Page 33 of Jacob Michaels is Dead

“He’s comin’ for you, Robbie.” Oma jabbed a finger at me. “Just like you’ve always known—when your head wasn’t all clusterfucked. And he’s going to pull Point Worth down to Hell in the process.”

“There’s access to Hell in Point Worth, Ohio,” I stated blandly. “I’d like to say I’m shocked, but—"

“You can keep being a smartass all you want.” Oma snapped. “But this is your damn fault.”

“How?” I snapped back. “How is any of this my damn fault? I don’t even remember everything except who he is and that he’s trouble. Or the things you want me to think I remember. Well, that, and you’re not my grandmother, you crazy old bitch!”

Oma’s fists went to her hips, and her face turned up in a sneer as she leaned forward to launch in on me once more.

“Wait.” Lucas jumped in before she could say another word. “You’re not his grandmother. Buh-loody Bones is coming. We don’t have our memories. You’re blaming Rob for everything. Mrs. Wagner…you have explaining to do. None of this makes any sense whatsoever.”

“Took the words out of my mouth,” I mumbled.

“Shut up, wise-ass!” Oma snapped.

“Are you going to help us or what?” I snapped back.

“Of course, I am, ya’ damn fool!” Oma threw her hands up in the air. “That’s what I’m here to do. I was just expecting to do it twenty years from now. When you wasn’t such a damn pup and completely unprepared for what’s to come. In all my years—”

“You’d think you’d have learned some patience and decorum?” I quipped.

“Rob,” Lucas mumbled.

“Well, if you’re going to keep bein’ sassy with me, then I won’t give a damn if—”

Before Oma could finish her sentence, the ground began to rumble beneath us. A low roar met our ears as the three of us did our best to not be knocked over. The rumbling and shaking turned into what I could only compare to all of the earthquakes I’d witnessed while in California. The only problem was, we weren’t in California. We were smackdab in the middle of the buttcrack of Ohio. Earthquakes that can be felt like what we were experiencing was not common in Ohio. Lucas and I grabbed onto each other as the shaking under our feet intensified and off in the distance, a boom that was probably deafening if a person was nearby, sounded.

Just as quickly as the shaking started, it stopped. Glancing up at the porch as I held onto Lucas, just in case the ground started shaking once more, I saw that Oma had her hand braced against the porch railing, but she had remained on her feet. She looked drained. Not physically—something else. After a second, I realized that Bloody Bones siphoning off magic was doing a number on her as well. I couldn’t help but wonder if that meant that she was losing her powers or if she was just experiencing side effects of such a perversion of nature. Slowly, Lucas and I slid our arms from around each other and stood tall, looking up at Oma as she let go of the railing and faced us.

“Well, shit.” Oma spat. “I guess we gotta stop chewing each other new assholes and get down to business, don’t we?”

“I’d say so,” Lucas answered for us.