Page 38

T hat afternoon, we break into the fraternity house, which is a little more mind-bogglingly stupid knowing they’re probably expecting us .

“How did you learn to break and enter, anyway?” I ask Luke as we drive back towards campus .

“That’s a funny way to put it,” he says .

“Did it sound rude ?”

“Yeah, but I’m not one to critique anyone’s manners.” He glances away from the steering wheel. “These days, I never take anything that doesn’t belong to me, unless it belongs to ghosts. That hardly seems like a crime .”

“Spirits don’t have any standing in a court of law,” Mave offers. I eyeball him, not sure if he just made a joke or not .

Luke adds, “My dad was a thief. A professional thief. The kind that’s gentlemanly about it, steals from the insured and doesn’t use a gun or hurt anyone .”

There’s something raw and vulnerable in this admission, in his rough, masculine voice. I smile to soften my words when I say, “I’m pretty sure being robbed hurts people .”

“Well, he stole from the rich. Like Robin Hood.” Luke clears his throat, as if he’s embarrassed by what he’s just said, the childish view of his father coming through in his deep, jaded voice. “Anyway, he’s doing 15 to 20 right now. Trust me, I know it’s bad news. I’m not suggesting it as a career field or anything .”

“I’m sorry,” I say. “That must be hard .”

“I haven’t seen him in years,” Luke says. “Even with the Org, it’s tricky to go someplace like the penn. With my record, being wanted. So anyway, he taught me a lot. Like an apprenticeship .”

“Did he have you steal with him ?”

“No. That’d be kind of a dick thing, inviting your kid along to commit felonies with you .”

“What about your mom ?”

“She died,” Luke says shortly. “Around the time my dad went away, actually. So I went into the system .”

“Into foster care ?”

“Briefly. I am,” he meets my eyes in the rearview mirror, “incorrigible. Trouble. Just generally your average piece-of-shit, as a kid and now .”

His words make my stomach hurt. I want to tell him he’s wrong, but I can’t; it’s too personal, too much, it will just embarrass both of us. “How old were you ?”

“Eleven.” He half-shrugs. “Anyway, after that it was group homes, you know. And that record started rolling. Then, the plus side, I got the psychic gift .”

“Because your mom died ?”

There’s a palpable tension in the air after I say that. I’ve said something wrong, and I don’t know what. I rush to explain: “I thought maybe that was how it was for everyone, something traumatic happens, and it triggers a change in your brain .”

Luke visibly shakes off something that’s hurting him. “Yeah, I guess that was it. Anyway, there was a thing in my group home. A poltergeist, but twisted even by geist standards, a monster. And I was the only one who could see it. I was fourteen. And fucked up. And no one believed me. Can’t blame them for that .”

My chest aches, as if holding back the way I feel for him hurts. But I don’t think Luke would take kindly to my pity. “So what happened ?”

“So I met Mave,” he says. “Mave came to fight it. I found the Hunters, through him, and you know, it’s not a great thing, doing this, but it’s better than what I had before. It’s something .”

“You’re doing a good thing,” Mave says with quiet confidence .

Luke snorts. “Well, I’m gainfully employed, I haven’t held up any liquor stores, and occasionally, I keep someone from being suffocated to death by a geist in a closet. At least there’s some job satisfaction. And minimal amounts of prison time .”

I reapply my Chapstick for a quiet moment, trying to make sense of the flood of information. It seems so bleak, this distinction between the ordinary life and the Hunters’ life. I have to do something with this gift. Otherwise, what’s the point in having it? But I don’t want to give up everything else .

Jax. I don’t want to give up Jax, and I know what he wants: kissing on our graduation day, an apartment in the city, the two of us exploring restaurants and museums. A grown-up, nice life. The opposite of a Hunters ’ life .

“We’ll be gone before you know it,” Luke says .

“And you’re not taking me with you.” I finish the thought for him. “And my life will be a lot simpler .”

“That’s right .”

I don’t know if it’s a good thing, though. Not really .

Luke pulls into the parking lot of a restaurant off-campus. “I can’t wait to be done with this case.” Then his eyes flicker to me, as if he didn’t mean to say that exactly the way he did, as if he’s gauging my reaction .

I don’t know how I feel. I want something that I think is impossible. I want all the good parts of my life here: Jax, classes, a chance to make friends, the promise of a happy future .

And I don’t want Luke and Mave to walk out of my life and leave me behind. That’s what it feels like, when I imagine the mission ending: it feels like I’ll be left behind .

“Let’s do this,” Luke says. I’m not sure what he saw in my face, but his voice is quiet and subdued .

“We’ll need to split up,” Mave says as we get out of the car. “What’s the plan ?”

“I need to head up to the attic again.” I stop at the edge of the parking lot; from here I can just see through the trees to the gable of the frat house. “Make contact with Molly or Claudia .”

For the first time, the names hit me, reminding me of my favorite reading material when I was in junior high. “We’ve got a whole fucking dead Babysitters’ Club here .”

Luke cocks his head to one side, then shakes off my joke. “Well, you’re not going alone .”

“Someone needs to check out the basement,” Mave says. “Where the ballroom is. The fact that they keep the basement under lock and key makes me rather curious .”

“I’m going with the girl,” Luke says. “Sorry, you’re on your own, brother .”

“It never bothered me before,” Mave says .

“He just tolerates me,” Luke confides. “Fae don’t really like anyone .”

Mave looks back at him with wide, untroubled eyes. “Fae don’t really like you .”

“We need a distraction,” Luke says .

Mave raises two fingers in a cocky little salute, then breaks out of the bushes and runs to the edge of the frat house. He jumps up, and the next thing I know, he’s clamoring up the outside of the building to an open window. He doesn’t need his wings. This Fae knows parkour .

My jaw falls open watching him, and I catch Luke’s quick, amused smile. There’s pride there for his best friend and partner .

“Fae or primate,” Luke says. “You really have to wonder .”

Minutes later, the frat empties out due to a second-floor fire set by a naughty fairy. He’s unlocked a door for us, and while the frat meets in the front yard, the two of us slip through the back. Then we race up the stairs, once again .

“Is there a reason the poltergeists would be strongest here?” I ask as we stand in the doorway to the attic. I blink in the dim as our eyes adjust to the darkness. “Like because they were murdered here ?”

“It would make sense,” Luke says. “They feed off fear and belief and their own rage. They’ll draw more power at a focal point like the place where they were murdered. It’d be easier for them to turn tangible .”

Something Ellis said once strikes me. “Doesn’t belief make them stronger too? You said the haunting is a joke at the frat. But what if Boyd really believes? What if some of the brothers do ?”

“Then that could be one way the frat and the killer geist is connected,” Luke says. “Plus if we have enemy poltergeists here… murderer and victim… they would feed off each other. Like a bad loop, increasing each other’s power .”

I rub my palm against my cheek. “All right, great. Let’s see if we can get ’em together. Bad idea, but it’ll prove the theory .”

“It’s not that bad an idea.” Luke rests his hand on my shoulder. “Between the two of us, we’ve got this .”

Despite all my questions, there’s a warm glow in my chest at his words, and his touch feels electric to me .

He squeezes my shoulder. “Let’s pour a blessing out on this motherfucker .”

We move fast to set up for a summoning and an exorcism. We can’t turn the lights on because they might be seen from the outside. Luke finds a mirror in the corner and drags it over to me. I begin to speak the blessing to summon the ghost. The oil runs down my hand and pools on the floor .

“That’s creepy,” I say, in a lull between the words, glancing at myself in the mirror .

“So far they’ve found themselves in your reflection, though,” he says. “Told you it was a good idea to dye your hair .”

“Good idea? No. But I’ll make any sacrifice to kick this geist out of our plane .”

“It looks good on you,” he tells me. “I like it .”

“Then you have terrible taste .”

“Of course I do.” Luke gives me a meaningful look .

It’s a playful admission of interest, and I shake my head, trying to hide my grin. When the wind picks up outside, both of us tense .

It comes and goes, and then it’s still just the two of us standing there in the dust .

“I hope Mave’s all right.” I don’t know how we’re all going to get through this last madcap attack on the frat. There’s so much that can go wrong .

“He’s got magic on his side, remember ?”

I open my mouth–I have so many questions about that–but my reflection in the mirror doesn’t .

I jump, turning towards the mirror, my brain registering the difference a second late. The girl in the mirror puts a hand on her face as if she’s shocked. Her blond hair curls around a square jaw. Molly .

She whispers something I can’t hear .

“What is it?” I can’t hear her words at all .

Her eyes widen as she speaks again, her lips moving exaggeratedly, as if she’s hoping I can read her lips .

It takes a second for her words to soak in .

YOU’RE IN DANGER, she’s telling me .

RUN .

“She says we have to get out of here,” I tell Luke, reaching out for his arm. He stares at the mirror, his eyes troubled. “Can you see her ?”

He shakes his head. “I’m blind. I can’t stand it .”

“Well, ghost girl says it’s time for us to move .”

“Ask her who did this to her,” he says. “We have to know .”

He’s right. “Molly, who did this ?”

RUN. RUN RUN RUN. She waves her arms at me, frantic, gesturing for the door .

The alarm system, which has been pealing noisily through the hall beneath us, muffled here, suddenly shuts off .

“Who?” I demand again. “We can’t help you, we can’t protect anyone, if we don’t know .”

Again, it takes me long seconds to make sense of what she’s mouthing, over and over again, trying to give me the information frantically. It’s a one syllable word: her mouth forms into an O shape, making an o-type sound, and then her lips peel back. A strong consonant .

Like oo - k .

Luke .

My body turns cold. My stomach seizes, and I could throw up, right then and there .

“What did she say?” Luke demands .

“She just keeps telling us to run.” Suddenly I’m afraid that he’s been lying, that he can see her too, that he knows I’ve just lied to him. I have to get out of this attic, away from him .

I explode away from him, running for the door .

He takes a quick step after me. “Wait, we need more information …”

“We need to get out of here,” I hiss back, not wanting for him to suspect me. My heart is thudding wildly. I’m more terrified to be in this room with Luke than I am of the angry frat brothers now flooding the house. “We have to get out of the house before the brothers find us .”

“We need to finish — ”

But I’m not listening to his frustrated plea. I yank open the door and rush down the stairs, finding myself in the dim afternoon light of the windowless third floor hallway. I run down the hall; some of the doors have been left standing open in the rush of the fire alarm, unlike the last time we were here. When I see a flicker of movement ahead of me–Mave? A brother?–I press myself against the wall, right alongside the doorway of one of the rooms. I look back, but I don’t see Luke yet. I hesitate and then duck into the room. I don’t want to trap myself, but I have to get loose from Luke, and I’d rather not get caught by one of the brothers on the way .

This room is empty. Thank God. I close the door behind me, my fingers shaking on the doorknob, then reach up and push the latch closed, very slowly, inching it along so it won’t make a sound .

Then I’m alone, safe for now at least. It’s a single room, one queen bed in the corner with the sheets mussed. The windows are bare except for plain blinds. One corner of the room is dominated by a desk with an enormous computer and three screens .

I lean against the door and take a few long, slow breaths, afraid that Luke is creeping outside, looking for me. Or will he assume that I fled as fast as I could out of the house? That’s what I would expect. It all depends on what he saw in the mirror .

Maybe everyone is lying to me about everything .

If the brother hasn’t returned to this room by now, he probably wasn’t kicked out by the fire drill. He’s probably out at class or somewhere else on campus. I might have time before he comes back. I unlatch the door, and ease it just barely open so I can see a sliver into the hallway .

It’s clear, so I make a run for it. I sprint down the hall, rushing down the stairs as fast as my legs can move. Momentum can only help me .

I’ve just reached the first floor when I hear voices all around me, muffled by a wall but coming close to me. Impatient, angry voices .

I make a split second decision to duck around the corner for the kitchen. There’s a guy in a black Delphi Catering t-shirt setting a cooler down on the table opposite me, but his back is to me. I bend low, beneath the lid of the table, and scoot to the storage room. The door is half-open, and I’m able to slip inside without touching it in case it squeaks .

Then I’m in the storage room, making my way through the clutter to the back door .

It’s locked .

There’s a padlock at the top of the door, no key. That seems like a fire hazard. What the fuck? That’s new; it wasn’t there when we came in. the thought sours my stomach again. I’m trapped .

The catering company guy isn’t going to bother me. But once I’m out of the kitchen, what are my chances of making it out the front door all the way on the far side of the house without running into someone awful? I think of Rogers’ rage-filled face, as he tried to bash in my window, and a shiver runs down my spine. He doesn’t have to be friendly with a murderous poltergeist to be bad news .

I head back through the kitchen, moving low and fast, only to hear Rogers’ voice on my right, muffled again, thankfully. There’s an open door to my left and I swing through it, hoping for the best .

It’s a narrow room, with a coat check on one side made out of plywood and a metal shower bar, and a door at the other end .

I swing open the door. Stairs yawn in front of me; it’s the basement ballroom. Nope, no thanks .

“I guess they didn’t come through this way,” Rogers says out in the hall, his voice amused. “I hope they like the lock. Assholes .”

“Maybe they didn’t come in this way at all,” someone else says. Their voices are, blessedly, fading away .

Or maybe it’s just that my ears are closing up, because suddenly the world seems muffled, like after a long flight when I can’t get my ears to pop. I sway on my feet, pressing my hands up to my ears, wondering what’s going on. I’m suddenly dizzy. My arms ache from the effort of reaching my ears, and begin to droop towards my sides .

I’m about to lose my balance, so I sit heavily on the top stairs. I don’t want to fall down the stairs .

I’ve been drugged, or poisoned, somehow .

I scoot on my bottom down the stairs, afraid to stand up with my head swimming. I’m woozy. This is coming over me fast, faster that I would have realized any drug could affect me. How? How long ago could someone have done this to me? Because that changes who could have done this to me .

But Luke. Probably Luke .

After I dial my sister, it’s hard to get the phone up to my ear. Sleep presses in on me, like a suffocating blanket .

“Hey,” he says when he picks up the phone. Normal Jax voice. No alarm; he thinks I’m calling for lunch. That’s a nice thought. I wish we were just going to lunch. I’d like a grilled cheese …

Wait, I didn’t mean to call Jax. Jax can’t help me .

“ Ash ?”

Focus .

“I’m at Kappa Omega,” I say. That’s the most important thing. “Basement. Need help .”

“What kind of help do you need?” he asks. I try to tell him to bring my sister and her guys .

“Ash? What’d you say ?”

The blanket closes around me .