Page 80 of Inception

“She doesn’t know about you,” said Trace.

“What do you mean she doesn’t know?” Ben seemed shocked by this revelation. “But you said—”

“I said she knew who she was. I didn’t say she knew anything about you or the others.”

Theothers?

“So what then? They’re just giving her bits and pieces?”

“How should I know?” snapped Trace. “I’m not her Keeper.”

“What are you two talking about?” I cut in, my nerves bordering on the edge of panic. “What don’t I know about you?”

Ben swiveled around in his seat to face me, a comical grin spreading across his face. “That I’m Anakim too—a Shifter.”

“You’re…Oh.” My eyes widened as I took in this new piece of information.Ben was a Shifter. My heart rate picked up.Ben was a Shifter—the same faction as Dominic.

His smile faded. “Do you even know what that is?”

As if I could forget. “Yeah, a Guardian Descendant who can shape-shift,” I said and then shook my head. “I’m just a little surprised. I thought you were, you know, regular.”

Trace and Ben burst out in laughter.

“What exactly isregular?” asked Ben. His back was leaning against the front dashboard—which was both illegal and incredibly dangerous.

“I don’t know, likenotAnakim,” I said dimly. “Can you not sit like that?”

“I believe the word you’re looking for ishuman.”

“Right.” Ben wasn’t human. No big deal.

I flinched at the sudden realization that if he wasn’t human then neither was I. I didn’t fit into that category anymore either. I was something else now...something that wasn’t altogether sitting too well.

“Are you okay?” asked Trace through the mirror.

I nodded, pushing the uncomfortable feelings down. “I guess it just feels strange to think of it that way.”

“It’s because you grew up human,” explained Ben. “I’d probably be tripping too if someone showed up tomorrow and told me I wasn’t Anakim, that I was like a Martian or something.”

“A Martian? Seriously?” Trace shook his head.

“At least it’s an upgrade,” continued Ben, ignoring Trace’s scorn. “Just think of how much worse you would have felt if they told you you’re the offspring of a demon, or worse, a Revenant.”

“And to think, all this time I’ve been feeling like my entire life has been a lie, and really, what I should have been thinking was, well at least I’m not a demon. Thanks for putting it into perspective for me.”

“Hey, no problem, that’s what I’m here for,” grinned Ben. “I’m like a walking silver lining.”

“More like a walking punch line,” said Trace, jabbing him in the arm. He was noticeably more at ease—both of them were actually—almost as though they could finally relax a little now that their guards were down. It was nice.

“So why am I only finding out about you now?” I asked, sharing looks between the two. “Why have you been keeping yourselves a secret from me?” It would have been nice to know that I wasn’t the only freak in town.

“We weren’t the secret,” said Ben. “You were.”

“How wasIthe secret? Everyone and their grandmother knows who I am and what happened to me.”

At least that’s how it seemed.

“We knew you were Cloaked and had no idea you were Anakim, but they didn’t tell us anything after that. Only that we should treat you like any other mortal,” he shrugged like it was a run-of-the-mill situation. “And when you never showed up at Temple, we just assumed they were keeping you that way. Some people said it was because you weren’t really a Slayer—that you didn’t have theMark—but I’m not the kind of guy that listens to rumors.” He winked. “Well, most of the time anyway.”

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