The boy sat on the beach，<br >the pebbles beneath him.<br >shifting uncomfortably e<br >As with all of the Gre<br >Lakes， the beach at St. Max had more small stones tha<br >sand; grown-ups took it in their stride， but" it was pair<br >ful to an eight-year-old s bottom.<br > In front of him the waters of Lake Michigan shirr<br >mered in the unexpected blush of a mid-September sur<br >Jorbie luxuriated in the unusual warmth， letting his eye<br >almost close from the hypnotic effect of the light shirr<br >mering on the water. The day was so unusual， S<br >Etienne Parochial School had brought its children t<br >the beach; there was little chance of another day lik<br >this before the howling cold of a northern Michiga<br >winter froze the sky white above them.<br > Across frbm /orbie his twin continued building th<br >sand castle Jorbie had abandoned out of boredon<br >When both of them had been working on it， the castl<br >had grown quite elaborate， a maze of towers and moal<br >and cleverly balanced arches. For a second， Kennet<br >stared at his twin， eyes silently asking why Jorbie ha<br >given the project up. Slowly Jorbie moved his hea<br >back and forth in a single smooth motion. The two c<br >them frequently communicated this way--saying nod:<br >ing--a strand of psychic waves making words supel<br >flUOUS.-<br >The identical twins were a<br >startling sight in St. Ma<br >as they would have been anywhere， with deep， hone)<br >blond skin， hair the intense jet of night， and black eye<br >softened by overly long lashes. "The Little Princes，<br >their mother had called them. But that was last yea<br >and she had died and there was no one to call them th~<br >anymore， lorbie shuddered.<br ><br >