“Whether or not you remember,” I said, “whether or not you believe us, that doesn’t make what we’re saying any less true. High Bridge is an epicenter of evil in this town. There are demonic forces that live beneath it—forces that sometimes lure, and sometimes outright drag, people to their deaths. The demons have been after me all year. Soon, they’ll come after you.”
“Why us?” Kaylen asked in a small voice.
“Because the demons know that I care about you—that Joshua cares about you, and that Jillian does, too. That’s just how the demons operate. As far as we can tell, it’s an ancient cycle . . . and we intend to stop it.”
As I finished, Jillian stepped forward and faced her friends squarely. She did so with more conviction than I’d ever seen her show in front of them and, in that moment, I was pretty proud of her.
“So here’s how it’s going to go down,” she announced, placing her hands on the hips of her cocktail dress. “You guys are going to take this keg, move it into another truck, and go back inside to prom. Some of you will try to forget about what you’ve seen here tonight and probably use what’s inside the keg to do so; I’m guessing that those people will be the ones who stop talking to us in the halls at school. But some of you are going to think about what we’ve shown you. About what we’ve said. Those people will be the ones who show up tonight, after prom, to help us. Eleven p.m., near the southern entrance of High Bridge. So . . . think about which side you really want to be on.”
After that, there wasn’t anything else to say. The choice now lay in the hands of the non-Seers. This fact did not bring me much comfort, though, when I considered what happened next.
Acting as though they’d all heard some unspoken cue, the non-Seers began to move. Not to embrace us or attack us, but to leave. Without speaking, the boys in the truck bed went back to work on the keg, tipping it out of its ice-filled trash can so that they could roll it off the edge of the tailgate. I stepped aside for them, feeling defeated when none of them—not one—spared me a second glance.
The non-Seers climbed out of the truck and waited expectantly below the tailgate. After some hesitation, Joshua and Scott lowered the keg down to them. The other boys hefted it over to O’Reilly’s truck, which he’d moved over here before my little performance. They loaded the keg quickly, letting it roll noisily to the back of the bed.
With that task completed, everyone seemed to scurry like rats back into the gym. They did so just as silently as before: no good-byes; no screw-yous; no comments of any kind.
Only O’Reilly and Kaylen remained, although she stood with her arms folded across her chest, staunchly refusing to look back at us. O’Reilly just rocked awkwardly on his heels. Like his friends, he didn’t say anything for a few long minutes. Finally, with his hands shoved firmly in his pockets, he glanced up at Joshua.
“Sorry, dude,” he murmured. Then he jerked his head at Kaylen and the two of them spun around, moving back toward the gym as fast as they could.
Chapter
THIRTY-ONE
After my epic failure to get even one non-Seer to leave prom and join us in our fight, we had no choice but to move forward with our final preparations. Now standing near the fire pit at Robber’s Cave Park, I couldn’t fight the sensation that my clock was winding down, far too fast. It had to be almost ten thirty, and I still hadn’t finished transferring my glow to all the young Seers; Felix and Jillian waited for their turns.
On the plus side, I didn’t have a difficult time summoning the glow—credit that to my growing anxiety, I supposed. On the downside, my mouth felt like the Sahara after I’d had to swallow gulp after gulp of Transfer Powder. By now, I did not think it had a pleasant aftertaste.
“Just two more times,” Joshua murmured, handing me another bottle of water during a quick break. I took a huge gulp of the warm liquid, wishing that someone had thought to bring a cooler. Once finished, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.
“Okay, Jill—let’s go.”
Jillian reached down to the jar of powder at our feet and scooped out two handfuls for us. I held out my palm and, as soon as she’d poured my share of the powder into it, I closed my eyes and called forth my glow. It shined in the dark like a beacon; like a warning.
Soon Jillian had a glow of her own, so I signaled that the Seers should just keep chanting and send Felix forward; why extinguish my glow again, if I didn’t have to?
Felix took everyone by surprise, however, when he shook his head. “No, I’m not going to do it. I don’t want the glow.”
I made a small noise of disbelief. “After everything you put Joshua and me through over this? Why not?”
“Because if I glow,” he explained quietly, “then I can’t get near her. If we can somehow get Gaby out of there, I don’t want to be able to hurt her—it just isn’t worth it, to me.”
Some of the other Seers began to object, bemoaning this loss in their already-thin ranks. But I kept silent and watched Felix. He met my gaze squarely, wordlessly asking me to understand. And I did.
I nodded emphatically, folded my arms across my chest, and concentrated until my glow vanished. When Annabel protested further, I held up one hand to silence her.
“Felix can do whatever he thinks will work—we all can.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked. She cast a glance at Joshua, who in turn frowned at me. He was already suspicious about what I might do tonight, I knew. But I just shrugged defensively, picked up the jar of Transfer Powder, and turned in a direction where the Seer circle had broken by a few feet. For those watching behind me, I made a show of screwing the lid back onto the jar, but not before I’d scooped out as much of the power as I could stuff into both pockets of my jeans. Then I strode over to a rock bench near the edge of the circle and tucked the jar back into Annabel’s bag. That performance over, I turned to face the frowning, bemused Seers.
“What I mean, Annabel, is that we all have to be flexible tonight. We have to keep in mind that we don’t know what the glow will do to the wraiths, if they get close to it. Mine has scared them off before, but I’ve never actually touched one. So just be careful, okay? For yourselves, and for them. If you can, try to remember that they were people once, too.”
Annabel scowled, but after a moment, she conceded reluctantly. “Okay. We’ll be careful.”
“So then: should we go?” I asked, changing the subject before the Seers decided to argue Felix’s decision further. Without waiting for their answer, I walked over to Joshua and offered him my hand. Still frowning, he took it and let me lead him away from the Seer circle, toward his truck.
“What are you doing?” he whispered, when we were far enough away that his family couldn’t hear us.
“Taking over this operation,” I replied with a faint laugh. “From here on out, we’re going to do things my way.”
Joshua seemed troubled by that answer, but he didn’t argue with it. He simply followed me to his truck and waited while I opened its passenger door. When he circled to the driver’s side, however, I took advantage of the fact that he was out of sight and reached surreptitiously under my seat. I removed the purse that I’d stowed there before we left for the prom, took out the handgun, and tucked it between the small of my back and the waist of my jeans. Then, after quickly rearranging my cashmere top so that it hid the gun, I pulled myself into the truck, shut my door, and flashed Joshua my brightest, most innocent smile.
Although we had so little time left until midnight, the seven of us sat in our respective vehicles and waited by the river, and hoping that a crowd of non-Seers would actually show up to help us. But as the minutes ticked past eleven p.m. and no one else arrived—not even my mother—I knew we were alone in this battle.
Seven kids against the forces of hell. As Jillian had once said, I didn’t like our odds.
That didn’t mean we could spend all night cowering in our cars, either. With a battalion of helpers or a few scared Mayhews, I intended to end the demonic t
hreats that night.
So I opened my door first, jerked my head quickly at Joshua, and then stepped out of the truck. Clearly trying to appear strong, Joshua followed my lead. As we joined each other in front of his truck, his hand shook as he took mine. That wasn’t a show of weakness but of bravery, especially when he moved with me to climb down the dark embankment to the river. Joshua and I waited for the other Seers at the bottom of the hill, still holding hands and standing as close as possible to each other.
“Okay,” I said, once they’d all joined us, “I think that all of you should stay down here while you open the netherworld. Jillian and I will go up to High Bridge, to act as bait.”
Immediately, everyone but Jillian flashed me suspicious looks.
“Why would we stay down here,” Annabel demanded, “if you guys are going to start the fight up there?”
“And why is Jillian going with you?” Joshua asked, frowning heavily. “Why not—”
“Wait,” I interrupted, holding up my hand and angling my head slightly over my shoulder. “Does anyone else smell that?”
Joshua opened his mouth, probably to probe my motives further, but then he popped it shut and sniffed the air. “Campfire?” he mused. “Or is that just from our clothes because of this afternoon?”
“No,” Felix said, coming up beside us and sniffing the air as well. “That smells like fresh smoke.”
“Someone’s here,” I hissed. I let go of Joshua’s hand and, before anyone else had even thought to move, I took off in a sprint down the riverbank. I heard other footsteps pounding into the mud behind me, but I didn’t slow down to see who’d followed me.
I’d made it at least a hundred feet along the bank, when I saw something flickering reddish in the tree line. I faltered, only for a second, before altering my course toward the light of what could only be a fire. When I broke through the trees, I came to a stunned stop.
Two people sat beside a small campfire, laughing and talking until I stumbled into their clearing. Joshua followed behind me, as did Jillian and Scott, but my three friends froze just as quickly as I had. Then everyone—including myself, the three Seers behind me, and our two unexpected guests—stared at one another in surprise.
“Kaylen?” Jillian gasped first, addressing the person sitting closest to us on the right. Kaylen Patton, still in her prom dress, gave us all a slight wave.
“Hi, guys,” she said, getting to her feet and then brushing off some pine needles that her overcoat must have picked up from the forest floor. Across the fire from her, David O’Reilly did the same, mimicking her wave as he did so.
“What up, yo?” he joked, but his tone belied how nervous he actually felt.
“I thought you guys were . . . where did you guys . . . ?” I paused to amend myself, and then asked, “Where are your cars?”
Kaylen laughed and came over to stand closer to us, gesturing for O’Reilly to do the same. With an unmistakable look of adoration, he obeyed.
“I made Chelsea drop us off,” Kaylen explained as O’Reilly joined her. “Whatever goes down tonight, I don’t want it hurting O’Reilly’s truck or my car. I mean, I drive a BMW for God’s sake.”
O’Reilly snorted derisively but, when he thought we were otherwise distracted, he furtively placed his hand on the small of Kaylen’s back. When she didn’t brush it away, I wondered whether prom wasn’t a total waste for him.
“What about the fire?” Joshua asked.
“The lady was cold,” O’Reilly said, giving Kaylen a sly half grin—one that she surprised me by returning.
“Glad you let her make it, then,” Joshua teased. O’Reilly socked his friend in the arm in response. While Joshua laughed and rubbed his shoulder, I placed my hands on my hips and frowned at our non-Seer guests.
“Are you guys sure you want to be here?” I asked. “Because earlier tonight—”
“Earlier tonight,” Kaylen cut me off, “we were scared. And rightfully so, I might add. But we had a long talk at prom, and we . . . we both remember something happening, that night.”
Across from me, I saw Jillian stiffen. Kaylen was referring to the night that the wraiths had possessed her, so that Eli could use her, O’Reilly, and Scott to threaten Jillian—not one of Jillian’s best nights, to say the least.
“Neither of us remembers much,” O’Reilly said. “Just feeling weird and then suddenly becoming conscious during some total chaos on the bridge. But . . . still . . .”
When he trailed off, looking unnerved, Kaylen finished the thought for him. “But we both know enough that we don’t want it to happen again. And I definitely don’t want to spend eternity with whatever did that to us.”
Everyone fell silent for a moment, some staring up at the stars or glancing awkwardly at their shoes. Then Jillian shocked the group by throwing her arms around Kaylen and pulling her into a big hug.
Kaylen blinked rapidly and then recovered enough to shrug carelessly. “Okay, okay,” she said with feigned indifference. “Let’s not make a big deal about it.”
Even so, we could all see the quick, fierce hug that she gave Jillian back. O’Reilly let them have their small moment of real friendship before clearing his throat loudly.
“So, can we get this show on the road?”
“Fine by me,” I said.
I didn’t express it aloud, but I felt an enormous wave of gratitude that O’Reilly and Kaylen had joined us. True, their presence only swelled the Seers’ ranks by two—but that was still two more people who cared about Joshua and would stand with him, long after I’d disappeared.
“Should we . . . initiate them?” Joshua asked, gesturing to me. I realized that he meant the transfer spell—something we hadn’t yet performed on a non-Seer.
“I’m not sure.” I caught Kaylen’s gaze and then O’Reilly’s. “What do you two think about being able to do what I did earlier, outside of prom?”
“You mean the fireball thing?” O’Reilly asked. “Oh, hell yeah. That’s pretty much the only reason I’m here tonight.”
Kaylen looked less enthusiastic, but she also gave her assent. “I’m cool with it. As long as it doesn’t ruin my dress.”
“It’s silk-friendly,” I promised, fighting a smile. Then I turned to Joshua and, taking his hand, nodded. He craned his neck toward the trees and called out, “Annabel, Drew—over here! And bring the Transfer Powder.”
Less than a minute later, Annabel broke through the tree line; she and her crew must have been waiting nearby for our signal. Seeing Drew, Hayley, and then Felix step into the light after her, I gave Joshua’s hand a quick squeeze and let it go so that I could move closer to what would probably be the center of the Seer circle. I froze, however, when a fifth figure stepped out of the darkness.
“Hello,” my mother said quietly. “Sorry I’m late.”
I stood motionless, silent. Not finding her car at the entrance to the bridge earlier, I’d experienced a flood of opposing emotions: disappointment; relief; terror that my plan wouldn’t work without her. But now that she was really here, I had no idea what to say or do.
Joshua did, though. He held out his hand and introduced himself politely. “Hello, ma’am. I’m Joshua Mayhew.”
My mother’s eyes darted between him and me, taking in the way that our bodies seemed to angle toward each other—noticing every little detail, like any good mother should. Instead of shaking his hand, however, she actually pulled him in for a hug. Then she leaned back to appraise him, recognition dawning on her face. With her hands still clasped to his shoulders, she looked quickly up at me.
“The Bible kid?” she asked. “The one who came to my house this fall?”
I nodded sheepishly. “I was with him that day. I . . . I wanted to see you.”
For a moment, I couldn’t read her expression. Then I realized that she was trying not to cry.
“It’s . . . it’s good to see you again,” she said roughly, drawing Joshua into another hug before releasing him and wiping at her eyes. Once
she’d regained her composure, she turned to the rest of the group. “Nice to meet all of you. I’m Liz Ashley . . . Amelia’s mother.”
I could tell by all the stunned, open mouths that no one except Joshua had expected this turn of events. Still, the Seers managed to handle it gracefully, welcoming my mother into the Seer circle so that she could wait for her turn to receive the glow.
I let Annabel dump a few servings of Transfer Powder into my hand and then moved to the center of the circle to wait for my first nonsupernatural initiate. O’Reilly stepped forward, accepted his handful of Transfer Powder from Annabel, and came to face me. As the Seers linked hands and began to chant, I could see his eyes widen; they only grew bigger when my glow burst forth. But O’Reilly held strong, standing motionless in front of me until I told him to consume the powder. I took a portion of mine as well and then waited with him, praying that something happened.
A full minute passed before a faint orange light began to spread across O’Reilly’s skin. It never grew to that raging brightness that my glow had, nor did it really resemble the glows of the Seers; but still—it was something.
“Man,” O’Reilly groaned, examining the dim light on his skin, “my fire sucks.”
Snickering, Kaylen walked up next to him with her own handful of Transfer Powder. “Step back and watch a pro do it,” she boasted.
Kaylen waited until O’Reilly took her former place in the Seer circle before turning to me with a fierce look. “Let’s do this,” she nearly growled, wearing an intent expression that I imagined she usually saved for beauty pageants—and now, supernatural rituals.
Again, we swallowed the powder simultaneously and, again, the glow took a long time to materialize. When it eventually did appear, Kaylen’s glow was no brighter than O’Reilly’s. So she trotted back to him sullenly, scowling deeper with each playful taunt that he and Jillian gave her.