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Dad refused to let me out of the house until I told him where we were going. Then he refused to let us go without him.
I could hardly blame him—I’d practically crawled out last time, wet and bloody. But he’d also been hurt by the monster, and still limped because of his injuries.
I just hoped we would walk out in better shape this time.
Since it was Sunday night, on a holiday weekend, Dad parked his truck in front of the McGinty house. It sat at the edge of the neighborhood, most of the houses around it now businesses.
It was the local haunted house, where kids dared each other to sneak in. It was also where I’d met my first monster. And where the entrance to Emmettsville’s biggest secret sat in the backyard.
Dad smiled over at me and Misty. “Ready?”
Hell, no. “Yeah,” I said.
Dad laughed, handing us each a flashlight before we all slid out of the driver’s side. Another car pulled up and parked behind us. I saw Candace get out, her medical bag in one hand, and a backpack over her shoulder. She looked tired, and supremely pissed. Jake was going to get an ear-bashing.
“Which idiot am I sewing back together?”
“Sam,” I said.
Candace muttered under her breath, then flashed a radiant smile at Dad when he handed her a flashlight. “Thank you, Lee. It’s good to see one person here with his head on straight.”
Dad laughed, giving Candace a one-armed hug. “You know you love the excitement. Why else do you put up with Jake?”
“Idiocy?” But she looked less pissed. Dad has that effect on people—he’s just so easygoing and friendly, they can’t help but respond to him. “Let’s go see how much damage the fools did to each other.”
~ ~ ~
Hyattown was dark. Not surprising, since the Devil was sensitive to light.
Dad took the lead, shining his flashlight over the sagging wood buildings. Just like before, we followed, one hand on the shoulder of the person in front.
Footsteps echoing off the wooden boardwalk had us all spinning to our left.
Jake appeared—in the doorway of the building that held the Devil’s nest.
My heart jumped, and I froze. My breath lodged itself in my throat, along with my heart. I couldn’t go back in there, not in the darkness, with the monster who’d left the long scratches on my back and gave me nightmares that left me nauseous and sweating—
“Alex.” Dad’s deep, soothing voice jerked me back. I remembered to breathe. “You’re not alone this time, sweetheart.”
God, I loved him. He always knew what to say.
Taking my hand, he followed Candace and Misty, who had already gone inside. Once we reached the door, flickering gold light greeted us, and I spotted the source. Candles, on every flat surface. They filled the room with a soft, ambient light—and highlighted Sam, sitting in a half broken chair, ugly claw marks scoring his bare chest.
I wanted to run to him, make sure he was all right—and I froze again when I saw it. Her.
The Devil hovered in the doorway leading to her fabric draped nest. Blood stained the long, curved claws, and it—she—looked almost sorry.
Candace had her med kit open, and knelt in front of Sam, examining the wounds. He kept his gaze on the wall behind her, not even glancing over when Dad and I came in. That hurt, more than I expected.
Dad’s voice broke the uncomfortable silence. “How is he?”
“Stupid, but alive,” Candace said. Sam flinched—and let out a hoarse gasp as she started cleaning the claw marks. “Hold still. I know it hurts, but I have to clean out any debris.”
I glanced over at the Devil, to see if it—she—took offense to Candace’s statement. And I almost fell over when I saw the tablet in one clawed hand. I know Jake told me about her being able to communicate. That didn’t mean I actually believed him.
Watching the monster tap delicately on the screen had my jaw dropping.
Those glowing eyes found Jake, and held the tablet out to him. He took it, smiling as he read the screen. “I’ll tell him.”
I looked from Jake to the Devil, and back to Jake. They knew each other—no, they acted like they were friends. With the glances and unspoken understanding that only people who spent time together acquired.
He moved to Sam. They were like the positive and negative: Jake all dark hair and dark eyes, and Sam with his streaked blonde hair and light grey-blue eyes. And they used to have opposing temperaments. Until the night Sam had changed, in the sewers under our feet.
I pushed that memory out of my head. It was bad enough, standing in the same room with my nightmare. I didn’t need to relive watching Sam turn into something else.
Sam’s angry voice jerked me back.
“I don’t give a damn how sorry that thing is. I came here to find the truth, Jake. And it’s standing in my way.”
“She was here, Sam, ten years ago.” Sam’s head snapped up—and I watched everyone else in the room still. “Here.” He held out the tablet. “She spent her recovery time writing out what she remembers, and what lies she was told.”
I swallowed, my heart pounding. I was the reason for that recovery. I didn’t hear any more of the conversation as I backed toward the door. God—I had to get out—it felt like the walls were closing in on me—
With my breath coming in harsh gasps, I stumbled out of the building, and in a déjà vu of my last encounter with the Devil I fell on my hands and knees, the boardwalk squealing under my weight.
Only this time, there were hands to help me sit, and strong, safe arms to hold me when I started crying.
“I’ve got you, sweetheart.” Dad’s voice surrounded me, as warm and gentle as his embrace. “I’ve got you.”
I knew the others were watching. I just didn’t care. What had happened down here finally hit, and hit hard. My reaction told me I’d been dodging it all this time—pretty successfully, since I thought I was dealing with it just fine. Apparently not.
Someone knelt next to us, took my hand. Misty—I smelled the vanilla lotion she’d put on in my bedroom. That felt like it was years ago. I was so tired—tired and heart sore, and I wanted to go home.
“Alex.” Jake’s voice had every muscle clenching.
“Not now,” Dad said, his voice low and angry. “And not you.”
“Then you can give this to Alex.” I blinked tears out of my eyes and saw the tablet in his hand. The Devil’s tablet. “Part of this is meant for her.”
“Get that away—”
“It’s okay, Dad.” I sounded like I’d been crying for a year. “I need to read it.”
“Alex.” He cradled the back of my head. “I don’t want you to do this.”
“I know.” I managed a ghost of my smile. “I don’t, either. But I need to.”
He kissed my forehead. “I’ll be right here if you need me.”
He always was—and I loved him like crazy because of it.
Rubbing my back, he handed me the tablet, and finally let me go, standing. Misty squeezed my hand and joined him. “She’ll be okay, Mr. Finch. I don’t know anyone as strong as Alex.”
Misty Corwin—cheerleader, prom queen, philosopher. And my friend.
Just the thought threatened to choke me up again.
I looked at the tablet to distract myself, surprised to find a long, typed document. The language was simple, but it got the thoughts of the author across. Swallowing, I started to read.
You were an enemy to me, Alex Finch. I thought you meant harm. I hunted you to stop you from hunting me.
I closed my eyes. How did I ever get on a monster’s hit list? The next sentence told me—and knocked the breath out of my lungs.
I saw you fight the Fenris Wolf, and knew you would come for me next.
She had been there—at the McGinty house.
I set the tablet down before I dropped it, trying to wrap my mind around this whole surreal scenario. I’d just read words typed by a monster. A monster that saw me as a threat.
Me.
I didn’t know whether to be flattered or terrified.
No wonder it stalked me like I was on its hit list. I was—number one with a bullet.
Footsteps warned me before Jake sat next to me on the boardwalk. “You okay?”
“I’m—not sure. Did you—” I waved at the tablet.
“She had me read it, to make sure what she meant to say was actually getting across. You need to finish reading.”
“I can’t.” Jake picked up the tablet. “No—Jake, please—”
“I knew I was wrong to fear you when you had grief after harming me.” He looked over at me, and handed the tablet back. “She wants to apologize, for causing you so much pain.”
“Why did it—she—leave the pendant on my door?”
“Ask her yourself.”
He stepped aside. And I nearly had heart failure again when I saw the Devil in the doorway, backlit by the glow of candles.
I recoiled as one clawed hand reached for me—and regretted it when I saw anguish in those glowing green eyes. Too late I realized she was reaching for the tablet. Mortified, I held it out, wanting to apologize and run at the same time.
Watching her tap on the screen again was even more surreal than the first time. She handed it back to me and stepped away. To make me feel safer. What I felt instead was shame. Wasn’t that a turnaround.
I looked at the single line on the screen.
Pendant was to help you understand. To lead you here.
A note explaining that would have been nice—and saved me from the sleepless nights I’d had since I found it. “Lead me to the haven?”
Jake nodded. “She knew you’d be sympathetic. Because of Sam.”
I swallowed. “Right.”
The Devil started tapping on the screen again, and held it out for me to read.
Little girl will lead you to truth.
“Katie?” My head snapped up. I so didn’t want her part of this—she had been hurt enough. “Can you tell me—” My voice stuck in my throat. I was talking to a monster. How much weirder could my life get? “How can I start—without involving her?”
“You’re not, Alex,” Sam said. He stood in the doorway, a blanket draped over his shoulders, his chest bandaged. “You’re not going to be part of this.”
“Like hell, I’m not.” I pushed to my feet, and got in his face. “It’s beyond too late to keep me out of this, Sam. I’m all in, whether you like it or not. So stop trying to leave me behind.”
“I want you safe.”
Letting out a sigh, I touched his cheek. “And I want you here. We don’t always get what we want.” I limped past him, my ankle hurting from the damp. Dad waited for me. I shut him down before he could say a word. “That goes for you, too. I’m committed, for better or—you know the rest. Right now, I want to go home.”
Sam moved to my side. “Alex—”
“You all can meet me there, if you want to hash this out. I have to put my foot up.” I turned around, ready to storm out. The Devil waited for me. And it was time to say to her face what I whispered when I thought she was dying. “I’m sorry, for hurting you. I thought—”
One clawed hand closed over my shoulder. Those same claws had marked my back, hurt Jake, hurt the brothers who were dragged down here for someone else’s agenda—
I stopped that hamster wheel before it drove me crazy. Again. We’d find the answers. After all, half the people in this room were directly connected to it.
The Devil nodded to me, laid her other hand on the spot where I knew the jagged edge of the iron bar penetrated.
“Does it—hurt?” She shook her head, and I let out a sigh.
It clogged in my throat when she took my hand and pressed it against her chest. I felt a knob of scar tissue, already hard with what would have been the result of months of healing. Seemed like a common monster trait was the ability to heal fast. Probably came in handy in the past, with all the fire and pitchforks.
“I’m going to go now,” I said. I looked into the glowing eyes, surprised that my heart jumped a little less every time. “I’ll find out who took those kids. You didn’t hurt them, did you?” She shook her head, anger flaring across the teddy bear face. “Yeah, I figured as much. But you did attack Jake.”
“For trying to stop her from helping Katie,” Jake said.
I turned to him. “What?”
“We didn’t see the person following Katie, ready to grab her before the Devil intervened. She recognized my scent from when I—checked out her nest, and thought I was in on it.”
“And ten years ago? How much did she have to do with the fire?”
“We did what we had to ten years ago.”
The new voice spun us around. And I almost dropped to the floor when I saw Mrs. Swiller standing in the doorway, a medieval crossbow in her hands. A familiar crossbow. If not for the distinctive, prissy voice, I wouldn’t have recognized her.
She was dressed in men’s clothes, her hair tucked under a ski cap, and she looked like...a man. The male accomplice—
“You should have let it go, Alex,” she said. “It should have ended with the fire. But we found out too late that not all of them had burned.”
She turned on the Devil and pulled the trigger.