“Is it really you this time, Kells?”“Well, I’m no maggoty corpse, if that’s what you mean.”He grinned. “That’s a relief. No maggoty corpse would be that sarcastic.”

“Well, because you mysteriously came all this way and obviously are not the man I thought you were, why the heck not. So, Phet, if that’s even your real name, tellme, how do I defeat Lokesh?”“It’s simple. Do to him what I did to you.”“What? Talk to him in broken English?”

“It’s like this…a starving man would gladly eat a radish, right? In fact, a radish would be a feast if that’s all he had. But if he had a buffet in front of him, the radish would never be chosen.”

“What’s all the yelling about?” Kishan asked.“Would you please tell your sorry excuse for a brother that I’m not talking to him anymore?”Kishan grinned. “No problem. She’s not talking to you anymore.”

“He studied my appearance carefully. “You cut your hair.” “Yes. Do you like it?” “That depends. How long is it?” I pulled a curl down and showed him it ended just past my shoulder. He grunted, “That’s still long enough, so I like it.” “Long enough for what?” “Long enough for a man to run his hands through.”

“The fact is…I’m in love with you, and I have been for some time.”

“Lunch is served!" I shouted.The brothers wasted no time. Kishan reached for the chicken, and Ren, the cookies. I smacked their hands away and handed each one a bacterial wipe.Kishan grumbled, "Kells, I ate my food raw off the ground for three hundred years. I really don't think a little dirt's going to kill me.”