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riding gloves, and one of those velvety black helmets with a button on top. She looked to be my age, and she had fair skin, blond hair (tucked up under the helmet), and the most amazing laugh I had ever heard—even if she was laughing at
me
.
    “Ride much?” she said.
    “Um, not really.”
    I sloshed a little closer to the shore, the creek water squishing in my sneakers. I wanted to see if the girl’s eyes were really as brilliantly blue as the summer sky. Behind me, Xanthos whinnied and neighed and pawed at the water. My spiritual advisor was putting on a big act, pretending to be a humble horse.
    The girl dismounted, came to the shore, shot out her hand, and helped me haul myself out of the creek.
    Her eyes? Even bluer than the sky. We’re talking sapphires.
    “Did you hurt yourself?” she asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
    “Not really. Just dented my pride a little, I guess.”
    “Hey, we all fall off now and then. The trick is being brave enough to climb back on.”
    I could’ve given her a cocky grin and bounded back up into the saddle like I had a rocket pack on my back. I could’ve recited a Shakespearean sonnet, or a few verses from a cheesy Hallmark Valentine’s Day card. I could’ve said or done something super sappy to try to describe the fluttering feeling flipping around in my stomach.
    But I didn’t.
    I just stood there, soaking wet, gazing into the most amazingly awesome eyes I had ever gazed, gawked, or gaped into. Eyes more incredible than Dana’s, and Dana is, quite literally, the girl of my dreams.
    Dana.
    That’s exactly who this girl on the horse reminded me of. Only she wasn’t a product of my imagination! This girl, as far as I could tell, was real.
    Oh, yes, Daniel—she is quite real
, I heard Xanthos say in my head.
Her name is Mel, short for Melody, a name that suits her personality quite well, yah? She is like the song you hear in the morning and cannot get out of your head all day. Heh, heh, heh.
    This time, I chuckled along with my spiritual advisor.
    She is also Agent Judge’s daughter.
    I grinned.
    You were right about Kentucky
, I thought back to Xanthos.
It is extremely heavenly, mon.

Chapter 16
    TURNS OUT I wasn’t the first alien Mel had ever met.
    “One time, Dad brought home this super-friendly turtle-type thingy.”
    We were walking along a bridle path, leading our horses by their reins. Butterflies were flitting all around—or maybe that was just in my stomach.
    “Her name was Jenn Jenn,” said Mel.
    “The turtle-type thingy?”
    She laughed. “Well, that’s what she looked like. She was in the witness protection program or something. I think Jenn Jenn was helping my dad track down an alien he kept calling ‘Number 5.’ ”
    I nodded. I had met the fifth-foulest fiend on the planet. I had also terminated him.
    “Anyway,” said Mel, “Jenn Jenn and I hung out for a couple weeks. She was wicked good at chess. And you did
not
want to watch
Jeopardy!
with her, because Jenn Jennknew all the questions before Alex Trebek even finished reading the answers!”
    I nodded. “Probably from Sulleean. Super-intelligent creatures. They’re basically a big brain wobbling around on four feet, with a tiny head that pokes out when they need to eat or scan something.”
    “Or play
Jeopardy!
,” added Mel.
    “Right. That tortoiseshell? It’s actually an exoskeletal skull.”
    “Really? Wow. It sure was cool-looking. Swirly, luminous colors, like on a bowling ball. Do you guys have bowling up on Alpar Nok?”
    “We have something similar. But you need a zero-gravity playing field, suborbital meteorites, and an asteroid belt.”
    “Really? Do you wear the belt?”
    “No, an asteroid belt is—”
    She poked me in the ribs with her elbow. “Kidding!”
    I smiled. She smiled. Yes, it was an official smilefest.
    “So,” said Mel, “seeing how you’re already soaked, you want to hit my favorite swimming hole? It’s up that dirt road a couple miles. We could ride