Kyla's mind and body buzzed in awareness. There was something wrong, but she couldn't get a handle on what it was. Gram had told Joe she would be safe. Heather had told Kyla they would both be safe. Why couldn't she shake this feeling?

All of her nerves were on fire with a surge of electricity that kept building as the day wore on. She paced the room. Then she decided to do something to blow off steam.

She went to the wide space they'd created when they'd moved the two beds together and took a stance between the bed and the wall, checking the distances to walls and furniture before she started her kata.

Kyla had learned the beginners' kata in karate class when she was a child, a whirling dance which took her through all of the basic movements, over and over again. Her movements were strong and fluid. Sweat soaked through her shirt as the concentration required calmed her mind.

Kyla wished that she had been allowed to continue with karate. Even more than dance, it had made sense and order of her disorganized thoughts. She could always lose herself in the concentration it required until nothing broke in. Kyla's mind cleared, and she found herself moving smoothly around the space, though she no longer registered the walls or the bed.

* * *

Joe opened the door to speak to Kyla and stopped short. He leaned against the doorframe and smiled. He recognized what she was doing, of course. Joe never knew that Kyla had actually studied martial arts, though in hindsight, he should have realized it.

But more than that, he had never seen the movements pass so gracefully before. Maybe it was the years of dance he knew she'd taken. The effect was enchanting.

He sighed. Joe hated to disturb her, but he had to talk to her for a few minutes. He closed the door and crossed the room to her. When Kyla didn't respond to her name, Joe tapped her on the shoulder.

The effect was startling. Kyla whirled around, and her fist struck him in the chest. Surprised, Joe was fairly lifted off his feet before he landed a foot further back and solidly on his tailbone.

Kyla came to her senses. She bent to touch his arm, and her face blushed a deep crimson. "I'm so sorry. You surprised me." She helped Joe to his feet.

He moved slowly, rubbing first the spot on his chest and then his sore tailbone. "Why do you need a protector again?" he grumbled.

"To take care of Harris," she reminded him. "Maybe it was a warning to you to stay on your toes."

"No. If I would have been on my toes, I would have landed harder."

Kyla tried in vain to suppress a laugh at that one.

"Just don't tell Eric you knocked me on my ass. He's halfway in love with you now. That would push him over the edge."

"You're kidding, right?" she asked.

"Sort of. He's fascinated with you. I think he's impressed that you're as hard to call as he is himself."

Kyla relaxed visibly. "What did you want to tell me?"

"We're getting ready to leave. We'll be back in two hours."

"That explains it."

"Explains what?"

"Why I'm so nervous. We've been joined at the hip for the last six weeks. Pathetic isn't it? I swore I would never depend on anyone, and here I am, practically in a panic because my protector is leaving me for two hours."

Joe smiled. It wasn't Kyla's protector leaving that bothered her, and he knew it. It was him leaving. Joe enveloped her in his arms. "It's not pathetic at all. I'm in a panic, and you're not protecting me." He tipped her face up. "I'll be back soon, and you're never really alone. I'll be with you here." He kissed her forehead.

Kyla nodded. "I know. In my heart and in my mind."

Joe grinned. "Besides, I'm bringing you back a present. No peeking in here." He tapped his temple.

* * *

The trip took longer than Joe had anticipated. The buzzing in Kyla's nerves got worse with every moment he was gone.

After three hours, she was pacing the perimeter of the library while Gram crocheted in the chair. Kyla muttered curses under her breath as she made the far turn again.

"Calm down, Kyla. It will be fine."

"I can't, Gram. I've tried. I just can't."

The older woman shook her head. "Why can't you trust that there is a plan? As long as you're true to yourself, you can't help but do exactly what you're destined to do."

"So much for free will."

"Not at all. You can choose not to follow your heart, not to adhere to your ethics and morals. That would be disastrous, but you could choose to do it."

"So, the texts could be wrong?" Kyla asked.

"Only if you choose not to be what you are," Gram answered patiently.

"I don't think I understand." Kyla took a seat in the other wingback.

"As long as you stand firm and be who you are, no outside force can stop what is to come. Anything they do will only aid in the future the texts portray."

"Like Oedipus? If his father hadn't ordered him killed, he would have known who his parents were. He might still have killed his father, but he certainly wouldn't have married his mother. But his father brought about the end result by trying to avoid it. Is that what you mean?"

"Very good. The texts say you will be of a pagan family. Later, they call you a Child of Christ. They already caused that. When they killed the Parks, they caused that very thing to happen.

"There was some question about the priest who baptized the baby, you know. No one could remember his name, though it was immaterial. Some of the relatives were Christians. It was decided that one of them had actually called him in. The police decided an inner-family squabble about religion was the least of their worries. With her breathing problems, they didn't even check for foul play. Why would they? Everyone trusts a priest."

"But how can you be so calm? I know whatever is coming will be unpleasant. I hate the unknown. So, I find it very hard to embrace something that is both unknown and unpleasant."

"What will happen, must happen. It all happens for a greater good. The only important thing is to be true to ourselves. Even the Christian Bible says there is a season to everything and everything to its time. So, whatever happens, it is time for it to happen. Remember that."

Kyla nodded thoughtfully. "A time to reap and a time to sow. A time to weep and a time to laugh. A time to be born and a time to die." A sudden cold spot settled in her stomach. "A time to die." She stopped and replayed the thought several times over.

Gram's voice was soothing. "Dying is a small thing, especially for someone as old as I am. It's just another stage of life, like learning to walk or falling in love for the first time. It should be embraced with as much zeal and not feared."

Kyla found it hard to meet her gaze. "Is that what the texts say?" she asked.

Gram smiled. "No, that's what my heart says."

She found it hard to breathe. "You're not going to survive what's coming, are you?"

A new voice assaulted Kyla's nerves. "I guess that depends on you."

Kyla didn't need to look at him to know who it was. She would never forget his voice, but she wasn't about to meet him with her back turned. She took to her feet and turned to face the intruder who had surprised them so effectively.

Effectively, hell! Kyla had felt him coming all day. Why didn't I do something about it earlier? "A time to face the music," she whispered. Then, Kyla met his gaze. "Hello, Harris."