It turned into quite a fun night. They ordered out for some food, and while they perused their options, Eliza was an unending litany of questions. She seemed to want to know every mundane thing there was to know about Isaac, and graciously didn’t want to let the Sams feel left out either. They discussed favorite foods, and least favorite foods. Eliza let them look over the board and card games her parents kept in the den while they discussed childhood games Isaac and the Sams played when they were younger. Eliza talked about growing up with Michael, and how she had met Mallory in elementary school. “Really? You saved her from bullies?” Isaac said with a laugh.

Mallory nodded solemnly. “It’s true. I usually tried to ignore them, but Eliza saw what was happening and screamed her head off at them.”

“And that worked?” Sampson asked.

“No,” Eliza said. She laughed, hiding her face in her hands. “It completely backfired, I just pissed them off, and they were older, way bigger, and they tried beating me up. But that’s when Mallory stepped in. She would never raise a hand to help herself against them, but she was very willing to protect someone else.”

“And you’ve been friends since?” Isaac asked. Eliza and Mallory both nodded.

Isaac was an only child, but had always had the Sams trailing as bodyguards, and grew up very close to his cousins.

          “Really? Triplets?” Eliza asked, sounding horrified as Isaac mentioned his cousins.

          “Yes, but not identical. They’re all completely different, and you’d never guess they were brothers, let alone that they shared a womb,” Isaac chuckled. “But I love them each for their eccentricities.”

          They played some games, and ate the food when it came. Then since it was still very warm for September, they played in the pool briefly before piling into the house. They took turns showering and dressing down into pajamas. They stayed up late talking.

          Sampson disappeared at some point to take his turn at watch, the only sign that anything about their presence was unusual. Mallory drifted off, leaning against Eliza as she and Isaac continued to softly talk late into the night. This actually was a lot of fun, she thought to herself briefly.

Eliza grimaced but didn’t argue. Since they were going to relocate to Eliza’s house anyways, they all left the motel shortly after. They piled into Mallory’s car for the drive. As they pulled into the driveway, Eliza turned to look at the three of them pressed into the backseat. “I’m not sure how I’m going to explain this to my parents,” she said, looking mildly distressed.

“The best part is you won’t have to,” Sampson said, flashing an impish grin as he vanished.

Samanda laughed at the expression on Eliza’s face. She met Mallory’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Sorry for scaring you the other day,” she said. “You’re fast on your feet for a mortal.” And she disappeared as well.

Isaac sat in the middle of the backseat, smiling warmly at Eliza. “We’ll do our best to respect your privacy, and won’t enter your home unless you invite us or unless we think you’re in danger. If you need me, open your window and say my name. I’ll be there in a heartbeat.” And then he disappeared as well. Eliza was still twisted in her seat, her lips thinned as she stared at the now empty back seat.

“Do you want me to stay the night again?” Mallory offered.

Eliza sighed. “No, I suppose I’m safer than I have been all summer.” She turned to face Mallory and smiled, lowering her voice. “I’m glad they’re not bad after all.”

Mallory wasn’t sure that she felt like they weren’t bad, but they at least seemed a hell of a lot less threatening than they had the previous day. “Me too.”

Eliza leaned forward and whispered, “He took me to the moon and kissed me.”

“Oh? Way to go, Isaac,” Mallory grinned, but inwardly she was a little shocked. Even despite what they had said about the properties of their alternate dimension, she hadn’t thought that they could travel off world. For a moment, she jealously wondered what the Earth looked like from space, in person – even with the color leached, she felt that it must have been an amazing sight. Perhaps she should have let Sampson pull them along after all. Eliza grinned and reached for the car door handle. “Hey, Eliza,” Mallory said as she started to exit the vehicle. Eliza paused, glancing back at her. “I know you’re in good hands. But be careful.”

Eliza smiled reassuringly at her and nodded. Mallory watched as she went into the house, practically bouncing up the front steps to her door. Mallory wondered how long she’d wait before calling for Isaac from the window.

With a sigh, Mallory backed out of the driveway and drove back home.

Samanda chuckled. “Our society has been a little separated from yours. Modern mortals and their lives are a bit of a mystery, so this has been an indulgence.”

Mallory sighed. Imagine enrolling in high school for fun. Where did they live that they were so out of touch with “modern mortals?” Mallory didn’t want to touch that line of questioning yet, so she went with something much more mundane. “Are the two of you twins or not?” she asked the Sams.

“Not,” they replied in unison.

Sampson grinned at Mallory’s doubting expression. “We’re very close in age, and come from the same… I suppose you’d say tribe? But we’re not family. She’s only about a week older than I am. We’ve spent our entire lives being raised together, for one mission.” He nodded toward Isaac. Samanda’s expression remained carefully neutral as Sampson explained.

“So what now?” Eliza asked.

“Well,” Isaac paused, considering. “We know that you’re the target of this shadow hunter, or at least that it’s very interested in you. I think instead of trying to track it down, we’ll have better luck spending our time watching you.”

“All the time?” Eliza seemed a little alarmed at the thought. Mallory didn’t blame her – they could go invisible. How closely were they planning to watch her?

“Most of the time. We can stay in greyspace and set up a parameter near your home, and we know when you go to school,” Isaac said, not entirely picking up on Eliza’s embarrassment.

“We won’t have to operate out of this dingy motel room at least,” Samanda said.

“Or drive that shitty car,” Sampson added.

“I quite like the car. It has character,” Samanda said.

Sampson groaned. “You weren’t the one driving. That thing barely functions. I was holding it together with magic.”

“If you guys are magical otherworldly beings, how were you even paying for a motel room? Or a car? Or gas?” Eliza asked.

Isaac looked a bit sheepish. “Magic,” he said simply.

“Magic?” Eliza frowned.

Sampson and Samanda exchanged an amused look. “The motel owner keeps the room open for us, acknowledges us when he sees us, and then conveniently forgets to record the room as occupied or collect payment. When we’re gone, he won’t remember us, and it will be like we were never here,” Samanda explained.

“And we just spirited away the car from some hoarder’s yard. It was packed with other vehicles. They probably don’t even know it’s gone,” Sampson said.

“As for gas, technology is a bit difficult to trick with magic. But we can always find a kind person to pay for us,” Samanda said.

“So you’re stealing?” Eliza said, very nearly clicking her tongue in distaste. Mallory grinned.

“Borrowing. Harmlessly,” Samanda said smoothly, grinning.