You May Now Kill the Bride

by R. L. Stine

  A note. It was a note of some kind.

  I grabbed it and raised it into the light. And read the handwritten words:

  DON’T TRY TO FIND ME

  Thirty-Nine

  The note trembled in my hand. I lowered it to the dresser, leaned over it, and read the words again and again.

  She was in my room. Marissa is here.

  I knew that was her voice in the next room. I knew I heard her arguing with another young woman.

  She was next door. How did she disappear before the night clerk and I opened her door? I didn’t have a clue.

  But here in front of me was proof that she was here in the lodge. And now that the coast was clear, what were the chances that my sister was right next door again?

  Of course, there were crushing questions that weighed down my mind. Questions I didn’t want to answer: Why was she avoiding me? Why didn’t she want to be found? Why didn’t she open the room door to me?

  Why, why.

  The questions led all the way back to: Why did she vanish on her wedding day?

  And I knew the only way I’d ever get any answers was to find her and talk to her.

  I stood over the dresser, staring at the words in red ink until they became a pink smear on the page. Then I shut my eyes tight and, clasping the dresser top, leaning over Marissa’s note, I began to whisper the words of a spell. It was a simple spell I had easily memorized, a spell to make an object appear.

  Almost like a magician’s trick. Like making a dove suddenly appear in your hand. Yes, I knew Marissa wasn’t an object. But this was the only appearance spell I could master.

  I was desperate; desperate enough to try anything. I knew Marissa was close by. If only a simple spell would be enough . . .

  I sank into myself, sank deep into my darkest corners, whispering the ancient words. When I finished, I opened my eyes. Nothing had changed.

  What did I expect? That Marissa would be standing next to me?

  It took a few seconds to get over my disappointment.

  Then I turned to the door. And had a strong feeling . . .

  Back in the hall, I stood on trembling legs in front of the door to room 258. I could see a thin line of light through the crack at the bottom of the door.

  But the night clerk turned off the light. I could swear that he did.

  And now the light was on.

  I raised my fist to knock. Then I remembered that I hadn’t closed the door all the way.

  I grabbed the knob and, fighting the rapid hummingbird beats of my heart, slid the door open.

  And uttered a startled cry. “I don’t believe it!”

  Marissa, sitting on the edge of one of the beds, turned, and her expression hardened. She didn’t act surprised. The only emotion I could see was anger.

  “I warned you, Harmony—” she said.

  “Marissa! You’re okay!” I cried, rushing across the room. “You’re here! You’re right here. I . . . I don’t believe it!”

  She stood up. She was wearing an outfit she always wore around the house—a maroon sweater over old black leggings. Her dark hair was tied back in a simple ponytail.

  I threw my arms up to hug her. But I stopped when I saw the other two young women in the room. They both stood by the window. Both had their lips parted, eyes wide, watching me.

  “Marissa—” I started.

  She gestured to the two women. “This is my sister, Harmony,” she told them. “Ruth-Ann and Rebecca.”

  I nodded a greeting.

  “They’re kind of cousins,” Marissa said.

  Ruth-Ann and Rebecca Fear? Why did their names seem vaguely familiar to me? My brain was swimming underwater. Staring at Marissa—actually here, actually in front of me—there was no way I could think straight about anything.

  “You look a lot like your sister,” Ruth-Ann said to me.

  “Thank you,” I said. Then I just stood there. I wanted to ask a thousand questions at once.

  I gazed at the two Fear sisters. Ruth-Ann had short coppery hair. It came down just over her ears, with straight bangs across her forehead. Rebecca was prettier, softer-looking, with wavy straw-blond hair down past her shoulders and very large, light blue eyes.

  They both wore long, flowery dresses, very silky and lacy, that came down nearly to the floor. Antique dresses, I realized. They must have been very expensive.

  “I love your dresses,” I blurted out. “They’re antique, right?”

  For some reason, both girls burst out laughing.

  “Rebecca and I are antique, too,” Ruth-Ann said.

  And in that moment, I remembered.

  I remembered the chapter about these two sisters in the book about the history of my family.

  Rebecca and Ruth-Ann Fear, who both died at this lodge, who both plunged over the mesa rim . . . who died at Rebecca’s wedding . . . in 1924.

  I made a gasping sound as I remembered. And I felt my stomach lurch. I forced my dinner down. Held my hand over my mouth.

  My knees folded. The shock was ringing through my whole body.

  “Shut the door,” Marissa said. “Sit down over there.” She motioned to the armchair against the wall. “You might as well hear everything now . . . now that you found us.”

  I dropped into the chair. I pressed my hands over the soft leather arms. My hands were icy and wet.

  “Marissa,” I said, “I don’t understand. These girls . . . they DIED!”

  Ruth-Ann and Rebecca dropped onto the edge of the other bed.

  “Yes. We died,” Rebecca murmured, lowering her eyes.

  I stared hard at her. She was so pretty. Like an angel, or a movie star from another time.

  “But don’t be scared,” her sister added. “We’re not ghosts who came back to haunt you.”

  They both giggled.

  I turned back to Marissa. “Are you okay? You have no idea how worried we have all been. Worried isn’t even the word. We have been ruined without you. All of us.”

  “I’m sorry,” Marissa replied, lowering her eyes.

  “Why are you here? Are you going to explain to me about these two? Will you explain everything?”

  Marissa sighed and shifted her weight on the bed. “I didn’t want to explain. That’s why I left the notes. I can explain, Harmony, but you won’t like it. Believe me. It’s better not to know.”

  She stifled a sob at the end of her sentence. It was her first show of emotion.

  “I have to know,” I said. “Do you mean you’re not coming home? You’re not—”

  Marissa turned to the other two. “Where should I start? Will it be too painful for you?”

  Ruth-Ann frowned. “Painful? It’s been too long since I’ve felt anything as real as pain.”

  “Tell your sister the truth,” Rebecca said. She straightened the folds of her long skirt, busywork for her fingers. “You really do not have a choice, Marissa.”

  “Tell me,” I insisted. “Tell me.” I hadn’t realized I’d balled my hands into fists and I was waving them in front of me.

  “You shouldn’t be so eager,” Marissa said to me. “There is no happy ending. I—”

  “But, Marissa,” I interrupted. “Don’t you miss us? Don’t you miss Mom and Dad? And Robby? Why did you run away? Why haven’t you come home?”

  “I can’t come home, Harmony.” Marissa’s eyes watered but her expression didn’t change. “Do you want an explanation or not?”

  “Sorry,” I said. I slid back in my chair and clasped my hands tightly together in my lap. “Sorry.”

  “You probably know their story,” Marissa said, motioning with her head toward Ruth-Ann and Rebecca. “I know you read that book about our family’s weird history.”

  “Rebecca’s wedding,” I said. “Yes. I read about it.”

  I glanced at her. She avoided my eyes. She stood up and walked to the window.

  “Rebecca didn’t know that the groom was a Goode. There is a curse on the Fear and Goode families. They can never marry.” />
  I nodded. “Yes. I know about it. It was a long time ago.”

  “A long time,” Rebecca said with great sadness. She peered out the window into the darkness of the mesa.

  “Rebecca and Ruth-Ann were both killed that day,” Marissa said, her voice steady but just above a whisper. I leaned forward in my chair to hear better. “Killed on what was supposed to be a joyful celebration.”

  She paused to wipe her eyes. Rebecca stood frozen, her back to me, gazing out the window. Ruth-Ann had her hands in her lap, her head bowed.

  “It was a day of horror,” Marissa continued. “A day of too much horror.”

  Ruth-Ann nodded. A sob escaped her throat. “Too much horror,” she echoed.

  “The horror was too much for anyone to bear,” Marissa said. “Screams echoed off the mesa for hours. Wedding guests collapsed in sorrow. There were heart attacks. Two guests were paralyzed with strokes.”

  “Ohmigod,” I murmured.

  Marissa leaned toward me. “This will be hard for you to understand, Harmony. But the curse between the two families—the Fears and the Goodes—was much stronger than anyone realized. Rebecca had married Peter Goode. They kissed and the marriage was completed before he threw her over the cliff. A marriage the curse did not allow.”

  My mouth was suddenly dry as cotton. I realized I’d been holding my breath. I gripped the chair arms with my icy hands and waited for Marissa to continue.

  “Minutes later, poor Ruth-Ann went over the cliff, too,” she said in a voice just above a whisper. “But the curse would not allow the two sisters to rest. They were dead but they could not be at peace. The curse forced them to live on at this lodge—not growing older, not living a normal life or seeing anyone from their time.”

  Rebecca sighed. “Dead but not dead,” she said.

  “Alive in your time and in our time,” her sister added, her eyes pleading with me to understand.

  “They are trapped by the curse,” Marissa said. “Some of the lodge workers were caught up in it, too. They cannot control when they live. They are sometimes in the past, sometimes here today.”

  “Walter the valet and Mr. Himuro . . . ,” I muttered.

  “They are caught in time, caught in the curse,” Ruth-Ann said. “Like Rebecca and me.”

  “And now I am, too,” Marissa said.

  I uttered a cry. “What? What do you mean, Marissa?”

  She shook her head. Her face drooped in sadness. Again, tears filled her eyes. “This is the part I didn’t want you to know, Harmony.”

  “What?” I demanded, fearing the answer.

  “I’m dead, too,” Marissa said. “Killed on my wedding day.”

  “NOOOOOO!” I wailed, leaping to my feet. “No! It can’t be true. Please—say it isn’t true.”

  She moved forward and wrapped me in a hug. “I’m so sorry. So sorry. But I’m dead, too, dear.”

  “Who?” I cried, pressing my cheek against hers. “Who did it, Marissa? Who killed you?”

  “Aiden killed me,” she whispered.

  Forty

  The shock of Marissa’s words made my whole body shudder. A horrified cry burst from deep in my chest. I staggered back and sat on the edge of the armchair, struggling to catch my breath.

  “Aiden?” The name slipped from my mouth.

  “He’s here with Nikki,” she said. “A double surprise. I had no idea the two of them were together.”

  I stared back at her. My head was spinning. This was all too much, too much to take in at once. My heart throbbed. I had red flashes in my eyes.

  “Aiden and Nikki have been together ever since that night I brought Aiden home to our house,” Marissa said. “Remember? Nikki jumped into Aiden’s lap, just to be funny? Something happened between them, I guess. Like lust at first sight. Ha.”

  She shook her head. “Of course, I didn’t know it till now, till Aiden just explained it to me.”

  Her eyes suddenly had a faraway look, as if she was no longer looking at me but seeing the past.

  I squeezed the arms of the chair. “But . . . Robby,” I uttered. “What about Robby?”

  Marissa made a disgusted face. “Nikki said she was never into Robby. It was mean, but she was just having fun, playing with him, making a fool of him. He never knew what was going on. None of us did.”

  She shook her head. “None of us knew what a liar Nikki is. She told her mother she went on a camping trip with friends. But instead, she came here with Aiden.”

  Marissa shifted again on the bed. “Of course, Aiden loved stealing Robby’s girlfriend.”

  I blinked. “Because . . .”

  “Because Aiden hates us,” Marissa snapped. “And don’t give me that innocent face, Harmony. It’s all your fault that he hates us, and you know it.”

  Her sudden anger made my heart start to pound. I could feel my face turn hot, and I knew I was probably beet red. “But—”

  “You ruined his life, Harmony,” Marissa continued. “Aiden dreamed of being a surgeon since he was a little kid. And you ruined it. You destroyed his dream. So . . . he decided to destroy our family.”

  “Huh? By stealing Robby’s girlfriend?” I cried.

  Marissa shook her head. “No. By murdering me. He killed me, Harmony. He threw me over the cliff.”

  “No—” I gasped. “This is impossible. You—”

  “Taylor and I went up on the mesa early on the morning of my wedding. We went up to watch the sunrise. Aiden showed up. He showed us how he still can’t use his hand. He said our family had to pay. He was crazed. He was totally psycho. Then . . . Then . . .”

  She took a breath. “Then he rushed at me. Lowered his shoulder and plowed into me. I begged him. I begged him. But he knocked me backward. Shoved me like a mad bull. Knocked me over . . . over the cliff. He killed me.”

  Marissa was gasping for breath now, her whole body heaving up and down. “Taylor tried to save me. She dove at Aiden. Tried to tackle him. But she missed and went sailing over the edge.”

  “They found Taylor’s body,” I said, my voice breaking. “Poor Taylor. Why isn’t she here with you, Marissa? Why isn’t she here like you three?”

  “She isn’t a Fear,” Marissa replied. “The curse had no hold over her.” A sob escaped her throat. “She was such a sweet, sweet friend. I hope she rests in peace.”

  “Unlike us,” Ruth-Ann murmured bitterly.

  “But . . . here’s the frightening part,” Marissa said, locking her eyes on mine. “Aiden took his revenge on Robby by stealing Nikki. He took his revenge on me by murdering me. But . . . what does he plan to do to you?”

  A chill ran down my back.

  Before I had a chance to react, the door to the room crashed open. It slammed hard against the wall. I jumped to my feet as Aiden burst into the room.

  Aiden wore a navy-blue shirt, untucked, sleeves rolled up, over baggy black jeans, ragged holes at both knees. “Wow. The Fear girls are reunited,” he said, a strange smile on his face, his eyes gleaming, hair falling over his forehead. “Harmony, you found your sister.”

  I opened my mouth to reply, but no words came out. I gaped at him in shock. “You . . . you’re still here?” I finally choked out. “But—how?”

  “I don’t know,” Aiden said, moving closer. “I keep moving between two times. It’s like I’m trapped. Maybe it’s just more of my bad luck, my ruined life. Just something else I can’t control or even understand. But . . . I have some unfinished business, Harmony.”

  I uttered a cry as he grabbed my arm. “You want to stay with your sister, right?” He brought his face close to mine and spit the words. “You want to join her, right?”

  “Let go of me,” I cried. I twisted my arm out of his grasp, but he quickly grabbed it back.

  “Ow. You’re hurting me,” I said. “Let go, Aiden—” I struggled to pull away, but his grip was surprisingly strong.

  He reached into his jeans pocket with his other hand and pulled up a gleaming object. I watched it glow as
he raised it, and it took me a few seconds to realize I was staring at a knife blade.

  “N-no—!” I stammered a choked protest.

  Aiden wrapped his arm around me, holding me against him. “It’s a surgical knife,” he said. “My father’s first surgical knife. He always planned to pass it down as a memento to me when I became a surgeon. But . . . that isn’t going to happen, is it, Harmony?”

  “Let her go,” Ruth-Ann shouted. “Aiden—don’t do this.”

  He glanced back at Ruth-Ann. “Harmony wants to be with Marissa. She wants to stay with her beautiful sister.”

  He tightened his grip on me and raised the knife in front of my eyes. I twisted and squirmed, but my terror was weakening me. I could feel the panic freeze my body.

  “There’s only one way to join Marissa,” Aiden said, his hot breath brushing my ear. “You have to die.”

  He pressed the blade against my neck. And slid it slowly across my throat.

  Forty-One

  The blade felt warm against my skin. I started to gag.

  Aiden laughed and lowered the knife. “Too messy,” he said. “Cutting your throat would be too messy, Harmony. I just wanted to give you a thrill.”

  “Let go of me!” I screamed. “You’re crazy!”

  Marissa stepped up to Aiden. “Let go of her. You’ve already had your revenge.”

  “Harmony wants to be with you,” he said, tightening his grip on me, bending me backward. “She wants to be with her beautiful cousins over there.”

  “Let go! Let go!” I screamed, panic choking my throat.

  “It only hurts for a few seconds,” he said. “When you fall off the cliff, it only hurts when you land. And then . . .”

  “No, Aiden. Don’t do it,” Marissa pleaded. She grabbed his arm. “Don’t do it.”

  “Listen to her,” I heard Rebecca say.

  The last words I heard before everything went black.

  I blinked my eyes open, then shut them. My head didn’t feel like a human head. It felt like a rock of throbbing pain.

  I groaned. “Where am I?”

  I opened my eyes again. A shadow rolled over me. A face peered down, studying me. Aiden.