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of the Shadow storm trailed farther and farther behind them as Bastian sped along the deserted highway. They would be safe until tonight when the Raksasha came out to play again. They needed to be far away from here by then.
    Slowly her body relaxed as the miles rolled behind them, but her thoughts continued to swirl with the night’s events. Bastian had brought her to the deserted Nevada ranch a couple of years ago, saying the land had been forgotten by man and Hidden, preparing her all this time for him to die , and now he was all young and buff?
    She glanced at the Watcher beside her. This man was a stranger . . . but not really. Whatever was happening, could it at least mean Bastian would not be dying anytime soon?
    “I’m sorry Bastian, for my attitude and my actions. I should have known it was you immediately, and I should have had more control to pace myself. I shouldn’t have taken all my strength to run.” She paused and sucked in a slow breath. “It’s so stupid! Those two Raksasha were nothing! The Shadows—”
    He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “It is all right, Macy. You did the right thing by questioning me. I am sorry for losing patience with you. I know you understand the tools of the Dark. I will never think less of you because of what the Shadows’ power does to you. Your past makes them more potent for you than they are for most everyone else—and they are very potent indeed.”
    An unwelcome lump formed in her throat and she dug her fingers into the tattered fabric on the edge of her seat.
    “It is not a sign of weakness, LaUnahi .” He touched her hand and she pulled away.
    She took a slow breath. “Now that I’m calmer and we’re safely away, will you tell me what just happened back there? And explain why you suddenly look like a twenty-year-old body builder?”
    Bastian frowned, and his thick black brows drew together. “This will not be easy for you to take. I am still unclear on all of the details myself. I must get us someplace safe so I can focus and really see what is going on.”
    “What have you seen so far? What do you already know that you are doing everything you can to avoid telling me?” She swallowed. “Is it me? Are they after me again?” She tried to sound brave and irritated, but traces of worry leaked through in her voice.
    Bastian stared at the road in front of them and the veins on the back of his hands stood out as he gripped the wheel. A muscle started twitching in his temple.
    Panic started to rise in Macy’s chest.
    He glanced her way. “No, they were not sent after you. Not this time.”
    The panic lessened, but only slightly. “Then who? Why?”
    “Macy . . . I . . . It is a dangerous omen when the Light uses the Balance to restore a Watcher. It would not do so if the circumstances were not dire.”
    “Okay, you’re starting to freak me out. What’s so bad that the Light is willing to mess with the Balance?”
    Bastian took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. “The Ninth has been chosen.”
    Macy didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath until it came out in a loud whoosh. The pain of betrayal seared through her heart. “What? No . . . No way. Tha—that’s impossible. The Light wouldn’t let the Balance do that. It can’t do that. It wouldn’t throw something like that out there without preparing us first—”
    “You have been preparing, Macy!” Bastian tugged his ponytail in frustration. “We have all been preparing for this day—for centuries. The Light does not control the Balance, you know this. The Balance is affected by the choices and actions of both Hidden and human. It has decided that the time has come for the last Chosen.”
    Bastian lifted the necklace that held his Radia shard from beneath his shirt. Dangling beside it was a smaller crystal, similar to the one Macy wore, emitting a familiar faint bluish glow. “This shard belongs to the Ninth.”
    Macy shook her head. “That’s totally backwards.