"How do you feel about Vera, Jill?" Jill's dad asked.

Jill sat at a table, seated across from her dad in the library, a room within their mansion. The bookshelves in the room stood in front of the walls. The library didn't have windows, and each of its ceiling lights emitted a glow.

Jill didn't see Vera or Cambridge, but that didn't mean they weren't inside the mansion. They lived with Jill. So did Dexter, the kitten she had named after her birth father's father. Dexter Ascend had died many years before her birth. He would never meet his granddaughter, and he would never learn his son had become a traitor, something Vera wasn't.

"I like her," Jill told her dad. "She's not a traitor like my birth parents. Plus, she told us some valuable information. Because of Vera, we know that Theo and Lilly have children, and one of them is Reese Low. And thanks to Vera, we know that Lovely Windsore is blind. I'm glad that Vera is here. She's helpful, and she's also a skilled Watcher."

"And she has to be like a second Watcher to you," Jill's dad said. "I don't think she will disappoint us, Jill. Vera is here, and she's being a great help to us. Cambridge is, too. Your uncle is here, and so is the Watcher of one of Theo's children. Vera and Cambridge are making our lives easier. And if we get into any trouble, I'm sure they will help us get out of it."

Jill smiled. "Yeah. I'm sure they will, too."

Vera could see the past and the future. She could also find anyone. She had two Saves and a power that wasn't a Save. Hailey had left Vera, but she hadn't decided to track Hailey down. Yesterday Vera had hugged Hailey, and she had refused to hug her back. In Jill's bedroom, she and the awesome Bloodhound had hugged. That moment had been nice, like when Jill had given Dexter his name.

"You're safer now that Cambridge and Vera are living with us," Jill's dad said. "It's a good thing that they're here, but that's pretty obvious, isn't it? I used to be the only one who could protect you, but that's not true anymore. Cambridge and Vera are here. And they're on our side. They are your royal subjects, my High. Whatever you want them to do, they'll do it. But we can't forget that there are too many Soynites who don't want to serve you. Lock Tannis is one of them. Your birth parents don't want to serve you, either. The Soynite they serve is Lock. But you're still the leader of all three of them. That's the truth, Jill. You and five others are the rightful rulers of Lock, Don, and Camille."

"I wish they wanted to serve me," Jill said. "And that's what they need to do, because I'm one of their Highs."

"You are. You're also a good one. Don used to be a good High. There has to be six Highs at a time. When Theo took away Lock's status as one, the number of Highs went from six to five. Someone had to become Lock's replacement, and that someone was your birth father."

Jill sighed. "He's one of my fathers, but he wasn't even in the room when I was born. He was with Lock. And the reason why me and you were in danger on that day was because of Lock. Plus, Camille's friends are dead because of him, and so are a lot of other innocent Soynites. Don and Camille work for the person who got those Soynites killed. But we're going to make my birth parents regret the fact that they joined Lock. We won't kill Don and Camille, though. We will make them turn good again, and they will wish they had never joined Lock."

"Don and Camille will regret the terrible mistake they made, Jill," Jill's dad said. "They decided to serve Lock, but it's not too late for them to change sides. They see Lock as their leader, and they're willing to fight for him, but they're going to stop serving him one day."

The door to the library opened, and Vera entered the room. She walked toward the table Jill and her dad sat at. Someday Jill would sit in the throne room within the Soynite royal palace.

"I found you, my High," Vera said.

"I'm glad you're not our enemy, Vera," Jill's dad said. "Having a Bloodhound as an enemy would be unpleasant."

Soon Vera sat next to Jill's dad. "I'm glad the two of you aren't any of my enemies. I have way too many of those. All three of us do. But I'm going to do my best to protect everyone in this home. I'll also protect your kitten, my High."

"Thanks, Vera," Jill replied.

"You're welcome," Vera said. "And I really hope Hailey meets you one day. She hasn't met any of the current Highs. One of them is her older sister, and Hailey hasn't even met her. She used to keep a picture of Nova in her room, the one Theo took of her during the Invasion. Hailey has all of the pictures that Theo took of the Highs that day. She left home with them. If she's fortunate, Nova will be the first current High she meets. I hope that Nova is still good. If she and Hailey meet, I hope Nova will treat her the way sisters should treat each other. I never had a sister or a brother, but I do know that siblings are supposed to love each other. Lilly Majestic loves her brother, Ken. And they know that they're family. They know that they're siblings. Hailey is aware that Nova is her older sister, but Nova probably doesn't know that Hailey is her sister. Nova isn't here. She's not in this mansion. But if she was here, I wouldn't tell her the truth. I wouldn't let her know that she is Theo and Lilly's daughter. Theo has a plan. He has a wish. He wants to be the person who will tell Nova who she is. That person can't be me, or Lilly. Or anyone else who isn't Theo."

"Wherever he is, he's lucky to have you as a friend, Vera," Jill's dad said. "You clearly want him to have all of his wishes granted. You even raised one of his children. You're still raising Hailey, actually."

Vera nodded. "I am."

"And she's gone. I do think that she will go back home, though," Jill's dad said.

"I hope she will," Vera replied. "Hopefully no pale fools will manage to kill her. Or any evil Soynites. I already know that almost all of the former Highs are evil people who serve Lock. I've known that for years. But today I found out that there are two cults of evil Soynites out there. The Lock Tannis Church and the Children of Still need to be destroyed one day, especially the Lock Tannis Church. Lock is the one who ordered the Invasion. Any Soynite who worships him is worse than any Child of Still. Plus, Lock hates Theo more than he hates anyone else. They're each other's worst enemy, and the Lock Tannis Church sees Theo as their worst enemy. And they know that Lock is Reed Pisces and that Theo exiled him from Soy. If Lock's worshipers capture Theo, they definitely won't show him any mercy. And let's hope they never capture Lilly. I also don't want them to find out that Theo and Lilly have children. Lock's worshipers will be extremely awful to Hailey and her siblings if they find out they're Theo's children. Theo and his family aren't the only ones who need to beware of the Lock Tannis Church, though. We have to beware of them, too."

"Everyone who lives here is an enemy of Lock and his worshipers," Jill's dad said. "And everyone here is still alive. Unlike the Soynites who weren't able to escape Soy during the Invasion, we're not dead. We're going to be alive when the Lock Tannis Church is gone. And we're going to be alive when someone turns Lock into smoke."

Vera looked at the table's wooden surface. "If someone turns Lock into smoke, Joseph. If."

"We have to believe that Lock will die while we're still alive, Vera," Jill's dad said. "And we have to believe that a good Soynite will do it. I want one of the Highs to kill Lock. Imagine that. Imagine one of Soy's leaders also being the leader of Free."

Jill imagined herself sitting on the Red Throne. If she turned Lock into smoke, the Great Leader's Guard would become her protectors. After her birth, Camille's friends had gone with her and her dad. They had protected the pair. They had died. For a long time, Jill's dad had been the only person who could keep her safe. Now Cambridge and Vera lived with Jill, and those two were willing to kill to protect her. Vera wasn't biologically related to her, and neither was Joseph, but they wanted to defend her anyway.

"If there was a Soynite who was a High and the Great Leader, they would be the leader of two planets," Vera said. "And if the future Supreme High becomes the next Great Leader, they will have complete authority over all of the Soynites and the Freemans."

"Right," Jill's dad said. "Because the leader of Free has power over all of the Freemans, and the future Supreme High will have power over all of the Soynites, including the Highs. But there's no Supreme High right now. That position isn't occupied by any of the Highs, because they haven't elected one. The Highs aren't even together. Maybe some of them have reunited, but we have proof that not all of them have done that. The last time Jill saw any of her fellow Highs was a long time ago. She's the only High in this home. Plus, there's a chance that she's the only High in Hawaii. She might even be the only one on this planet. There are plenty of places for Highs to go to besides Earth."

"There's one place I want High Jill to go to," Vera said. "And it's here. It's in this home."

"Where?" Jill asked.

Vera looked at her. "The gymnasium. I set something up for you in there, my High. I was hoping you would be willing to train today. You don't have to do it if you don't want to, of course. But I did put a slingshot and some empty cans in the gym, because I think my High needs to be more prepared to defend herself in dangerous situations in the future."

On Jill's eleventh birthday, Freeman warriors had tried murdering Cambridge outside the mansion. He had been in a dangerous situation, but Jill's dad had gotten him out of it. In the future, Jill might have to kill a Freeman enemy, or a Soynite one.

"Okay," Jill said. "I'll go train. Let's go."

"Have fun, Jill," Jill's dad said.

She left her seat. So did Vera.

After Jill went into the gymnasium, Vera did the same. A slingshot lay on the basketball court, which ten cans were also on. The cans stood in a row, like five of the Highs had done while Freeman warriors slaughtered their people. Unlike the other Highs, Jill didn't have memories of the Invasion. She didn't remember seeing Freemans murdering her people, but she knew that devastating attack on Soy had happened.

Like the library, the gym didn't have windows. The ceiling stayed high above Jill's and Vera's heads. Six chairs stood in front of a wall, and six more chairs were in front of the wall across from that one. The room had twelve chairs in it. If the six Highs and their Watchers were in the gym, they would have been able to sit on the chairs.

"I used to make Hailey train with that slingshot," Vera told Jill. "Wherever she is, I hope she's okay. The last time I saw her, she was mad at me, but she's still the girl I've spent years raising. I'm never going to hate her."

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Jill remained beside Vera. "Do you hate Don Ascend?"

"Yes, I do. And I have to. He betrayed Theo, and he betrayed all of the other good Soynites. Don joined Lock on the day of the Invasion, and I'm sure that he still works for him. I think that your birth father will serve Lock for the rest of his life. I'm sorry, my High. Like you, I wish that Don wasn't on that terrible Soynite's side, but I don't think we're going to get what we want. If you ever meet Don and get the chance to kill him, you should do it. Trying to convince him to betray Lock will be a waste of time."

"You don't know that," Jill replied.

"I'm not one-hundred percent sure of it, of course," Vera said. "But I do think that you shouldn't try to convince Don to betray Lock. Don is fiercely devoted to him. Your birth father will never betray that foul Soynite, no matter what anyone says to him. No matter what you might say to him in the future, my High."

Jill sighed before sitting on the hard floor. "I just want Don to serve me and not Lock. I want Camille to do it, too."

"I know."

Vera sat next to Jill.

"I have three parents," Jill said. "One of them is great, but the other two aren't. I need to talk to them. If I do that, I'll be able to get them back on the good side again, the side that I'm on."

"The side that we're both on," Vera said. "Theo is on it, too. And one of the good things about him is his loyalty to the Highs. He will never be one of your enemies, and if you ever meet him, you won't have to convince him to join our side, because that's the one he's already on. Theo is the only former High who might be a great help to you in the future. The other former Highs need to die, though."

"Don doesn't need to."

Vera placed a hand on Jill's back. "He would rather serve Lock than serve any of the Highs. Don is too dangerous to be kept alive, and so is his wife. They used to be my friends, but that's not what they are to me anymore, and I know what needs to happen to them. The same thing needs to happen to Lock."

"I don't want my birth parents to get killed, Vera. They're alive. They're not dead. That means it's not too late to make them stop serving Lock, and that's what I plan on making them do. Don is a traitor. Camille is, too. But they don't have to die as traitors. They can still become good people again. I have to find them. I need to get to the place where Don and Camille are, because I have to talk to them. I have to make them stop serving Lock."

"You won't be able to make that happen, my High."

"Yes, I will," Jill said.

Vera looked at the floor, which the ten cans stood on. Jill hadn't tried shooting them yet. A small ball rested next to the slingshot. Jill moved her attention to Vera, who had brought the slingshot, the ball, and the cans into the gym.

"Thanks for setting this up for me," Jill said. "I'm going to start practicing now."

"You're welcome, my High," Vera replied.

Jill stood before walking toward the slingshot. When she was close enough, she lay on her stomach, then grabbed the slingshot.

Using the ball, she shot down eight of the ten cans.

"Good job, my High," Vera said. She stood now. Jill placed the slingshot on the floor before standing. "At some point, I want you to practice shooting a laser pistol. I know you've already done that before, but practicing with a laser pistol will make you a better fighter. It will make you more likely to survive future trouble."

Jill went closer to Vera. They stood in front of each other. Vera caressed Jill's hair. Camille couldn't do that, but Vera could. And Jill didn't force Vera's hand away from her. She appreciated the affection like she appreciated the fact Vera supported her.

"I want you to live," Vera said. "You're my High, and I want you to live for a very long time. You're a Pure. By the time you turn twenty, you will have the power of immortality. I want you to still be alive when I die. I'm not dead right now, though. I'm here, and I can help you. One day I want to personally know all of your co-rulers. I want to help them survive. Our people need the six of you, and so does our planet. You and the other Highs are the leaders of the Soynites. We need you to lead us. Back when pale fools were killing so many of our people, Theo made you and your co-rulers into Highs. And Highs are special people. The six of you are important, and you deserve to sit on thrones inside the Soynite royal palace one day. I want to see that happen."

Jill had never sat on a throne. Her birth father used to sit on one. Don had owned a throne, and Freemans had destroyed it, but the Soy Maker would repair that throne. It would do it on the day of Soy's revival.

"And I want to see you while I sit on a throne," Jill told Vera.

"Each of the thrones that the former Highs used to own were blue," Vera said. "And all of them had armrests. But there were ways to tell them apart. I know what each of them looked like. Six great men used to sit on them. Now most of those men aren't great anymore. Most of them are traitors, and one of them probably died as one. Only one of the former Highs is still great. He always will be, even though he isn't a High anymore. Wherever Theo is, he deserves to be safe. The other former Highs deserve to suffer, though. They work for the Soynite who deserves to suffer the most. Lock looks like a Freeman, but we know what he is, and we know who he is. I wish more Soynites knew that he is Reed Pisces."

"For so long I didn't know that," Jill said. "I thought he was a Freeman."

"We both thought that, my High. When I was your age, I believed that Lock was a Freeman. I found out what he was on the day of the Invasion. So did Theo. Lock's ability to shapeshift has fooled too many of our people. Plus, we can't sense that he's a Soynite just by looking at him. But that doesn't mean he isn't one of us, because he is. Lock isn't a Freeman. He wasn't even born on Free. He was born on the same planet that we were born on. He's a Soynite."

"And he's a Soynite my birth father is helping," Jill said.

"Don would rather help Lock than help you," Vera said. "And Camille is on Lock's side, too. Your birth parents are our enemies."

"One day they won't be."

Vera crossed her arms. "What do I have to do to make you realize that Don and Camille need to die? They're terrible people who see the most evil Soynite in the universe as their leader. Lock made his Freeman warriors kill almost all of our people and destroy our planet. Our race is nearly extinct because of Lock, and Soy is ugly and barren because of him."

"I know," Jill said. "I know that Lock has done awful things, and I know that my birth parents work for him. But I still plan on making them change sides. Lock has to die, but Don and Camille don't have to. I'm going to talk to them. I'm going to make them realize that they should be on my side instead of Lock's."

"You're part of the good side, my High," Vera said. "And so am I. But Don and Camille won't be on our side again. If you were speaking to them right now, you wouldn't be able to make them change sides. They will always want to serve Lock instead of you. They like him a lot more than they like you. Don doesn't even know you personally."

"He will."

"He might," Vera said. "Honestly, I hope he never meets you. Your birth father is a danger to you, my High. He loves Lock, who hates you. What do you think will happen if he orders Don to kill you one day?"

Jill crossed her arms. "My birth father is never going to kill me. And if he tries to, he will fail. But I won't fail to make him change sides. He will be on our side again, and so will Camille. I know I've never spoken to her, but I'm going to. And I will talk to Don, too. I will convince them to betray Lock, and then they will work for me. They will do what they should be doing right now."

"Don and Camille will die working for Lock," Vera said. "I need to ask you something. Do you want to help our people in a major way, my High?"

"Of course," Jill replied.

"Kill Don and Camille, then. Trying to make them betray Lock will be a waste of time. But killing both of those traitors won't be."

Jill turned before glaring at the floor. "Leave me alone, Vera. Get out of this room."

"Okay, my High."

Vera left the gym.

Jill's hands trembled. She clenched her fists, and they shook like her breath did. She touched the Soynite pendant Don and Camille had gotten for her a long time ago.

"She's wrong!" Jill said. "I'm going to convince both of you to betray that awful Soynite!"

Jill wouldn't order Vera to leave the mansion and never return to it, but Jill hoped she wouldn't see Vera again today.

Minutes passed.

Jill sat on a chair in the gym, crossing her arms. Her dad entered the room. He wasn't Vera, who believed Jill would fail to convince Don and Camille to betray Lock. Jill didn't order her dad to leave the room.

He sat on the chair next to hers. "Where's Vera?"

"I don't know," Jill replied. "I also don't care."

"How come?"

"Because she made me angry. She doesn't believe that I'm going to convince Don and Camille to betray Lock. I don't want to see Vera right now, Dad. I don't plan on making her leave the mansion forever, but I really don't want to see her."

"And that's fine," Jill's dad said. Seconds went by. "It looks like you knocked down some of those cans."

Jill nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I did. I knocked down eight of them. There are ten total."

"You did a good job, Jill. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. And Vera doesn't believe that you will get your birth parents to betray Lock, but I believe it. You will talk to Don and Camille, and you will make them see Lock as their enemy. For too long they have seen him as their leader. The two of them probably even kneeled for him today. Don and Camille aren't Freemans. They shouldn't be willing to kneel for Lock. They need to be willing to kneel for you."

More than once, Jill's dad had kneeled for her. For eleven years she had been one of his leaders.

"Thanks, Dad," she said. "Thanks for helping me. You've been doing that for years, unlike my birth parents."

"I'm never going to stop wanting to help you," Jill's dad said. "You're my High, and you're also my daughter. Plus, I love you."

"I love you, too. I love you more than I love anyone. That's the truth. And you've been a better dad to me than Don has. That's true, too."

Jill's dad held her hand. "You're right, and that's obvious. Don wasn't even there when you were born. Camille needed her husband that night, and you needed your birth father, but he wasn't there. Fortunately, there were two good men who were. Me and Cambridge were there. We were in the room while Camille was giving birth to you, and her friends were in the house, too."

"Don wasn't, though," Jill said. "He was a terrible man back then, and he's one right now. He even turned Camille into a terrible person, too. He made her believe that serving Lock is okay. Because of Don, Camille thinks that helping Lock is the right thing to do. It isn't, though. And I want her to realize that. I want that to happen so badly."

"So do I," Jill's dad said.

He and Jill still held hands. Someday both of hers would have the power to heal wounds. In the future, she would have all the Saves. Theo already did. He was a Pure, like his daughter Hailey.

Jill knew about Hailey Majestic. She had been born thirteen years ago inside the royal palace on Soy. For the first two years of her life, Theo and Lilly had raised her. By the time Hailey was three, Vera had been her only caretaker. Yesterday Hailey had left Vera. She hadn't gone on a mission to find Hailey since her recent departure from their home, but Vera had found Jill.

She had a Bloodhound, a traitor's brother, and an awesome Watcher helping her, which her birth parents didn't do. They would rather assist Lock than their daughter, who had been their High for eleven years.

"Don and Camille will become better people," Jill's dad told her. "You will help them become better. One day you're going to talk to them, and you will convince them to betray Lock. Vera doesn't think that you'll make that happen, but I do. There's still hope, Jill. It's not too late to get your birth parents on our side. Also, our lives have gotten better. Your uncle is living with us, and so is a Bloodhound. You have me, Cambridge, and Vera serving you."

Jill's dad stopped holding her hand.

"Vera made you angry, and I'm sorry for that," he said. "She doesn't believe that you're going to get your parents to do what they need to do. But she is useful, and she gave us some useful information. Theo and Lilly have children, and Lovely is blind. She might still be that way."

"And she might still be an awful person," Jill said.

"Awful people can become good ones. I believe that, and I know you do, too. And you will make Don be good again. You need to meet him one day. You need to see him, and talk to him, and convince him that he shouldn't be serving Lock. We might have to kill the other former Highs who work for him. No matter what happens though, we will have to try our best to get Don on our side. He is your parent, and he used to be a good friend of mine. I don't want him to die as our enemy."

"Neither do I."

Jill's dad stood. "You have three parents, and one of them is your ally. He will never become your enemy."

Jill smiled at her ally. "I know."

After Jill's dad tilted her head, he kissed her forehead. He left the gym. Jill sighed, feeling like she had when she had seen her birthday cake less than a week ago.

Minutes passed.

After putting each of the cans she had knocked down into a standing position, Jill left the room. She walked through halls. In one, she found her dad. He lay on his back on the gray carpet, his eyes shut.

"Dad!" Jill cried.

She rushed to the spot beside her dad, then kneeled. He breathed, which meant no one had killed him. Blood spilled from a small hole in his neck. Had someone injected him with Vamp?

"Who did this to you?" Jill said. "I'm going to find Cambridge and Vera. Don't worry."

Jill kissed her dad's forehead. She stood before running.

She would find Cambridge and Vera, her dad would regain consciousness, and all of them would deal with whoever had come into their home.