“Neat,” Mom said in a deadpan voice. “Once again, Edgar, you’ve summed things up so eloquently.” She reached over and squeezed Dad’s hand. “Which is why I love you.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Tick asked, much louder than he’d meant to.

“Watch your tone, young man,” Mom said as she folded her hands in her lap. “It’s just that, well, I feel so bad for not telling you before. I think it might have helped you a little, helped you feel more confident. But then again, if I’d known before you winked away that first time, I might have locked you up in a dog kennel.”

“Uh . . . sweetie?” Dad said. “Maybe you should actually tell him what you’re talking about.”

Mom looked at Tick for several seconds without saying anything. Then, surprising him, she smiled. “I think the best way to tell you is to show you.”

As Tick watched, he felt like the laws of gravity had just intensified, pressing him into his seat.

Through the neck of her red blouse, his mom pulled something out that was attached to a golden chain. A pendant. A Barrier Wand pendant, exactly like the one dangling against Tick’s chest. He reached up and touched it through his shirt, his eyes stuck on the pendant in his mom’s hand. His mouth opened, but no words came out.

“Now before you fall apart,” she said, gripping her pendant in her fist, “hear me out. I only kept this from you and your dad because I was under strict orders from Master George. He wanted to wait until you were old enough to accept it. Well, I think it’s high time—especially now that he’s sending Mothball and Rutger to us like ordinary mailmen.”

“Mothball’s a woman,” Tick whispered, and somewhere deep down inside, he knew it was exactly the kind of ridiculous statement that pops out of someone who is in complete shock.

“Sorry,” Mom said. “Mail persons. Anyway, yes, I was a Realitant recruit many years ago and earned my pendant. Back then, it was all about science—none of the dangerous things that are happening now. In fact, I left the group right after”—she paused, touching her lips as if holding back tears—“right after I met your dad. I wanted a normal family life, and Master George let me leave on amicable terms. I should have known that one day he’d go after one of my children.”

“I can’t believe it,” Tick said.

His mom folded her arms defiantly. “Well, why not? I know more about science and quantum physics than most people, thank you very much. And now that all of this is out, I can tell you one more thing. I expect you to hit those books Master George sent with a passion, and I’ll be on top of you every step of the way, quizzing and pushing. You’ve got a lot to learn, son. A lot.”

“How did I end up with all these smart people?” Dad asked to no one in particular.

“Hush, Edgar,” Mom whispered, patting him on the knee.

Dad looked at Tick. “I love when she says that.”

Tick stood up, surprised he could do so—everything seemed to spin around him. “You’ve got . . . to be . . . kidding me.”

“Now, look here—” his mom began.

“No, Mom, that’s not what I mean.”

“Then what do you mean?” Her eyebrows shot up when Tick laughed out loud.

“It’s just . . . that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever heard. My mom was a Realitant.” He took a seat again on the couch. “I guess it’s finally official where I got my brains from.” He paused. “Uh, no offense, Dad.”

Later that night, Tick sat in front of the fireplace, staring into the flickering flames. Fall had settled in on Deer Park, making everything cool and crisp. Dad was too stubborn to turn the heater on just yet, so Tick warmed himself before heading up to bed.

As he sat there, almost in a daze, fingering the Barrier Wand pendant through his shirt, his thoughts spun. He’d be fourteen years old in a couple of weeks—hard to believe. How different his life had become in just one year. Not only was he a member of a group that studied and worked to protect alternate realities, he had some freaky power that was completely out of control. He’d been pulled from school to be taught full-time by his mom, with weekly lessons with Mr. Chu, and was monitored constantly for any signs of Chi’karda trouble. It wouldn’t be proper to cause an earthquake and destroy half the town of Deer Park.

And always, always, there was the threat of a call for help from Master George. Who knew what waited on the other side of the horizon?

My mom was a Realitant, he thought. Holy—

A tap on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts. He turned to see Kayla, holding a teddy bear in one hand, a red-and-black scarf in the other. Her curly blonde hair brushed the shoulders of her pink pajamas.

“Well, what are you doing?” he asked, reaching out to ruffle her hair.

“This nasty old scarf was in my closet. Mommy said you lost your other ones.”

Tick looked at the dusty scarf clutched in her hand. He had to admit he’d thought about the missing scarf and his birthmark a few times in the last few weeks. It still made him uncomfortable to think people might be gawking at the ugly red thing on his neck. But for all that, he realized he never cared about it much when it was just Paul and Sofia around.

Kayla held out the scarf. “Want it?”

Tick took the scarf, then ran it through his hands, staring at the oh-so-familiar pattern of red and black. “Kayla, if I let you do something, do you promise not to tell Mom and Dad?”

“Will I get in trouble?”

“No—but I don’t want you to tell them. Don’t worry—this isn’t a bad thing. It’s a really good thing, actually. But we don’t want them to worry, now do we?”

Kayla shook her head.

“I want you to throw this into the fire.”

Her eyes lit up, almost as bright as the flames. She looked for all the world like he’d just offered her a lifetime pass to Disneyland. Burning things had always been the one no-no of which she was notoriously guilty.

“Really?” she asked, licking her lips.

“Really. But just this once, okay? You’d better not burn anything else. Promise?”

She nodded her head. “I promise.”

Tick handed her the scarf and scooted out of the way. “Go for it.”

Kayla wadded up the cloth into a ball, then stepped close to the fireplace. She looked one last time at Tick, as if she thought the opportunity had to be too good to be true. When he just nodded encouragingly, she turned back and threw the scarf into the fire. It took a second to catch, but then smoke billowed up as the flames began to eat away at the material. They both watched as it burned to ashes.