, but because we obviously are a little different, we felt it was necessary to have a council of our own people." He began to explain. "In the beginning it worked as it should have. However, power typically grows greed, and this is what happened. When The Order first began, they were made up of one representative from each of the Potente families in existence. It was voted on by each family, who would be on The Order. Over time, though, the more powerful families began to leave out the chosen representative from the lower families, until The Order was being run by only four representatives from the top four families."

"Well, who is the rep for the McDuffie house then?" I asked curiously.

Wes smiled faintly to me. "It was me." He said. "I served for a very long time, but the more and more I saw them misuse their powers, the more I knew I wanted no part in it." Wes shuffled through papers on his desk and then passed some over to me. There were men's photographs on them. "These are the three men in charge now." He said.

Garrett came to stand behind me and read over my shoulder. "But that's-."

"Yes it is." Wes said quickly, then continued on. "The Order was supposed to protect our people. They were in charge of forming rules and guidelines for our people to follow. They were pretty basic; don't tell normal humans of our abilities, never use your abilities for committing any crimes or otherwise unlawful things. The Order also kept track of all Potente families. Where they were, how many, of what age and sex. The Order is who hands down pairings for marriages based on availability. Well, it used to be used correctly, but now they pair their own families with the most powerful matches and throw the rest together however they feel. I've seen with my owns eyes members of The Order take bribes from families to get a better pairing, or to not pair a certain person at all, for whatever reason. This misuse of our original systems is what led to such a fall in our numbers."

"Why do three dudes want to kill me then?" I asked.

"Oh, darling." He muttered. "There are many more than three in The Order. Think of them as the leaders, those three men in the pictures." He said pointing to their faces. I didn't recognize any of them. "Beneath them, there a numerous followers. The Order has become so corrupt that they even have non-Potentes in their ranks now. The whole thing has turned into more of a gang than a council of men set up for our own protection." He said hanging his head.

"Oh." I said grimily. I liked the idea better when there was maybe just a few people after me, not possibly way more than a few. "Why do they want me dead?"

"The prophesy." Garrett said from behind me.

Wes nodded to him. "Yes."

"Why are they so afraid of me? And are they the ones who killed my mom, or was it Annabeth?" I asked him.

Wes smiled at me. "They fear you, because you are stronger than any of them. Stronger than all of them put together I'd bet." He was obviously proud of me. "Your kind of strength, and honestly, your kind of fiery spirit is more than enough to take them down from the pedestal they have worked so hard to climb atop. That's why they fear you."

"They should be scared of my Cali Cade." Derrek said cheerfully.

I know Garrett didn't miss that part where he said "my."

"Your mother, Marrsala, was killed by both The Order, and Annabeth." He said. "That is, if the rumors were true." He added. "I was still a part of The Order during that time, and you have to know, if I had any knowledge of such a plan, I would have never agreed to it. I suspect that Annabeth and her family, who were well known to be hateful people, came to The Order with the grievance against your mother and her affair. I don't know what was promised in return, but the quick and mysterious way that Marrsala was killed, makes me feel pretty certain that The Order was responsible."

"And they killed Stephen too?" Wes nodded his head. "Why didn't they just kill us both when we were just babies? Why kill our mother, but let us live only to hunt us down later?"

"That's the question that has bothered me. The rumor that she was pregnant was just that...a rumor. I had no idea whether it had been true or not, and when I heard of your mother's death, but no mention of a baby I just assumed that had been a lie. It was only when you showed up here that I realized that that part of the story is certainly the truth. My only guess is that someone got to you and your brother before they came for your mother. Someone had to have hidden you two away."

"But who? And what about my adoptive parents? Are they part of The Order?" I asked him.

"I have no idea who could have saved you two. Your mother was a very beautiful, kind, and strong girl. I am sure she had plenty of people who would have helped her, no matter the consequence. Your mother just had that effect on people. Had she asked me, I know I would have helped her." Something in his voice told me that he cared deeply for my mother. "I don't think your adoptive parents are part of The Order, but the fact that your mother said not to trust them definitely means there is more to them than what we know."

I looked around the room solemnly and noticed the sun must be starting to rise. The light was just beginning to slip into the room through the window. Garrett still stood behind me, flipping through another book, and Derrek was in his spot on the couch. I smiled at him and he returned it quickly. I glanced up to Garrett and the same smile stretched across his own lips. This was all so much. I'd hoped I would come here to get more answers, not more questions.

The biggest question I've had so far, still sat in my mind unanswered.

"Are you sure you want to know that?" Wes asked me, reading my mind.

"Yes." I answered him. I noticed both Derrek and Garrett perk up to hear the answer.

"All I can tell you is who he is, dear. I don't know what he knows, how deep into The Order he is, or if he is a good person at all. Once you know, you must promise you won't go to him. If he is a part of all of this, the last thing you want to do is show up on his doorstep."

"I promise I won't go find him." I tried really hard to make myself and Wes believe that.

Wes leaned over the desk and pointed to the man in the middle of the picture in front of me.

I stared at his face for a long time. He was strikingly handsome. He had a strong jawline, much like Stephen's, large almond shaped eyes and slicked back brown hair. I couldn't peel my eyes away from his face. My father's face. He had such a charming smile, and two deep dimples in his cheeks. Picturing my mother in my head, I could easily see the two of them together.

It took all the strength I had to pull my eyes away from his face, and lower them to his name elegantly signed beneath his photo.

My heart stopped.

Charles Montclair.