The Dark In-Between

by Elizabeth Hrib

  Casey wanders up to the front of the church. Red stands next to the crushed altar, still and silent. Deep in thought, perhaps. She hesitates to interrupt, but Red, as always, senses her presence and turns around, offering her a smile that turns up only one corner of his mouth.

  Casey glances around, taking stock of the bits of stone she now steps over. The crater left behind where Michael had launched himself onto the roof is perhaps the most difficult of all the damage to explain away.

  “We really did a number on this place,” she says, passing Red the dagger that had delivered her and Liddy safely to Limbo.

  A shift of his hand and the dagger disappears, a feather now held between his thumb and forefinger. She marvels at how something so small and delicate could be imbued with so much power.

  “You’re not going to keep it?” he asks.

  “I think I’ve spent enough time in Limbo, don’t you?”

  “Not even to remember me by?”

  “Like I’m going to forget you.” She blows out a breath that puffs her cheeks.

  He laughs. “Fair enough.”

  “Did Malakhi give you the third degree?”

  Red holds back a laugh. “He warned me about my failings. Again. As I deserved. And suggested that the worst is yet to come. I have a lot to answer for when I return.”

  “He’s probably jealous. Missing out on all of this, I mean.”

  “Doubtful,” Red says. “Messengers rarely bear arms against the darkness.”

  “So is he … gone then?”

  “Yes. He has returned, already called back.” Red glances skyward. “Michael has taken his place as protector and Limbo is once again secure, so Malakhi must answer his next call. The work of a Messenger is never done. There is always news to be delivered.”

  “I guess someone’s always messing up somewhere, huh?”

  “Malakhi delivers good news as well. It just so happens that he’s always around to watch me screw up. I think he enjoys that part of his work a little too much.”

  Casey kicks at the rubble by her feet. “Is Azrael gone for good?”

  “No, just weakened. She’ll go into hiding until her powers recover, then she’ll attempt to reach into the mortal world again.”

  “Do you think it was her plan all along to use Liddy? Do you think she knew I would try to pull Liddy out of Limbo?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “I saw her,” she says, biting the inside of her cheek. “In Limbo, when I was escaping with Liddy. She watched from afar. I wondered if maybe she had something to do with it.”

  “Perhaps,” Red says. “At any rate, her forces have been beaten back. Limbo will be a safer place for now, until she gathers strength again.”

  “This isn’t the end, is it?”

  Red shakes his head. “The fight between light and dark, good and evil … it is not a fight that is ever truly won.”

  “Seriously?”

  “One cannot exist without the other, but balance must always be maintained. There will always be a threat we must rise up against. This is simply the latest chapter.” He offers her a reassuring smile. “But you have won your battle, Casey. So enjoy the life you get to live now.”

  “I will,” she says. “I’ll try, anyway. And you go enjoy … whatever it is you do when you have your wings back. I mean, I guess you won’t be falling out of the sky anymore, right?”

  Red grins, ducking his head. “Definitely a highlight,” he says. “Did Liddy find her way okay?”

  “I think so. Maybe you should have come, just to be sure.”

  “I don’t think I was ever meant to help Liddy cross. That’s always been your job. It’s why she called to you. I think I was sent here to do more than help you learn to traverse Limbo.”

  “What else was there to learn?”

  He places a gentle hand on her shoulder. “To forgive yourself.”

  She realizes he’s right. She’s finally stopped blaming herself for waking up in the hospital without Liddy. She’s finally forgiven herself for not being able to control the outcome of that terrible accident.

  Red’s come to know her so well in such a short time, and suddenly she’s overwhelmed by the thought of losing him. “You’re leaving, too, aren’t you? That’s why this conversation sounds so final.”

  “For now,” he says. “I’ve been called home and I have to answer. Wouldn’t be right to start off on the wrong foot.”

  “Don’t you mean the wrong wing?” Casey jokes, though her heart’s not quite in it.

  “I left that one wide open for you,” Red retorts. “And I didn’t mean for this to sound so final. You never know, I’ve fallen before. I might again.”

  “Hopefully not,” Casey says without really meaning it. “I’ll miss you. A lot more than I thought.”

  “Going to deny that for eternity, aren’t you?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Don’t look at me like that,” he says, nudging her arm, trying to coax a smile out of her. “We’ll see each other again. After all, you know the way now. So even if I never fall again in your lifetime, it’s only a matter of time before you come to us.”

  Casey rushes forward and hugs him, squeezing until he hugs her back. “Say hi to Liddy for me,” she whispers against his chest.

  “I will.”

  She sniffs, blinking quickly as she steps away. “Okay, I’m ready.”

  “I know you are.” Red glances down the aisle behind her, giving Evan one last wave.

  “Wait, one more thing,” she says.

  Red cocks his head as a grin splits her face. “Redmond? This whole time?”

  He laughs, loud and clear, filling the church with music. “You’ve been sitting on that one, haven’t you?” Dimples dip beneath his cheeks. “You have to understand that I lived and died in a time much different than yours. Redmond was chosen by my mother. It means ‘wise protector.’ I was the oldest of four boys and she thought I’d carry the title well.”

  “You do,” she promises, knowing she’d never have survived this last week without his help. His firm guidance and protection and friendship. “It’s almost as if she knew what you were destined for.”

  His grin is boyish at her words and his eyes pinch at the corners in memory.

  “Maybe one day you’ll be able to tell me about it.”

  “Maybe I will. Now, you better stand back,” he says, his words clipped with excitement. He crouches, grimacing as the feathers feed through his skin, no longer wispy, fallen remains, but healthy and whole. His pain lasts only a moment before he beams triumphantly.

  The feathers are a pale white, sprouting from his shoulder blades and curving in two gentle arcs that brush the carpeting. Even at a full stand, the tips of his wings touch the ground.

  He’s beautiful in an inhuman sort of way, and Casey knows no part of her memory will ever do him justice like this—Red, at the height of his strength and power.

  A redeemed angel.

  “I have to say,” she confesses, “this is much more impressive than digging you out of a crater in the middle of the road.”

  “Saved the best for last, didn’t I?” Red looks up, positioning himself beneath the hole left by Michael. “You should probably back up a little more. I’ve got to get some height here.”

  “What do you—”

  Air swirls around her, starting at her feet, then rising up, making her hair whip wildly across her face. Casey lifts her arms to block some of the wind, but through the slits in her fingers, she watches Red burst from the ground in a show of supernatural athleticism. His wings pull close to his body as he twists upward, before spreading wide, sending a final gust of wind blowing across her. He slips between the slats, blocking the light for a brief moment.

  And then he’s gone.

  The air is still.

  Everything around her is quiet.

  She turns around.

  Evan sits in a pew at the back of the church, waiting for her. His little wave is enough to keep he
r from bursting into a fit of emotion now that Red’s gone. Until now she’s never spared a second to consider what his absence would mean. It leaves a dent in her heart. Perhaps not the kind of hole left by Liddy’s departure, but nonetheless a space that won’t ever be filled.

  When she reaches Evan, he greets her by lifting the golden sword in the air. Out of context, he looks kind of ridiculous.

  “So, I don’t know about you, but that Michael guy never asked for his giant letter opener back, so I think I’m gonna keep it. Maybe hang it on my wall or something.”

  Casey slumps down beside him and presses a fleeting kiss to his cheek. “I think your mom might ask questions.”

  “I’ll tell her I’m going through an ancient artifacts phase.”

  “Let’s just see if we can get it back to your house without either of us being arrested for having a giant sword in the trunk.”

  Evan laughs hard, clutching his stomach. “Challenge accepted.”

  He’s surprisingly buoyant for a guy who’s just faced off against an army of darkness, but she supposes victory does that to a person. After everything, he deserves to bask in the glory for a little while longer, playing out the boyhood dreams of knighthood.

  “You handled this all surprisingly well, you know.”

  “I still think I might have sunstroke and be hallucinating—”

  Casey nudges him with her foot. “As if; we know better than the tourists.”

  “Yeah, that was my only logical explanation and even it was a reach.”

  “And the illogical ones?”

  “You picked up an angel on the side of the road and I cut the heads off some scaly shadow-monsters.” He wrinkles his nose. “And none of this counts as extra credit for our college applications, so that sucks.”

  Casey bursts out laughing.

  Evan lets her laughter fade away before tilting his head and giving her a look that makes her slide down the pew and tuck herself against him. He catches her hand, laying the sword down, and covers it with both of his. “You know you can trust me with this, right? All of it. I can handle it.”

  “I know.”

  “How is Liddy, anyway? Did everything go okay?”

  “She’s somewhere better now. Happier, for sure, and I imagine at peace, especially after everything that she’s been through.”

  “That’s good. Before you guys left she told me not to let you mope about without her.”

  “She told me something similar.”

  “Covering her bases, I guess. So,” Evan starts, “I imagine you’ll have some free time now that your angel-buddies have flown away and Liddy’s tucked safely in her puff of heavenly cloud.”

  “I’m not sure that’s how it works.” Casey grins. “Clouds? Really?”

  “Hey, let me have this. If Liddy’s not up there trampolining between the clouds, my entire life has been a lie.”

  Casey leans against his shoulder, gazing skyward. “That does totally sound like her.”

  She presses against the back of the pew, staring up through the chipped stained-glass windows.

  “Now what d’you want to do?” Evan asks, looping his arm over her shoulders.

  “Well…” Casey says, pretending to give it some thought. “I kinda sorta promised you a date to Shore Fest.”

  “Is that what that was?” Evan says coolly, playing it off.

  “It definitely was.” She stands and starts back down the aisle toward the side door.

  “Oh, you mean now?” Evan calls, hurrying out of the pew after her. “Like right now?”

  “Why not?” She leads him out of the church and to her car as he fumbles with Michael’s sword. “Summer’s almost over. Why waste any more time?”

  “I mean, you totally deserve the mother of all dates after this, and I am so there,” Evan says as he gets in the car. “But first we have to stop at my place so I can renovate the bathroom Liddy blew up. And maybe shower.”

  Casey climbs in beside him, rolls down the windows, and cranks the radio. She leans forward, arms against the dashboard, and smiles at the statue that now stands on the peak of the church roof: Michael, with his sword pointed to the sky.

  Evan glances at it, a grin spreading across his face. “He looks good up there.”

  “Yeah,” she agrees, inhaling the scent of sea salt and pine as the sun winks over the church.

  As she does, a single white feather curls in on the breeze, landing in her lap.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  THERE WAS A time when seeing my book on a shelf was a maybe someday dream. And sometimes I still can’t believe that the team at Swoon Reads and Macmillan made that someday a reality. For that, I will be forever grateful. So, starting this off, a big thank-you to Jean Feiwel and Lauren Scobell for fostering this awesome community where readers and writers can come together to champion one another and great YA reads. I don’t think I’ve ever been part of a more devoted writing community.

  A huge thanks goes out to my amazing editor, Emily Settle, who has championed this book from the beginning. You have seen Casey and her journey from the earliest stages and helped transform it into what it is today. Thank you for all your comments that kept me laughing, your savvy editing skills, and the title suggestion. Most of all, thanks for believing in powerful girl friendships and adorkable love interests.

  To the Swoon Squad for their endless support, laughs, and retweets. Your guidance through this process has been invaluable.

  To my family, who gave me the strength and support to pursue writing. I am forever grateful to know you are on my team, cheering me on from the sidelines. To Ashley especially, for enduring hours upon hours of phone calls. You heard the very first version of this story and every subsequent one. Thanks for putting up with all my writing-talk and being the best sister a girl could ask for. And to Mikey, for being my brainstorming partner, weapons expert, and my connection to the world of teenagers.

  To all the friends who have believed in this book and shouted about it from rooftops, you guys are the absolute best of the best. To Gillian, penpal extraordinaire, for being the most excited about this! Thanks for believing in it and for shouting about it in all of our letters. To Hanako for all the corner meetups, author photos, and coffee-shop sessions. Thanks for keeping me sane through it all! And to Kelly, who spent hours of nursing lectures by my side. Thanks for sharing your notes, goals, and strength with me. You were one of the first people who believed I could do it; I definitely wouldn’t be here without your encouragement.

  And finally, to the readers. This book would be nothing without you guys.

  With all the love and thanks,

  Liz

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Elizabeth Hrib was born and raised in London, Ontario, but now calls Halifax home. She spends her nine-to-five time as a nurse. When she’s not nursing or writing, she can be found at the piano, planning her next Netflix binge, or plotting ways to survive the zombie apocalypse. The Dark In-Between is her debut novel.

  Visit her online at elizabethhrib.wordpress.com, or sign up for email updates here.

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen
<
br />   Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2020 by Elizabeth Hrib

  A Swoon Reads Book

  An imprint of Feiwel and Friends and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC

  120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271

  swoonreads.com

  fiercereads.com

  All rights reserved.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

  Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945 ext. 5442 or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.

  First edition 2020

  ebook edition May 2020

  eISBN 9781250242761