“Really?” Dani asked. “That bitch.”
Aza shrugged. “I don’t think they have a plan yet, but who cares? Let them try.” Aza walked to the lone window and peered out at the night. So clear and calm. It grated on her nerves.
Dani left the wall and returned to her pseudo bed. She sat cross-legged and faced Aza. “What will you do if your grandpa has to be in the hospital for a while? You can’t live by yourself.”
Aza shrugged. The Barkers were set on taking Aza to Seaside City General Hospital first thing tomorrow morning to see Walt. He’d taken quite a tumble down the stairs, after all. But Aza had no intention of going. Not purely out of a lack of remorse—though that was chief—but because she didn’t want to run the risk of encountering anyone who could dismantle the story she’d fed the Barkers. And she wouldn’t be caught dead in any sort of hospital again. She rubbed at the faint scar on her wrist. One of many.
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me,” Aza said.
“But I do,” Dani said quickly. “No one should be all alone. Maybe you can come stay with me if your grandpa has to stay in the hospital. I can call my mom in the morning.”
Aza turned to examine Dani. It was strange; Aza hadn’t tried at all to alter the girl’s emotions. She’d been entirely too focused on Mr. and Mrs. Barker. And yet…
“Why would you want to help me?” Aza asked, flopping down at Dani’s side. Aza pulled a blanket up tight to her chin. She was so cold.
“Because…”
Aza narrowed her eyes, trying to discern what Dani was thinking. But no matter how she tried, whether through conventional or supernatural means, Aza was in the dark. It used to be such a comfort.
“Can I tell you something?” Dani asked. “And promise not to laugh.”
“Yes.”
Dani hung her head. “I don’t have many friends. Or any friends.”
“Well, you have me now,” Aza said.
Dani looked up. “Really?”
Aza felt it then. A pulse of what had to be joy. Or gratefulness. Aza couldn’t be certain what she was feeling from Dani, but it was strong and warm. It made Aza squirm. But it was nice, too, in some way she couldn’t identify.
Aza stood up. “Yes, Dani Anderson, I am your friend. And I shall prove that to you now.”
Dani smiled. “Oh yeah? Well, how will you do that?”
Aza motioned for Dani to stand, and when she did, Aza grabbed both of her hands. “Look into my eyes,” Aza said.
Dani shifted uneasily, but did so.
“Do you feel it?” Aza asked.
Gaze unwavering, Dani nodded slightly.
“It can’t be understood by mortals, but we are joined. Friendship is shallow. What we have runs deeper than Hell. I was drawn to you, Danielle Anderson, for more of a purpose than I first thought. We’ve met before, you and I, maybe in my dreams. You might not remember, and to be honest, neither do I most of the time, but it’s true. We’re destined to be together. Do you believe me?” It was something else within Aza speaking again.
Dani nodded.
Aza let their hands part and she took a step back. She wasn’t sure she had done anything to Dani, certainly not in her usual way. But something had transpired. It was dark and beautiful. Endless and pure.
“What now?” Dani asked after they’d stood in silence for a time.
Aza held a finger to her lips and went to the wall shared with the girls in the next room. Aza pounded on it. “April!” Aza shouted. “April!”
“What do you want?” April shouted from the other side.
“April! April!” Aza shouted.
April said something that Aza couldn’t make out, but she heard April open the door and walk down the hallway. Aza calmly walked over to the door and stood with her hands clasped behind her back.
The door opened, admitting April, clad in short shorts and an even shorter T-shirt. Her hair was up, but her brow was turned down in a frown. “What do you want?”
Aza locked eyes with April and whispered so softly, it wouldn’t be heard by anyone else. Some things were only to be heard by the damned. “I have stared into the darkness and seen its soul. It held me and told me the secrets of hurt and longing. I know pain because I am pain. I exist to destroy.”
“What are you talkin—”
Aza pounced on April, taking her off her feet and down to the hallway carpet. April gasped as they landed and began to yell, but Aza silenced her with a punch to the jaw. Another punch broke the girl’s nose. Before the third, April found her voice and shrieked, spraying Aza with warm blood. April struggled beneath Aza, but despite her larger size she remained right where Aza wanted. Aza attacked her face with a flurry of blows, adding her own shrieks to the wet smacking of flesh on flesh.
Aza could sense that the rest of the house had been roused by the beating. In her periphery, she saw a swarm of girls flood into the hallway on her left and Mr. and Mrs. Barker run at her from the right.
There wasn’t much time left, so she grabbed April by the hair and wrenched her head off the carpet. Aza lowered her lips to the girl’s ear, whispering the sweetest venom.
“I have come,” Aza said. “For I cannot be stopped. I have taken a piece of you that you will never again claim. The darkness has told me your secrets and I have dined upon your suffering. My name is Tragedy and I have a message for you.”
Chapter Ten
Friday 10:11 p.m.
Jake skidded his car to a halt in front of the large Victorian house on Cyprus Lane. He bolted from the vehicle and ran for the front door, glancing at his phone to reassure himself that he wasn’t too late. “Dani’s phone is still inside.”
“I still can’t believe you track your own daughter,” Jaina said from close behind.
Jake pounded on the front door. It was the only way he was able to locate her, so how the hell had Aza?
Jaina grabbed his elbow. “Jake, take a breath. You’re acting like a madman.”
Jake whirled on her. “My daughter is in there with that…thing.”
Jaina slapped a hand over Jake’s mouth. He fought her for a second, but then he understood.
“You hear that?” Jaina asked.
Jake spun away from Jaina, pulled his pistol out, and kicked the front door. He couldn’t pick out any singular voice, for it sounded as if an entire mob of people were screaming and shouting. Between kicks, he could hear them growing louder.
“I can’t see anything,” Jaina said from the nearby window.
On the fourth kick, the door frame shattered and the door slammed into an interior wall, echoing amid what sounded like the chaos of Hell itself.
“Dani!” Jake shouted, running into the house, leading with his pistol.
A short jaunt down a hallway landed him in the living room. Most of the shouting and screaming cut off as soon as he stepped onto the carpet, pistol sights high and searching.
A host of children occupied the living room, along with a pair of adults. Most were huddled around the couch, while the male—presumably Mr. Barker—stood next to an armchair on the far side of the room. A lone figure—the only one in the room he recognized—occupied the chair.
“Dani!” Jake shouted, making a move for his daughter.
Mr. Barker intercepted him, stepping in between Jake and Dani, who sat motionless in the armchair, blood coating her arms and face.
“You have one second to step aside,” Jake said, pointing his pistol at Mr. Barker’s forehead. It nearly touched the man’s sweat-drenched skin.
“Stewart!” Mrs. Barker shouted from her place among the throng of young girls. “Wha—Mr. Anderson?”
Jake grabbed Stewart by the collar and threw him aside. With the path to his daughter clear, Jake practically dove at her, falling to his knees at her side. “Dani,” he said, grabbing one of her hands. It was sticky with blood and didn’t respond to his squeeze. “Dani?” Again, no response. He couldn’t see any obvious injuries, but the blood coating his child was undeniable. And she wouldn’t mee
t his gaze.
Jake turned and pointed his gun at the full horde on the other side of the room. “What did you do to her?”
“Jesus, Jake,” Jaina said. She walked to his side and knelt next to him. “That gun won’t help things.”
Stewart positioned himself in the line of fire, keeping close to the girls, but it was Mrs. Barker that surged forward, only stopping her forward assault when Stewart grabbed her arm.
“What did we do?!” she shouted. “Your daughter is the one who should be answering questions. Look what she did to my baby!”
Like waves parting, the girls and Barkers moved away from couch, enough that Jake could see the badly beaten girl lying atop the cushions.
“Jesus,” Jaina said.
“Look what she did!” Mrs. Barker shouted. “Look what your little monster did!”
Jake’s head reeled. The room was spinning and his grip on his pistol weakened. Jaina nudged him enough to set him straight once more, whispering, “Jake?”
Jake stood, looked at his gun, and slowly lowered it to his side. “Is…is she…”
“She’s alive,” Stewart said. “We’ve called for an ambulance and for the police. Your girl is going to pay for this.”
Jake shook his head at a sharp pulse of pain that sprung from the base of his skull. “No, that’s not right.” He turned back to Dani. “Dani,” he said. “It’s Dad. Dani?”
“You need to leave,” Stewart said.
Jake pointed a finger at the man, fighting the urge to use his pistol. “I’m not fucking going anywhere until I get some answers.”
“Jake…” Jaina said.
Jake followed Jaina’s gaze to where she was holding up Dani’s hands. Dani still did nothing but stare straight ahead. Jake knelt and examined Dani’s knuckles. The skin was split and bleeding. A couple of the joints may have even been broken.
“Maybe she did…” Jaina said softly. “I told you; Aza can make a person…different.”
“No,” Jake said with a shake of his head. The momentary headache had sidetracked his thinking for a moment, but he re-seized what had brought him there. “Where’s Aza?” he shouted.
“We’ve already called the police,” Mrs. Barker said. “They’ll be here any minute. For you and your daughter.”
Jake stalked toward her, but Stewart stopped him again. Jake grabbed the man by the collar. “Where’s Aza?”
“Wh-What are you talking about?” Stewart asked over the renewed cries of some of the girls.
“Where’s A—Where’s Tragedy?” he asked.
Stewart frowned. “How do you know about her?”
Jaina touched Jake on the arm. She was trying to rein him in, he knew. Jake allowed her to grab his hand and he released it from Stewart’s collar. Jake took a step back and ran a hand through his hair. He shot Dani a glance, but saw the same stony gaze staring back.
Jake held up his hands. “I’m sorry.” He took another step back, fighting his ragged breath and desire for violence. “I just want to know what happened. And it’s important I know where Tragedy is. Where. Is she?”
Stewart looked at his wife and surveyed the huddled mass of girls that encircled the couch. He looked around the room and shook his head. “I don’t know. Why does that matter? Your daughter attacked April. Nearly beat her to death. Maybe you should be worrying about that.”
Jake ignored the increasing emotion in Stewart’s voice. Jake knew no matter what he said, it would only worsen matters. Jake turned his back to Stewart and pulled Jaina close. “Check the rest of the house. Find Aza. I’ll stay with Dani.”
Jaina nodded and headed for the door.
“Hey, where are you going?” Stewart asked, pointing a finger at Jaina as she disappeared around the corner. He made to go after Jaina, but Jake sidestepped into his path. Stewart balled a fist. Jake held his ground.
“April!” Mrs. Barker shouted, stealing everyone’s attention.
On the couch, April was stirring, licking her lips, and moaning. Stewart sprinted to her side and Jake followed after, though he was careful to keep his distance from the mob. He flicked another glance at Dani to see if she was reacting to April regaining consciousness, but she wasn’t. The pit in Jake’s stomach shifted and grew spikes.
“April, honey, can you hear me? It’s Mom,” Mrs. Barker said, cradling April’s head.
April groaned and tried to sit up, but she didn’t seem to have the strength. Stewart stepped in and helped to get her upright, despite Mrs. Barker’s pleas for caution.
Once April was sitting up, the other teenage girls piled onto the couch at her sides. April’s parents knelt in front of her.
April’s eyes were nearly swollen shut, but Jake could see her pupils dance around the room. Her gaze stopped when it landed on Jake. Jake flinched under the condemning look. It made him feel as if the damage to her face had been at his own hand.
Eyes still on Jake, April moved her lips, though he couldn’t hear any words.
“What, honey?” Mrs. Barker asked. She leaned closer.
April spoke again. Mrs. Barker shook her head. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
One of the girls tapped on Mrs. Barker’s shoulder, leaned in close to her ear and whispered something. Mrs. Barker stiffened and looked back at Jake. Then she turned back to April and put her hands on the girl’s leg. “Just relax, April, no need to talk. The ambulance will be here soon.”
April grunted and pointed a finger at Jake. “Dee—An—”
Mrs. Barker hushed April and squeezed onto the couch next to her, displacing one of the other girls. April pawed at Mrs. Barker and fought to stand up. Mrs. Barker pulled April back down.
“DS Anderson!” April bellowed, spraying blood from her swollen lips.
A hush fell over the room as all eyes went to Jake. He shook off the accusing stares and walked toward April. He knelt next to Stewart. April’s eyes hadn’t left him since she’d sat up.
April reached out and grabbed Jake’s shoulder. Both her parents reacted, like they were prepared to kill Jake on the spot, but neither did anything as April pulled herself forward. She practically fell on Jake, but he caught her. She rested her head on his shoulder. Her breath whistled and hissed. He could smell blood and spit.
“She—She told me to—t-tell you,” April whispered, each word sounding like it was taking something out of the girl. “We begin i—in darkness and die—all the same. What exists in between is—foolish self-denial. There is no truth. Just lies and darkness. I—I am unending and I am—h-here.”
“Fire!” Jaina shouted, running into the living room. She coughed and waved a hand in front of her face.
Jake carefully eased April into her parents’ waiting arms as he rocked back on his heels and looked at Jaina. Behind her, a single curl of smoke licked at the ceiling.
“The upstairs is on fire!” Jaina shouted, stomping her foot on the floor.
“Everyone out!” Stewart yelled.
Jake was nearly bowled over as the Barkers pushed past him, a tight group of preteen girls in tow. The single wisp of smoke grew and thickened against the living room ceiling. Jake could taste it now. It brought back stark memories of a small, eight-year-old girl with ashes in her hair and a violence in her eyes that Jake hadn’t understood at the time.
Jaina rushed over and yanked Jake to his feet, but he was still too stunned to move. They were Aza’s words that April had whispered to him. Another long-winded piece of nonsense from a demented mind. It meant nothing in and of itself, but Jake knew it meant everything to Aza.
“Grab Dani and let’s go,” Jaina said.
Hearing Dani’s name was enough to spark movement in his limbs. His mind still lagged behind, but he was moving again. Dani was the priority, at least for now.
Jake didn’t bother trying to snap Dani from whatever tortured state she was in, he just lifted her from the chair, slung her over his shoulder, and made for the front door.
The Barkers and their group were s
tanding on the sidewalk, one house down, huddled around April. Jake couldn’t stop reciting in his head what April had told him. What she claimed she’d been told to tell him. Jake couldn’t deny the evidence that Dani had assaulted April, but it was Aza’s words that had been given to him.
“Fuck this,” Jake said, hearing the distant trill of approaching sirens. “Let’s get out of here.”
Jaina skipped down the steps ahead of Jake and Dani. Together, they ran for Jake’s car.
Jaina stopped abruptly and Jake nearly ran into the back of her. “Oh my God,” she said, pointing at the driver’s window. “It’s a…smiley face.”
It was. Just like the image on the Millers’ upstairs bathroom mirror. Two dots for eyes and an upturned smile, drawn large across the entire window. Painted with blood.
The sirens were growing louder, the screeches needling his ears and burrowing into his brain. “Just get in,” Jake said. Dani had to be the priority.
Jaina opened up the back door and helped Jake set Aza inside. Jaina got in after her. Jake should have thanked her, but he didn’t. Instead, he hopped into the front seat, started the engine, and drove off as quickly as he could.
Chapter Eleven
Saturday 12:15 a.m.
Jake finally answered his phone as he pulled into the parking lot behind Jaina’s apartment complex. It had been ringing damn near the entire drive. A drive that shouldn’t have taken so long.
“What the hell is going on?” Peter shouted, forcing Jake to hold the phone away from his ear.
“Tell Peter I said ‘hi,’” Dani said as she climbed out of the car, following Jaina.
Jake got out of the car and leaned against the side, watching as Jaina and Dani walked inside. Dani had snapped from her stupor about halfway through their long drive, but hadn’t spoken. Neither had Jake, fearing her reaction. Needing to get her someplace safe first.
“Hey! What the hell is going on?” Peter asked. “I’ve been calling all night.”
Jake started pacing next to his car, trying to focus on the current moment. “Really? What’s up?” Jake asked, knowing it sounded painfully fake.
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