Sparkle watched Mistral close the door quietly behind him before she turned to speak to the boy. “He’s not really my brother.” She struggled with that thought for a moment. “Fine, so maybe he is, but only in one way. We were born from the same energy vortex at the same moment. I don’t know why that happened. But we don’t share any other link.” You’re such a liar. No matter how much time and space stretched between them, she had always been able to touch Mistral’s mind almost instantly no matter where he was. Mede had been the only other one who shared that kind of closeness with her, until he’d cut her out of his life. “Not that any of that matters.” It mattered. Her connection to Mistral had always bothered her because she didn’t understand it. Besides, she would never choose to touch his mind if she didn’t have to. His thoughts were too dense, too cynical, too far from the light. She shook the thought off and concentrated on the kid.

The boy just stared at her. She couldn’t miss the uncertainty and near panic in his eyes.

She sighed. “You don’t understand a thing I’m saying, do you?”

More staring.

“Can you say anything?”

He seemed to think about her words. “Jimmy Fallon,” he said tentatively. “Myyy PRECIOUSSS!” he said with more certainty.

“Well, thank heaven Mede exposed you to the best in the English language—late night talk shows and Lord of the Rings.” Sarcasm didn’t satisfy when her target couldn’t hear it. She tried to look nonthreatening as she walked around the boy to head into the interior of the house. Sparkle expected him to make a break for the door, but he surprised her by tagging along behind.

“Sparkle?”

Startled, she turned to stare at him. “What did you say?”

“Sparkle.” He studied her. “Ganymede…talks about you.”

His speech was still hesitant, but it was getting there. In another week or so, no one would believe he was a newborn. Accelerated language assimilation, one of the perks of being a cosmic troublemaker.

“What does he say about me?” Not that she cared. But for all of her not caring, Sparkle held her breath waiting for his answer.

“Damn woman.”

She smiled. “I guess that sums it up.” She hadn’t expected anything else, but still…

“Miss her.” His voice softened.

Sparkle blinked back sudden tears. Wow, talk about out-of-control emotions. “I miss him, too.”

He smiled for the first time, and her professional interest stirred. His abysmal choice of clothes had blinded her to his possibilities. Tossing him into a regular high school would be a crime against humanity. Teen girls would riot in the hallways. He was a beautiful buffet of toned young body, tousled blond hair, and gorgeous amber eyes. The boy was safe from her, though. Sparkle might be the cosmic troublemaker in charge of sexual chaos, but she thrived on challenges. Teens were too easy, cauldrons of bubbling hormones screaming “Do me, do me.”

Not that this child was a human teen or anything else approximating it, no matter what he looked like. He might lack knowledge about how this world worked, but he still would have the instinct to create chaos. All cosmic troublemakers did. “I get that Mede must’ve switched your power off until he could teach you control, but exactly what can you do?”

He seemed to be processing her question. Then he nodded. “I…move earth.” He frowned. “Ganymede let me do some little…” He looked frustrated as he searched for the word. “Booms.” He smiled again. “I liked the booms.”

“I bet you did.” So Mede had allowed the boy to decompress before he left. Not enough to register on the Richter scale, but enough to keep him sane and alive. Good. “Want to walk with me while I look at the house?”

He glanced past her. “Eat first?”

Of course, he’d be starving all the time for a few weeks as his body adapted. “Sure. Where’s the kitchen?”

The boy didn’t seem to have any problem translating this time. She’d bet “kitchen” was one of the first words he learned. Mede and he would have that in common.

He led her through rooms boasting tall windows hung with lace curtains and framed by heavy drapes, elaborate crown molding, beautiful rugs, ornate chandeliers, and all the opulent furniture that went with the period. The kitchen breathed Victorian, but did at least have modern appliances. A bank of windows looked out onto a pool surrounded by an incredible garden, one that even the most talented green thumb couldn’t create. Sparkle thought about the powerful do-not-notice spell. Hmm.

A big wooden table took up the middle of the room. “Sit down while I see what Mede left us.” She went to explore the food situation.

A short while later she sat across from the boy while he inhaled more sandwiches than Sparkle thought any human or nonhuman body could manage without exploding. Good thing Mede had prepared by stocking the fridge and pantry with enough food to feed an army for at least a month. “So Mede didn’t give you a name?”

He paused in his chewing for a moment. “Ben.” The boy looked down at the remains of his sandwich. “Don’t like name. Want bigger one.”

Sparkle was horrified for him. “Of course you do. Ben? Really? No cosmic troublemaker should be named Ben. We need larger-than-life names, ones that will awe ordinary people.”

He blinked at her and then nodded.

“Okay, you didn’t get all that. But we’re going to rename you right now.” She sat and thought while he ate three more sandwiches along with two bags of chips. Mede had never bought into the whole healthy eating thing, and he was passing his genes on to the next generation.

Finally she sat back and smiled. He’d stopped eating, probably because there wasn’t any more food on the table. “I have your new name.” She always carried around a few good names in her head, ones she thought would irritate Mede. This was the first chance she’d ever had to use any of them. “Your new name is Orion.”

He offered her a “huh” look.

“Orion was one of the Titan gods, a mighty hunter and the son of Poseidon. Orion is also the name of a constellation.” Too bad he couldn’t truly grasp her brilliance. “Mede will hate your name. Ganymede is only a puny moon of Jupiter while you’re a whole freaking constellation.” She leaned across the table. “You won the name sweepstakes, my hot young friend. You can thank me once you’re able to communicate your undying gratitude and endless appreciation.”

“Orion.” He tried out the name and then smiled. “I’ll keep.”

“Great.” Sparkle beamed at him. “Now I’ll tour this amazing house, maybe make a few little changes and—”

Without warning, her chair tipped over, dumping her onto the floor.

Orion looked down at her. “Spirit of owner lives here. Doesn’t want things changed.”

Sparkle stared up at him. “What?”

“Ghost is sorceress. Doesn’t like you.” Then he grinned. “You look funny.”

“Ha, ha.” Sparkle scrambled to her feet. She glared around the room. “You want war, bitch? Bring it.” She took a deep breath, checked her nails for chips, and tried to pretend nothing had happened. She’d deal with the house’s resident ghostly magic-maker later when there were no young, impressionable minds to witness the epic takedown.

“And while we wait for Mede to return, I’ll teach you what you need to know.” She paused to look him over. “Tomorrow we’ll get you some new clothes, ones that’ll do credit to your future power and budding charisma.” The kid was lucky she’d come along. If not, Orion would’ve had to trudge through life wearing dull clothes and answering to a dreary name. An uncharitable thought intruded. Maybe that’s what Mede had intended. Ben in boring clothes wouldn’t be any competition for her golden god in his black leather and with his exotic name.

She had one other question. “Why are you sticking around now that the wards are gone? You could walk out the door and not come back.” Oops. Maybe he hadn’t realized the wards were down.

He narrowed his gaze, and for the first time she saw the cosmic troublemaker he would become—dangerous and not-to-be-messed-with.

“Ganymede has my…power. I want my booms back. I can…wait.” Then he smiled. “Besides, want to be here when he sees you in his house.”

So do I, Orion, so do I. “So why is he keeping you here?”

Orion frowned. “Says he’s starting school for kids like me.” He looked puzzled. “Don’t know why.”

Interesting. She washed the dishes and Orion dried them. She was busy putting the silverware back into the drawer when, without warning, one of the steak knives whipped out of the drawer, flew across the room, and embedded itself in the far wall.

Sparkle wrestled her racing heart back to a walk before strolling over to yank the knife from the wall. Never show the enemy weakness. “Temper, temper. Not very creative. We’ll have a nice long talk later when you’re ready to communicate in a civilized manner.” She hoped there’d be a later. She had to find a way to keep Mede from throwing her out. “And I guarantee you don’t want to make me mad. So get over yourself.” She placed the knife back in the drawer and then took the promised tour of the house.

Days passed. There were moments when she almost forgot about Mistral and his mission. She had enough to keep her busy putting her personal touch on Mede’s new home and his captive newbie troublemaker while tossing insults at the former owner, who had grown a lot more creative.

Almost forgot, but never completely. Only the thought that if something horrific had happened Mistral would have contacted her kept her worry from blossoming into panic.

Damn it to hell, he’d had enough of this sneaking-and-peeking crap. Ganymede had spent weeks searching for newly born troublemakers in Asia, Africa and Europe. But he’d had shitty luck because they’d all scattered as soon as their portal spit them out.

He’d managed to catch two of them, but only because they had lost control of their powers badly enough to make the news. All of the people in a small Chinese town had suddenly gone crazy, screaming about a demon that terrorized them in their dreams. Ganymede had found Jill there. Blue Bunny was busy organizing an army of jungle animals for an assault on an African village when he’d stopped her.

His maker had seriously messed up, though. Jill was tall with great-looking red hair and the amber eyes that all cosmic troublemakers had. Reminded him a little of… Nope, he wouldn’t think about her. Anyway, Jill wasn’t doing a great job of blending in with the local Chinese citizenry when he’d grabbed her. Then there was Blue Bunny. She was short with long blond hair. Definitely not a local. But his maker’s mistake was all good for Ganymede. It had made the girls easy to spot.

Now it was time to wrap this baby up and fly home with his catch. Ireland would be his last stop. He couldn’t afford to leave Ben alone any longer. The kid needed supervision. Besides, a trusted source had given him a heads-up. The Big Boss had finished searching for him in North and South America and was headed across the Atlantic. That meant Ganymede had to take his act back to Jersey. Maybe they could wave to each other as their planes passed going in opposite directions. The thought amused him.

But first, he had one more prize within his grasp. A huge one. He had sensed this kid’s immense power—stronger and more intense than the others—as soon as he’d climbed from his car. Impressive since he was almost a mile away from the Hill of Tara where he figured he would find the teen. Had his creator tossed the kid into the world from the energy portal here? If so, why had the kid stuck around this long?

With a brief warning to Jill and Blue Bunny in the back seat not to draw attention to themselves, he set out for the hill. The wind had suddenly picked up and whipped his hair into his eyes. Impatiently, he swept the strands aside. Sparkle had always liked it long. Maybe he’d get a buzz cut when he got back to Cape May. But then he forgot about his hair.

Now that he was almost there, his excitement built. He couldn’t ID what the kid could do, and that intrigued him. It kept him focused, too. With so much power, this child could be one that might eventually rival him. Not likely, but still possible.

He grinned. The Big Boss would do lots of teeth gnashing if Ganymede managed to scoop up this prize. Right now Ganymede felt defiant enough to piss off the BB. After all, his boss couldn’t want him any more dead than he already did, so Ganymede had nothing to lose. Dead was dead.

Finally, he could see the kid—a boy—standing in front of the Lia Fail, the Stone of Destiny. He’d managed to get clothes somewhere. Ganymede knew he had the right one because the kid’s power was like a strong pulse pushing at him. He had his back to Ganymede. Good. Not so good was the crowd of tourists milling around the area. He’d have to get the kid back to the car without a lot of fuss. While Ganymede thought things over, the boy turned around.

As soon as the kid’s gaze touched him, Ganymede realized the boy had sensed him coming. The newbie was ready. He could see it in the narrowing of the kid’s eyes, the tensing of his muscles, and the intent in his gaze. Ganymede wrapped himself in a protective bubble a second before the boy released his power.

The force of the kid’s energy surge rocked Ganymede back on his heels at the same time it knocked all of the tourists on their butts. They lay there gasping. What the…? It was almost as though… Ganymede abandoned his bubble and tried to take a deep breath. Nothing. Not one freaking breath of air. The boy had somehow sucked up all the oxygen. Ganymede might have almost endless power, but he still had to breathe. Time to take this kid down. Fast. He hit the boy with the same power he’d used on Ben. The kid didn’t even blink.

Ganymede started to do some gasping of his own. He was out of options. He’d have to ramp up his power and take the chance of destroying the new troublemaker, because if he didn’t, there’d be lots of dead tourists. And dead tourists generated mega interest from the press. The Big Boss would be all over it. Besides, Sparkle frowned on needless human deaths. Not that he cared what she thought.

But before blowing the kid out of the water, he’d try one more thing. A long shot because the newbie probably wouldn’t be able to understand him. He reached out mentally to the boy. “Stop. You’re killing everyone. I won’t hurt you.” A lie. “I’m like you. I can teach you what you need to know, but you have to pull back your power.” The truth.

There. He’d done his duty. Ganymede started to count. When he got to ten he’d blast the boy with enough power to incinerate his ass. He was on eight when suddenly he could breathe again.

The humans around Ganymede started to revive and struggle to their feet. Time to get out of here. He didn’t want to be around when they began asking questions.

Ganymede strode toward the newbie, but the boy didn’t back away. “I know you don’t understand everything I’m saying, but we have to leave. Now. I’ll take you to a place where you’ll be safe and can learn to control your power.” He only hoped the boy got the general idea that he was here to help.

The boy stared at him from cold, amber eyes for a little too long before nodding. Ganymede’s tension eased as the kid followed him away from the Hill of Tara. But something bothered him. The boy didn’t look confused or panicky. No newbie should be this calm. Ganymede pushed the puzzle away. Time to explore that thought later.

Ganymede talked all the way back to the car. The more human speech the kid heard the faster he’d learn. “Interesting place. That tall pillar was an inauguration stone for the ancient kings of Ireland.”

If Sparkle were here, she’d make Ganymede take a picture of her with her arms wrapped around the giant cock. Because the Lia Fail was one amazing phallic symbol. And she was all about erotic symbols. She’d look at him from those sensual amber eyes, throw out a few sexy comments about his cock, and then they’d go back to the motel and make love. He started to smile then stopped. She wasn’t here.

“Legend says it was one of the four treasures brought by the Tuatha Dé Danann—fairies to most people. I’ll explain later. Anyway, back then everyone believed if the true king touched it, the stone would roar loud enough to be heard all over Ireland. It was originally… Never mind, here’s the car.” He pulled the passenger door open so the boy could climb in. Ganymede hoped the kid wouldn’t freak out when he started the car. He didn’t want to go through the no-air thing again. Speaking of uncontrolled power…

While the kid checked out the girls in the backseat, Ganymede quietly tried to put a leash on the boy’s power. But the newbie must’ve sensed something because he whipped around to glare at Ganymede.

“Don’t touch my power.”

Ganymede narrowed his eyes. “How much do you understand?”

“Everything.” The kid leaned back in his seat. “I listened to people talking, and now I can talk too. It’s simple.”

“Your power, control it or I will.” He stayed ready for action in case the boy got aggressive. Ganymede had confidence in his ability to follow through with his threat, but he didn’t need a battle that would destroy the car and bring the Garda down on their heads.

The kid nodded. “That was a mistake back there. I thought you’d come to attack me.” He glanced behind him again. “Who are the girls?”

“Jill and Blue Bunny.” Ganymede had a lot to think about. “Oh, and you’re Jerry.”

The boy didn’t look happy with his name, but Ganymede didn’t care. Right now all he wanted to do was to reach his hired jet, manipulate a few human minds, and fly home.

By the time he got everyone onto the plane, listened to the screams of excitement from the girls when they took off, and settled into the transatlantic flight, he was ready for his home-sweet-home, the pink palace, aka Ganymede’s Academy for the Wickedly Inclined. He had lots to plan. His first class might be small, but he had every intention of adding to it as soon as possible. That meant he’d need teachers and other staff. He’d also need a way to ensure that the Big Boss didn’t catch on to what he was doing, at least not until Ganymede had a plan in place to deal with him.

He glanced at Jerry. The boy could be a problem. He wasn’t like the other three new troublemakers. Ganymede didn’t trust him. The kid was too self-contained—no smiles, no talking to the girls or him, just nothing. For the whole flight, the boy stared out the window and remained silent. But the kid’s power tempted Ganymede. If he could mold this child into his own image…

Ganymede took a deep breath. He could just imagine what Sparkle would say to those thoughts. “So you want to create someone in your image—an ice cream eating, TV watching, blows-things-up cosmic troublemaker? Great freaking goal, Mede. Turn the boy over to me and I’ll teach him things worth knowing.” Ganymede didn’t doubt she could. Luckily they were landing, so he didn’t have to think about Sparkle anymore right now.

Once he had picked up his car, Ganymede only interrupted the drive to their new home long enough to buy the kids clothes that would allow them to blend with the general population. He also bought himself some things to wear that definitely would not blend with anything. Hey, he was the leader of this gang, and he had to dress like a leader.

Finally, he steered the car onto the road leading to his house. “Get ready for your first look at your new school, guys.”

In the back seat, Jill and Blue Bunny almost thrummed with excitement, eyes wide and fixed on the road ahead. Beside him, Jerry never took his gaze from Ganymede. His eyes were cold and hard, his lips drawn into a tight line of warning. He didn’t speak. Not a big deal, since he hadn’t said two words since they landed. No questions, no interest in anything, only that silent brooding threat that enveloped the car in his own personal dark cloud. What the hell was the deal with this kid? Ganymede sensed that eventually he’d have to have it out with Jerry.

The house came into view. Ganymede blinked. He stared. Then he blinked again. But that didn’t change the fact his house had changed. It was still pink. It still had white trim. But the green was gone. Flowers lined the driveway. Shrubs dotted the lawn. Worst of all? A white picket fence surrounded the whole mess. Damn. Oh, and don’t forget the cheesy pink flamingo beside the steps with a sign dangling from its beak. It said: Restful Haven. Restful Haven? It sounded like a freaking funeral home.

He parked in front of the house, then gave an order before climbing from the car. “Stay where you are until I figure out who’s been messing with my place.” Ganymede stood staring at the front door. Someone had gotten inside. Who? Not the Big Boss. He wouldn’t care about sprucing up the place while he waited for Ganymede to return. Only one person that Ganymede knew would think that doing a remodel on someone else’s home was a good way to pass time. He took a deep steadying breath as the front door opened.

She stepped onto the porch. She met his gaze. Her long dress buttoned all the way to her neck and almost skimmed the floor. Beneath the dress he could just see the bottoms of her old-fashioned lace-up boots. She’d pulled her red hair back into a tight bun and wire-rimmed glasses perched on the end of her nose. She held a ruler in one hand and a bell in the other. Without breaking eye contact with him she rang the bell.

“School is now in session.” Her sensual gaze suggested all kinds of things they’d learn in her class. She turned and swayed her way back into the house.

She was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think, he couldn’t believe she was actually here.

“Umm, can we get out of the car now?” Blue Bunny had rolled down her window and was leaning out.

“Yeah.” Move. Do something. Yell. Throw her out of your house. He managed to breathe again. He’d save all the other stuff for when he got inside. “Bring your things.” Then he stormed after Sparkle Stardust.