Espy and Beni were behind us, so they kept going. That was standard operating procedure. No sense in all of us going down if the jig was up. Evan eased onto the shoulder and killed the engine.

“Why is he pulling us over?”

“Just stay calm,” Evan said.

Affronted, I drew myself up. “I’m always calm.”

It didn’t make any sense, though. Why had we been pulled over? Evan wasn’t even speeding. Would never speed. Saints didn’t call attention to ourselves like that. Even our vehicle was the most common make, model, and color in the country. (Espy’s was the next most popular so we weren’t driving around in identical cars.)

Through the rearview, we watched him exit his vehicle and swagger up to us in that typically condescending way. Gold glinted off a star over his heart. Not just some small-town Fife, but the sheriff. Why would the city sheriff be manning the speed trap? Surely he had better things to do with his time. By the time he was at the window, Evan had already rolled it down with his papers in hand.

“Good morning, boys,” the sheriff said.

“Morning, officer.” Evan handed the man Espy’s impeccable forged documents. “Something wrong?”

“Well, that’s an interesting question.” He took Evan’s license and registration, but didn’t even make a pretense of looking at them. “I don’t reckon I’ve seen you around here before.”

“No, sir, we aren’t from around here,” Evan said, all respectful.

“What brings you to our neck of the woods?” The cop had kept his mirrored glasses on, reflecting Evan’s face back at him.

“We’re in town for the RU tour,” Evan replied. “My little brother’s thinking of going here.”

Ouch. Although technically true since our ceremony, him calling me brother made me feel even weirder about...this morning.

The sheriff glanced over at me, and even without seeing his eyes I could feel his consideration. “That so?”

“Yes, sir.” Automatically, I had squared my shoulders, deepened my voice, butched it up a little. Playing it straight was something I was used to after a lifetime among the Saints, and it seemed a prudent role to reprise right now.

“We’re proud of our ole school,” said the sheriff. “But it’s not exactly ivy league. How’d you hear about it?”

On the surface this was a perfectly reasonable question, but something about this whole encounter was ringing alarms. None of my unease showed on my face.

“Oh, they encourage you to apply everywhere,” I said easily, just another late teen entering adulthood. “I saw some pictures and thought the area looked nice.”

“It is nice country we got out here, good country.” He paused, then said, “God’s country.” I wasn’t sure what he was getting at, but he continued. “We do things a certain way around here, and it’s a way that’s been tried and tested. You know what I mean?”

“Uh, sure.” No, actually. “Most places have their own little traditions.”

“Traditions, that’s it,” the cop said. “Here in Rossberg we’re a real traditional bunch. We like our peace and quiet, and we take it real serious. We’re just a sleepy little town, at least when the college ain’t in session. We don’t like it when folks go around disturbing the peace. Be sure to keep that in mind, would ya?”

“Right,” I said slowly. “I’ll try not to disturb anyone. On a campus tour.”

We stared at each other, and I had to remember to keep some emotion on my face. Usually in the face of a threat, I would achieve our warrior’s stillness. But if there really was something off about this guy, I couldn’t go perfectly blank in front of him.

“We understand, sir.” Evan cut in after what felt like forever, but was only a second or two. “I know how rowdy young guys can get. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

That made me slant a look at him. The cop did, too. Then he handed Evan’s papers back. He still hadn’t looked at them.

“That would be a good idea,” the cop said. “When kids get too much freedom, well, that’s how bad things happen. Isn’t it?”

“Yes, sir,” Evan said.

“Welcome to Rossberg.” He straightened and touched the brim of his hat. “Have a nice day, boys.”

“That was weird,” I said once he was out of earshot. “That was weird, right?”

“He seemed a little intense.” Evan shrugged. “I guess.”

“You guess?” I couldn’t keep the incredulity out of my voice. “That was like something out of Beni’s cheesy old horror movies. You know, the kind where the creepy redneck shows up and tries to get the main characters to leave, but they don’t and then they all die--”

“Look, it’s a small town,” he pointed out. “The worst things he probably has to deal with are broken curfews and cow tipping.”

“...And murder/kidnappings every ten years,” I reminded him. “Espy said the Damned might have infiltrated the town, right? Who better to keep their secret than the local brass?”

Evan sighed. “I think it’s equally possible he saw a couple of unfamiliar characters and overreacted.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but he held up a hand to cut me off.

“I’ll ask Esperanza to look into it while they’re researching today,” he said. “Will that assuage your paranoia?”

Evan was the senior companion. I had to follow his lead.

“Fine,” I said. “And I’m not paranoid.”

“All right, then,” he said, firing up the engine. “Let’s get back on track. We need to spread the word about your blood, remember?”

“How could I forget?”