by Sonia Hartl
He broke my wrist, but I quickly recovered and caged his temples between my hands. I had half his head torn off—his neck resembling Stacey’s the night he killed her—when he backhanded me, sending me sprawling across the grass. As I dug my nails into the earth, he wrapped my hair around his hand and yanked me off the ground.
He dangled me in front of him while I swung my legs out, trying to catch him off balance. “What is this, Holly? Foreplay?”
“Maybe.” I went limp under his grasp. “I’ve been so lonely since you left Tulsa.”
“Really?” He gave me a slow grin as his eyes tracked my body. “I’m not sure if I should believe you. Why don’t you get on your knees and show me you’re sorry?”
Ugh. Gross. As soon as he loosened his grip, I swung forward, knocking him to the ground. He tried to flip over, but I was already on his back with his head in my grip. He smiled as I pulled, like he’d really come to enjoy pain. His skin tore in layers until I had his head all the way off. A muffled laugh bubbled out of his mouth as his eyes rolled to the back. Stringy bits of flesh and veins hung from his serrated neck. I crushed his skull between my hands.
His head would grow back, unfortunately, but without eyes, his arms and legs flailed about uselessly. Rose had torn Gwen to ribbons. Normally, Gwen outmatched us all in skill, but she’d underestimated Rose’s adrenaline-fueled anger. Frankie hefted Gwen’s temporarily broken body over his shoulder and took off running.
The two of us quickly untied Ida, who dropped to the ground, half healed and wincing. Rose stroked Ida’s sweaty forehead. The pain left Ida’s face as her limbs grew back, but her skin remained clammy. I left the two of them and bound Elton’s body to the birch tree. By the time I turned around, his head had grown back.
Ida stood on shaky legs, but she had enough strength to grab Elton by the hair and pull his face up to meet hers. “I’m going to take so much pleasure in killing you.”
“Don’t think you’ve won yet. I know for a fact you can’t do a thing to me without all three heirlooms, and Holly lost her locket years ago. But keep collecting them if you must.” He sent an air kiss to Rose. “Good luck at the bank, love.”
Underneath that flippant exterior, his pale skin vibrated with unchecked rage. He’d expected to waltz out of here with Ida’s heirloom, that it would be easy for him to take what he wanted, and it ate away at him that it wouldn’t be happening. I tilted my head as he held my gaze. That pull to him thrummed in my blood, but I couldn’t see anything of the boy I’d been drawn to. He’d been soft once. Did something happen to make him this hard, this unyielding? Or had he always been this way, and I just had failed to see it?
Rose stuffed her bandanna into his mouth to keep him quiet.
While Ida rested against a headstone, Rose and I uncovered the rest of Bea’s coffin. I lifted the lid, not really knowing what we’d find. It wasn’t a lot. Some teeth and a tiny glass horse with a silver mane and tail stuck in some waxy substance. Instead of waiting to see if Ida wanted a moment with her sister’s remains, I plucked out the horse and shut the lid again. She didn’t need to see what was left of Bea.
I wiped off the wax and handed the figurine to Ida. “I got it.”
She held up the horse, and the tiny drop of her living blood encased inside its body shone in the moonlight. “Thank you.” Ida palmed her horse, tucking it into her pocket. “Let’s fill in the grave and go. I don’t want to be here anymore.”
Rose and I picked up our shovels. Ida helped, a sense of peace overcoming her features as she pushed dirt back into the grave. Maybe she needed this part. Some time to say a proper goodbye to her sister and lay her memory to rest for the final time.
Once we finished, the three of us held hands while Elton struggled against the metal cables that held him bound to a tree. It was so tempting to rip off his head again. Frankie would probably come back to untie him; that boy had serious conflicting loyalties, but I had a feeling we’d need him eventually. Ida bowed her head and whispered words to Bea’s grave that I couldn’t hear and weren’t for me, anyway. We left with a soft and calming breeze blowing over the grass.
“He didn’t try that hard.” Ida kicked a pop can lying in the gutter. “With Gwen and Frankie at his side, he should’ve been able to take us. Did you see the way he was laughing? He doesn’t think we’ll be able to finish him.”
“We got lucky,” Rose said.
“Only because he thinks my locket is lost.” I never did tell him Stacey took it the night I turned her. He seemed really interested in what had happened to it, to the point where I believed he would’ve hunted her down if I told him she’d stolen it. I figured I’d put her through enough already. “As long as he never finds out Stacey has it, we should be okay.”
When we got back to the apartment, we found Stacey leaning against the front door.
“It’s about damn time you all came home.” She gave a light sniff. “The three of you smell like dirt and old death.”
“It’s been a long night.” I sighed. “What do you want?”
“The real question should be, what do you want?” She reached into her pocket and pulled out my locket, letting it dangle between her thin fingers.
Chapter Fifteen
The silver locket had tarnished to near black, but I could still make out the ornate letter B carved into the surface. If I flicked open the small latch, I’d find a drop of my living blood stored inside. Sealed away for all these years. I reached for it, but Stacey pulled her hand back.
“Not yet.” She tucked my heirloom into a black leather bag she held in her clenched fist. “First, there are things I want in exchange.”
“Can we do the negotiations inside?” I was covered in grave dirt, my fingers were still sticky from decomposed body wax, and I just wanted a hot bath and a fresh meal. Maybe there was something to Rose bringing kills home after all. “I need to change.”
Rose pushed open the front door, swept out her arm, and allowed us all to pass. Now that we had Stacey here, we wouldn’t let her leave again without giving up that locket. I went into Rose’s room and changed into jeans and a cozy sweater I’d stolen out of the college dorms. After a detour into the bathroom to wash my face and hands, I returned to the main room to find Rose and Ida guarding Stacey, both wearing matching scowls.
Stacey walked in circles, examining the space I’d come to think of as home. She stopped in front of Ida’s leg lamp and tilted her head. “Cute.”
“I’d offer you something to drink, but I don’t have anyone on hand right now,” Rose said.
Stacey curled her lip. “Do you normally keep bodies on hand?”
I opened my mouth to point out her little feeding ground of minions but promptly shut it again. We had plenty of time to argue after I had possession of my heirloom.
“So what if she does?” A muscle ticked in Ida’s jaw. Which nearly made me laugh, considering how much she hated it when Rose brought her kills home. “You wanted to talk. Let’s get to the point, then.”
“You’re killing Elton.” Stacey held my gaze. “I want in.”
Ida let out a short laugh. “There’s nothing you can do. It has to be us.”
“I assumed.” Stacey gave Ida a bland stare. “But I still think I can help. I can spy on him at school. He probably won’t remember me; I was just another dead body to him, which is an advantage if you want to find out how he plans to retaliate.”
“How do we know we can trust you?” Rose asked.
“Because I’m going to give Holly her heirloom. And mine as well, as a show of good faith.” She removed both lockets from her bag and pressed them into my palm. A jolt went through me at the contact. Standing here with both Stacey and our lockets, it was like that first summer again, but this time we’d become the ghosts we’d chased. “I’m not a hundred percent ready to forgive you.”
“What do you want?” The tarnished silver was cool against my already cold hand.
Stacey’s locket opened on the left while mine
opened on the right. They linked together by a small latch on the opposite side. They’d been sister lockets. From what we’d been able to uncover, Edie’s sister died a few years before her. The lockets had been a gift from their father.
“Once it’s done, I never want to come back here again,” Stacey said.
“I think we can all agree to that.” I looked to Rose and Ida, who nodded in return. The first confirmation I’d had that when this was over, maybe we wouldn’t have to go our separate ways. They’d become like family to me in this short time, and the idea of being on my own again made the large expanse of immortality near unbearable. “What else?”
Stacey trailed her hand over the dining-room table. “I want equal input on location and a vote in the final decision. Also, no moving on a whim without notice.”
“I can agree to that.” It didn’t seem fair that Stacey got stuck dragging behind me anymore than it was fair for me to be at the mercy of Elton’s whims.
“Excellent.” Stacey clapped her hands together. “Now, tell me what your plans are, because I’d love to get the hell out of Michigan as soon as possible.”
“Aren’t you going to miss all your new friends?” I smirked because I couldn’t resist taking a dig at her bizarre lifestyle, though I found it more perplexing than disturbing.
Stacey clenched her fist tight enough to turn her knuckles translucent. “You’re right, I absolutely love living in my dead mother’s house, which is falling apart because the state can’t find anyone to buy the place with a history of a kidnapping and double murder.”
I knotted my fingers behind my back. “Even though I still maintain that wasn’t my fault, I’m sorry it went down like that. I had expected to be labeled a runaway.”
“But that’s not what happened, is it?” She glared.
“Look, we can spend all night rehashing the past.” I held out my palm, dropping the argument before it spiraled again. “But I won’t even have that soon enough, so it all feels kind of pointless.” I ignored Stacey’s quizzical look. I still wasn’t sure how much I wanted to tell her about killing Elton, even though she’d handed over the key to ending him. “What really matters is how we’re going to stop it from happening again.”
“I wasn’t supposed to be here.” Stacey kicked her foot against one of the wicker chairs. “I’m not really a part of this, but I’m in. I’ll do it for who I used to be.” She swallowed as she looked up at me. “And I’ll do it for who you used to be too.”
“Thank you.” It wasn’t forgiveness, exactly, but I’d take it. “We don’t have a lot of time left. Let’s figure out where we should go from here.”
We worked into the night, deciding how to use Stacey and what steps to take next. Ida and Rose wanted me to be honest with Parker and talk to her about the real-world consequences of immortality, but I was hesitant. Even though I was sure she suspected the truth, it was a huge risk, opening up myself that way.
I had to be careful.
Since Stacey volunteered to spy, we worked out a plan to put her in action. We spent a few hours arguing over whom she should follow and what she should do, but eventually we couldn’t put it off any longer. When the sun rose, the four of us took the bus back to the high school. We’d decided Stacey should follow Frankie over Elton. We knew what Elton’s plans were, but Frankie was a wild card. He claimed he cared about Ida, but he still sold us out. We needed to know if he could be flipped, and if so, what purpose we’d use him for.
I’d put on my locket, and it surprised me how fast I’d become attached to it again. It felt as though it were a part of me. It belonged on me. While I’d been separated from it, I hadn’t given it much thought beyond the memories I associated with it. But now that I had it back, it molded against my skin like it couldn’t bear to be separated from me again. Maybe when I died it had become something other too.
We stopped by the school, and Stacey held us back before crossing the street. “If they figure me out, don’t let them starve me.”
“We’ll come for you.” I’d failed Stacey once. I wouldn’t do so again.
As soon as we crossed the street, time began to push at me again. My clothes got tighter, and my skin shrunk against my bones. I stretched my arms out, like I could shake it off.
“What are you doing?” Stacey let out a short laugh.
I scrunched my shoulders. “Don’t you feel it?”
“The extra gravity?” Stacey smiled as she shook her head. “Yeah.
It’s weird, but it’s probably just ley lines or whatever. Something we’re sensitive to in our undead state.”
“It’s time,” Rose said. “It’s trying to shove us out because we don’t belong here.”
The smile died on Stacey’s lips. “That’s disconcerting.”
“It’s fine. You’ll get used to it.” Rose shoved Stacey through the front door. “Follow Frankie. He’s the ox-shaped guy with caterpillar eyebrows and a bowl cut.”
As soon as Stacey made it through the metal detectors, Rose turned back to me. “Keep an eye on her. We’re going to the library. We need to double-check the info Frankie gave us, since we’re not sure if what he told us can be trusted.”
Before I could open my mouth to protest, Rose and Ida hurried down the front steps and headed down the street. Traitors. With a long-winded sigh, I pulled on the neck of my sweater and pushed open the front doors of the school.
It wasn’t just time pushing at me. Students jammed the halls like a pack of rats in a narrow sewer, their different scents mingling with the overt sweetness of sweat and body spray. There hadn’t been nearly this many people in the halls when I went here. No one wanted to get near me, so they shoved other people into my path, bouncing me against the wall of lockers.
I made my way to the senior hall, near the abandoned classroom where I’d met with Rose the first time we came here. A pair of hands shoved me into a room from behind and slammed the door shut. Fangs bared, I spun around, prepared to make a meal out of whoever thought they could play, and stopped short at the sight of Parker’s shaking frame, her face twisted in rage.
“What are you doing here?” She attempted to push me again, but I was prepared this time and adjusted my stance. “You said you weren’t coming back. It’s not safe for you here.”
She flung her hands out again, and I grabbed her wrists. “Worried about me?”
Her eyes widened as her pulse picked up beneath my grasp. I let my thumb move, slowly, trailing it over that tiny beat of life in her wrist. She sucked in a sharp breath, and I released my grip, shoving my hands into my hair as I turned away.
She put a tentative hand on my shoulder. “I don’t know what you’re planning to do, or what heirlooms have to do with it, but you’re my friend. So, yes, I’m worried.”
I grabbed her arms, backing her against the wall. “What do you know about heirlooms?”
“I overheard you and Rose talking about them the night I crashed at your apartment. I asked Elton about them, but he got really quiet and wouldn’t say. It scared me.”
God damn it. I ground my teeth hard enough to chip one, and it grew back before I could spit out the shard. Frankie hadn’t sold us out after all. Parker had. Unknowingly, but still, Elton could use her questions about heirlooms as an opening to show her just how they worked.
I narrowed my eyes. “You said you couldn’t remember anything that night.”
“I lied.” She ducked her head and blushed. “I was embarrassed, and I heard some things I’m still trying to process.”
Fuck me. Rose and Ida had a whole conversation about my feelings for Parker. Feelings that I was still figuring out, regardless of their ideas. It wasn’t like I noticed the way she bit her full bottom lip or how soft her mouth would feel against mine or … I shook my head. We’d also talked about killing her, so there were multiple things to process.
“What things?” I searched her expression for some clue of how to proceed.
“I’m supposed to move in with Elton,” she
said. “I need a place to live, but I don’t know if I want to be his girlfriend anymore.”
My heart sped up. This was good news. If she could put him off for another week and a half, we might be able to pull this off. So long as he didn’t pull her back into his web. “Is it because you’ve finally seen that he’s a manipulative asshole?”
“A little.” She lowered her gaze to her feet. “And I think I like someone else.”
I’d become very aware of how close we stood, my leg positioned between hers, my hands still wrapped around her arms. I slid my grip upwards, over her shoulders. My fingers trailed along her neck. Little goose bumps dotted her skin, and I badly wanted to sink my teeth into her tender skin. Not to hurt but to feel her. Taste her.
“Who?” That word hung in the air like a dandelion seed, soft and light.
She stood two inches shorter than me, and she tilted her face up to meet mine. “I think you know already.”
“Maybe.” I’d gotten the feeling Parker was teasing me, and I didn’t wholly mind. “But it’s still your move. What do you want?”
She wrapped her arms around my waist and pushed up on her toes. With her lips a breath away from touching mine, she paused. “Are we really doing this?”
“Only if you want to.” I choked on the last word. My fingers and toes tingled. My entire body was taut, poised, waiting for her answer.
She closed the distance.
Her lips, softer than I imagined, parted and her tongue swept over mine. My fingers got lost in her hair. I tilted my head, deepening the kiss as I pressed my body against hers, wanting closer, more, everything.
I’d done a lot of kissing in thirty years, some of it nice, and some of it not as nice, but this—None of my kisses had been like this. I never wanted to do anything else, be anywhere else, but right there with Parker’s delicate touch slowly undoing me.
