I start after him, but Zeke stops me. “Let me,” he says. “He’s not going to want to face anybody, not even you. I’ll distract him with a science conundrum. Luckily, I’m in a snare with one of my experiments, and I could really use his help.”

I bite my lip. Zeke’s right. As hard as it is for me to admit, there’s nothing I can do for my brother at this moment.

“Okay,” I say. “Just tell him… Tell him I’ll make a cutout of Taylor to hang with Thor and Loki. And that he doesn’t have to hurry home for dinner, because I’ll be in good company. But whenever he’s ready…I’ll be there.”

He creases his forehead, as though not sure what to make of my strange message. But then he places his hand on my cheek. “Don’t worry, Alice. We’ll get him through this.”

I cover his hand briefly with mine. Because he makes me feel like I’m not alone. More than ever, I appreciate having someone by my side, even if it’s not Lalana.

The group dissipates, and Zeke easily weaves around the students wandering back to their posts. I’m lucky he’s in our lives, watching out for my brother. Especially because it gives me time to confront the biggest jerk at our school.

Lee Jenkins is already leaning his butt against a shiny red Honda Fit, arms crossed, while Cristela dries the bumper.

“Finally, one thing you aren’t good at!” Lee says to her as I approach. This guy is unbelievable. He goes directly from making fun of one person to insulting another. “How bad does a cupcake have to be to flatten a tall dude like that?”

“Shut up.” Cristela blows the hair out of her eyes and attacks the hood of the car with her towel.

My steps falter. Flatten a tall dude? Cupcake? Is this why Bandit isn’t at the car wash? “What are you talking about?” I demand.

Lee turns to me, his eyes dancing. “Didn’t you hear?” he crows. “Bandit’s been throwing up all night after eating one of Cristela’s cupcakes.”

“He ate a lot of food last night,” Cristela mutters, not meeting my eyes. “It didn’t have to be my cupcake.”

“He texted Cristela and told her the cupcake had tasted funny.” Lee grins so widely you’d think he’d won the Best Young Scientist award last night. “About five minutes before he puked all over the floor!”

Now it’s my stomach that churns. My stomach that’s about to empty its contents, right here on the parking lot. At least they’ll have a bucket of water to wash away the sickness.

Because Lee’s revealed exactly who he is: a guy whose soul is fed by terrorizing other people.