I struggled to climb the ladder, my feet hardly able to reach the next rung. The pounding rain exacerbated my fear of slipping mid-step. I froze at the sight of lightning flashing in the distance. The weather was having an identity crisis, being bright and sunny one minute and dark and stormy the next. It was even stranger that the rain clouds seemed to only hover over the stretch of houses down the block.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by a derisive laugh. “If you’re too scared, go back inside.”

Trembling, I glanced up at the dark-haired boy on the roof. He looked like he popped out of a Brooks Brothers ad, with his pale blue button down shirt, khakis, and plaid sweater vest.

“I—I’m not scared.”

“Then come on, miedosa. You’ll miss the surprise. It’s just rain. Don’t you trust me?” he asked, holding out his hand.

“Tessa?”

Five pairs of eyes were on me at the dinner table. “Sorry, I uh spaced out,” I told my father, gripping my fork.

“Oliver was telling us about Chace,” he said, concerned by my absentmindedness. “I’m sure that was a shock. Is that why you haven’t touched your food? We made your favorite.”

I realized that I hadn’t taken a single bite. Everything after the hospital visit was a blur. I could not even remember leaving Will’s room.

Shaking my head, I put down the fork. “I’m not that hungry. Can I go upstairs?”

“Of course, sweetheart. You’ve had a very long day. If you need anything, just ask…and I don’t want you to worry,” assured my mother. “I spoke with Rosa while you were at the hospital and she brought over some herbs to keep out unwanted visitors. I placed them outside the school and art gallery. That horrible girl won’t set a foot in this house or she’ll be wishing that she never met me.”

Getting out of my chair, I thanked her before heading up to my room. Elena and Belmont appeared by the door as I sat on the edge of my bed, both knowing the cause of my odd behavior. Will’s message was clearly on their minds as well but for different reasons.

“Okay, I’ll say it. If Nelson’s message is real and not Elena imagining that he’s doing some military code in his sleep, what does it mean?” he asked, crossing his arms. “Is this Damon guy the bad reaper?”

“No, it’s not possible,” I insisted. Even as the words left my lips, I felt uneasy, as if I was trying to convince myself more than him. “He’s in Erinyes. It’s like a fortress. You’d have an easier time breaking out of Alcatraz.”

“Well, why would he say Damon’s name?” asked Elena, joining me on the bed. “What are you thinking? Whatever you decide, we’re with you. Right?”

Belmont nodded half-heartedly. When I wasn’t remembering old memories, I was mulling over a terrible, insane idea.

“We need to talk to Vivienne.”

“WHAT?!” they yelled.

Reacting as well as I expected, I waited a few minutes in case my mother and Oliver heard them. Skipping my favorite meal plus two ghosts shouting were not a good combination.

“I have a hunch and if I’m right, Amara is involved somehow,” I said, recalling her comment about Damon. “We can’t visit her by ourselves. Going to the Underworld is dangerous and to put it mildly, we’re not besties. She’ll never give me a real answer. Vivienne can help with that. They used to be friends.”

“Where did they meet, the psycho convention?” remarked Belmont, uncomfortable with a return to the Underworld. “Last time we saw her, she nearly stabbed you, Byrne. Alternative, because anything is better than that plan. We tell your parents about what happened at the hospital.”

“No. No mentioning Damon to them,” I said, tersely. “If we tell them about the message, I’ll never leave this house and then good luck finding out who murdered you. As much as I hate to say it, Vivienne is our best option.”

Elena scowled. “And what, she’ll help out of the goodness of her heart?”

“No,” I replied, honestly. “She’ll want something but we’ll deal with that later. Talking to Amara is more important. She might be the key to solving this whole thing.”

Neither she nor Belmont were in agreement with the plan. Doubtful that Vivienne would be deterred by enchanted herbs, I slipped a note under the front door later that night, asking her to meet me at the Blue Moon café. Between Elena and Belmont telling me the hundreds of ways the plan could go horribly wrong, my parents checking on me every five minutes to ensure the trial hadn’t turned me into the poster child for crippling depression, and Parker begging me for a second chance through a barrage of texts, I prepared for the clandestine meeting.

“If you order one more of these, I’ll need to cut you off,” joked Craig, a junior who was known as the wrestling king of Belmont High. He placed my third gingerbread latte and a soy latte on the table. “Should I confiscate your keys?”

“Heh, I’m waiting for someone. They’re running late,” I said, the clock on the wall moving to half past noon.

“You better not be getting stood up. I uh heard you and Parker were on the outs.”

I gripped the paper cup, partially because the mention of Parker made my blood boil but also because I could guess his true intentions. Elena pretended to gag when he leaned against the table, purposely showing off his massive biceps.

“If you’re looking for a date for the winter ball, I’m—”

He winced when Vivienne gripped his shoulder, her nails digging into the fabric of his short-sleeved shirt. “It’s not your day, champ. Trust me, it will never be your day. Go back to slinging coffees and writing your lame Star Wars fanfiction.” She turned towards Elena as he walked back to the counter, rubbing his shoulder in pain. “You’re in my seat, pom poms.”

“I don’t think I am,” she said, her eyes narrowed. “I’d rather watch everyone in here think you’re a crazy person for talking to an empty chair.”

“El,” I whispered.

Elena pursed her lips before moving to the empty chair across from me. With a smug smirk, Vivienne took her place and picked up the second cup.

“Oh, you remembered my fave. How sweet. Do mommy, daddy, and big brother Ollie know that we’re here?” She faked a gasp. “Is this a secret? Someone’s being naughty.”

“I’m not here for games, Vivienne.” I was not in the mood for her antics. “I asked you to meet me at noon.”

She took a sip of her latte. “Wanted to make sure it wasn’t a trap. Oliver could’ve sent that note to ship me back to Erinyes. I heard I was a hot topic at your trial. I bet those sordid details made Lionel blush.”

I did not dare look at Elena, who was unaware of our romantic past. “I need you to take me to the Underworld. I need to talk to Amara. I know you’ll want something in return so—”

“Not at all, sweetie.” She delicately traced the inside of my palm. “For you, anything.”

Only a fool would believe in her sudden bout of selflessness and compassion. The way she eyed Elena, especially when she kept her hand on mine, I knew that she had ulterior motives, at least one being to bring the petite curly-haired teen to her breaking point. As I stood up to leave, I bumped into someone, causing them to spill their drink.

“Mrs. Belmont, I’m so sorry.” I frantically grabbed a bunch of napkins to clean up the mess. “I wasn’t paying attention. If you need new shoes, I’ll pay for them. Well, not right away…we can do a monthly payment plan or something. Your shoes probably cost a lot.”

“Tessa, Tessa, it’s fine,” she said, her melodious laugh carrying throughout the café.

Of course a woman as wealthy as her could brush off a stain like it was nothing. The shoes were apparently a gift from Antonio Vitale himself, the famous designer sending her a new pair every month.

“No need to make a fuss, dear. I haven’t seen you since the memorial service. I paid you a visit in the hospital. I was beginning to think you’d never wake up.” She placed her hand on my arm in a comforting manner. “Rhys told me about that nasty business in the woods. It must’ve been terrifying.”

“Oh, it was…I’m fine, really,” I said, placing the wad of napkins I had gathered on the table. “I’m glad to see that you’re doing better too.”

“Such a sweetheart. I should get going. I don’t want to be late for my appointment,” she said, cradling her slightly larger belly. “It was wonderful to see you. I suppose we’ll meet again at the winter ball. Charles and I are making an important announcement there.”

Her kind smile was swiftly wiped from her face. It was a sudden change from the sweet woman with a heart of gold.

“Vivienne.” The icy tone in her voice and the way she purposely knocked into Vivienne’s shoulder as she passed took me by surprise.

“Rhys wasn’t kidding that she doesn’t like you,” I said, watching her leave the café .

Vivienne was silent, staring glassy-eyed at the wall of photos of Belmont Falls. With a snap of my fingers, she seemed to be shaken from a daydream.

“Are you okay?”

“Just imagining her on fire…falling down the stairs…poured into a vat of acid…” she said, a wishful expression on her face.

Belmont angrily started towards her. It took the combined effort of me and Elena to stop him from tackling her onto the floor of the café.

“If you lay one hand on my mother, you’ll—” He hunched over, his hands on his knees. “You’ll—oh man, do ghosts vomit?”

The same soon happened to Elena until I flicked my wrist. Vivienne stumbled, as if she had been punched in the gut. A smirk danced across her dark red lips.

“I see someone’s been practicing," she praised. “You’ll need to pack more of a punch if you can’t keep your pets in line.”

“Remind me why we’re even talking to her,” said Elena, glaring at Vivienne. “There’s no one nicer that could take us to Amara?”

“It’s an hour or two, at most," I whispered, rubbing her back. “Just be ni—you know what? Let me do the talking.”

Wanting to draw as little attention as possible, we traveled to the Underworld through a statue of Belmont’s founding ancestor near the entrance to the Falls. Vivienne led us through the crowded market, Elena to not get distracted by the fancy jewelry and trinkets, to the seedy part of the realm. Instead of talismans and cute necklaces, the people behind the stands were peddling objects with malicious intent. A man offered Belmont a gaudy ring that was capable of restoring his body at the cost of someone else’s life.

“I think the world would be better without Rosalie around,” he said as I dragged him away from the shabby stand by his shirt collar. “In a way, it’s a win-win for both of us, Byrne.”

“There’s always a catch with those things," I warned. "We’re not here to add another murder to the list.”

Vivienne stopped in front of Bacchanal, a popular dive bar. Its regular customers included criminals and ex-residents of Erinyes, making it the perfect place for Amara to gather clients. Elena nearly vomited just from the smell emanating out of an open window. I grabbed her hand, giving it a light squeeze as a small comfort, and brought her into the bar.

It was packed from wall to wall, some patrons in their teens and others pushing their sixties. Vivienne disappeared into the crowd, greeting old friends. I ignored the lecherous stares and obscene hand gestures as I searched for any sign of Amara. It should have been easy to spot her, with the way she dressed, but in the bar, every girl made it their mission to show off their…assets.

Belmont spotted her at a corner table, flirting with a lanky guy. Dressed in a black leather dress that barely contained her ample chest, it was no surprise that his eyes had never once looked at her face.

“Virgin alert. It’s like he’s never talked to a girl before,” joked Vivienne. “So what’s your pl—Tessa?”

I walked towards the table, determined, and as I got closer, I was able to hear them.

“You must be super worried about that trial. My friend could help you out, you know. He’s a seer. He could tell you what to expect…what the council will ask you…”

“So I could make sure that I’m found innocent?” he asked, sounding optimistic. “Wait, what’s the catch?”

“No catch,” she said, leaning forward. “He just requires a small payment but that won’t be a problem for you. ”

“Yeah, no problem.” I sat in the empty chair beside her. “Do you like pirates?”

“Sorry, what?” he asked, looking from me to a displeased Amara.

“Well, you need to give him one of your eyes so unless you want to cough up the money for a new one, instead of a bargain eye that’s probably been used a thousand times, you’ll need to wear an eyepatch," I said, covering my right eye. "Ooh, maybe you could get a parrot too. That sounds fun, huh?”

His face white with horror, he stood up from the table, leaving money for his drinks. “I um—I should go. My trial starts in twenty minutes and it would make a good impression to be there early.”

“Yikes. I bet you’ve never seen a guy run away from you that fast,” I said, as he dashed out of the bar.

Her eyes flickered between their usual chestnut brown and pitch black. “You really have a death wish, don’t you? I’ll happily grant it,” she spat, pure venom in her voice.

“Now, now, let’s play nice, children.”

Vivienne, Elena, and Belmont joined the table. Belmont kept his distance, their previous encounter likely fresh in his mind. Amara was never one to openly show her emotions but I knew that seeing Vivienne was awkward. The last time they had been face to face, it nearly caused the destruction of Erinyes itself. Admittedly, it was even worse for me but I pushed aside my feelings, focused on stopping the rogue reaper.

“Viv, long time, no see.” Instead of the expected temper tantrum, Amara was oddly calm. “Been busy pining after brats? Ironic how times have changed since the old days. Do you want a drink? Do you still like it sweet?”

“She’s not here to catch up,” I interrupted. “This won’t take long...depending on your cooperation. When’s the last time you talked to Damon?”

“Haven’t in nearly a year,” she sighed. I guess they have him on lockdown. Such a shame, isn’t it, Tessie?”

Belmont muttered that the visit was a waste of time. “Well, if that’s why you’re here, I’ll be going. I’m a busy—BITCH!”

All heads in the dingy bar whipped in our direction. Her hand was pinned to the table by a knife, my hand wrapped around the handle. Vivienne and Belmont both stared at me in stunned silence while Elena peered around the bar, worrying that someone would come to Amara’s rescue, yet the patrons returned to their half-empty stained glasses.

“You’re not getting away that easy,” I hissed. “Oh, if you think that reaper is scary, I’m about to put you through Hell. You won’t be safe anywhere. Even Viv can’t protect you in your dreams, you brat,” snarled Amara.

Her anger confirmed my suspicions. “That’s how he was getting to Will, right? You were slipping him in there. You’re the reason Will isn’t waking up either. Why?”

“I haven’t—” She groaned as I pressed down on the handle. “Fine, fine! Yes, we had a deal. He would give me clients for Carnus from Erinyes in exchange for my help. He wanted to keep your dorky friend asleep. I don’t know why.”

“What were you doing in his head?” I questioned, continuing to hold the knife.

“I don’t know that either," she said, wincing. "I put Damon in his dreams and waited for his signal to take him out. Why would I care what he’s doing to a pathetic human? From what I’ve heard, he’s more popular than ever. Maybe you should let him stay that way.”

She was deflecting to hide the truth. “You need physical contact to use your abilities. How are you getting in there to see him? You could walk in there naked and flirt but they wouldn’t let you within ten feet of his room. They won’t even let me see him so how do you do it?”

“Looks like I have something you want,” she gloated. “What do I get in return?”

“You get to walk out of this shithole with your limbs intact,” I retorted, my cruel gaze boring into her.

“You know, I have been feeling tired lately,” she said, pouting as she twirled the empty beer bottle with her free hand. “Slipping in and out of dreams is hard work for a yakshini and a coffee in the morning isn’t giving me the proper boost, Tessa. I think I’m too tired to remember how I sneak inside that scary supernatural prison. If only I had more energy…ghosts would do the trick.”

Her eyes glinting with malice, she pointed a finger between Elena and Belmont like a twisted game of eenie, meenie, miney, moe.

When I was younger, one of my lessons was on the supernatural beings in our world, besides reapers, and my mother had played a video depicting their abilities. Yakshini drew their strength by draining energy from beings through physical contact, usually with a kiss. If the yakshini maintained the contact for too long, the person was reduced to nothing more than a corpse. With ghosts, they were wiped from existence, lacking the energy to remain in the physical world.

“The very best one and you are—”

“I’ll do it,” offered Elena. “If you promise to tell us what you know, I’ll give you some of my energy or whatever.”

“Elena, don’t.” I trusted Amara about as much as a rabid dog. “It’s too dangerous.”

“I want to help. How does it work?" she asked the deadly girl. "We hold hands or something?”

“We could but if you want it done faster, it has to be a little more intimate.” Amara tapped her full, glossy lips, enjoying the pure fear written across my face.

I silently begged Vivienne to stop her but she simply shrugged, not giving a damn if Elena vanished forever. “And then you’ll tell us how you met with Damon?” said Elena, reluctantly.

“Pinky promise," said Amara, raising her pinky. "Don’t worry, cutie. You won’t feel a thing.”

“Ellie, don’t do this. It’s a trick,” said Belmont, showing genuine concern. “We don’t need her help.”

“Yes, we do," she insisted. "If Damon’s working with the reaper, he might know who killed you and why. It’s just a kiss.”

As a nervous Elena leaned across the table, every inch closer making my heart beat faster, I spun Amara towards me and planted my lips firmly on hers. At first, it was like any normal kiss and with the distance practically nonexistent between us, I could smell the flowery scent in her dark hair, the one that always drew the boys and girls under her spell. I was about to pull away, starting to feel woozy, but her red nails, sharp like talons, dug into my arm. With each passing second, I was growing weaker and moving my mouth was becoming an impossible task.

I heard the faint sound of breaking glass and a hand forcefully pushed against my chest. My lips were torn from hers, my back pressed into the rickety chair. The tip of my tongue touched my lips, tasting the strawberry gloss that lingered from the kiss. Unable to lift my head, I could see the rats scurrying across the dirty wooden floor.

“Tessa, Tessa, are you okay?” Elena’s hands gently cupped my face. “What the hell were you thinking?! She almost killed you!”

Slowly regaining my strength, I looked up to see the tears streaming down her face. Her eyes, like pools of freshly melted chocolate, were red and puffy.

“I didn’t..." Just stringing together a few words was difficult. "I didn’t want her to hurt you.”

“I’m already dead," she sniffled. "What could be worse than that?”

“She could make you disappear and then I’d never see you. If that happened…” We were the only ones at the table. “Where is she?”

“Vivienne pulled you guys apart when Amara started going all face hugger on you,” she said, wiping away a tear. “She dragged her out of the bar and Fin went with them. He was going to stay too but I didn’t trust the two of them alone.”

She helped me up from the chair, wrapping her arm around my waist. Still lightheaded from the kiss, I leaned on her as we headed towards the back door.

“Don’t ever do that again,” she whispered. “We didn’t make that friends forever pact in the sandbox for nothing.”

The door opened to a side alley where Amara was being restrained by Vivienne’s arm against her throat. In her other hand, Vivienne held a broken beer bottle to her face.

“Hey, shouldn’t you be resting?” said Belmont, moving away from the wall he had been leaning against and walking over to me and Elena. “I think almost turning into a pile of bones is a reasonable excuse to pause the detective work.”

“I’m good. It’s already wearing off,” I said, though neither he nor Elena looked convinced.

“You know, I finally get the appeal.” Amara licked her lips. “If I knew you were that good, I would’ve let you join in on our fun all those years ago…put that tongue to better use.”

She cried out as Vivienne crushed her throat. “Don’t talk to her. Don’t even look at her or I’ll be giving Carnus your eyes. We had a deal so it’s time to hold up your end. How are you visiting Damon? He’s been in solitary for the past year.”

My mind was reeling at the idea of him being trapped alone in a room. Had solitary confinement made him stir crazy and he was lashing out by attacking my friends? Amara, with some urging from the bottle dangerously close to her eye, admitted that she blackmailed one of the younger guards into letting her into the prison late at night. She was able to sneak in and out undetected, the guard delivering messages from Damon under the guise of getting a drink at Bacchanal.

“You’re taking us there tonight,” I said, able to stand by myself. “Midnight is probably best.”

Amara pushed the bottle away from her face. “Uh wrong, bookworm. Our deal was that I’d tell you how I got in and that’s it. I’m not part of your Nancy Drew act. If you’re ever interested in another round of tonsil hockey, you know where to find me.”

“Did you know it’s illegal for a yakshini to use their abilities on a reaper?” She froze as she neared the doorway. “It was a law passed by the council in 1786 to protect our kind from what they considered lesser beings. If Cullen was to find out, you don’t even get a trial. He’ll sentence you straight to death.”

“You think you can scare me with some fake law?” she challenged.

“We could ask Oliver, if you want," I said, hearing her doubt. "I’m sure he’d love to hear how you tried to suck the life out of me. That was the next part of my plan anyway. If there’s one thing you’re scared of, it’s the council. Carnus is the only reason they haven’t caught you yet.”

Amara turned on her five inch heel, her icy stare burning into me. “Keep it up and you won’t make it out of this alley.”

Reaching into my coat, I pulled out my phone. “Nice way to end the recording, Amara.” Her glare faltered as I pressed the stop button. “You’re fast but not faster than a ghost so unless you want Elena to deliver this to the council, you’re going to help us out tonight. Otherwise , you’ll have to explain how you’ve been blackmailing a prestigious guard and aiding an Erinyes prisoner with harming an innocent.”

“Midnight, your place,” she said, through gritted teeth.

It’s done. He won’t have a clue. Just remember to hold up your end.

-L

“Tessa, as crazy as this sounds, maybe Fin’s right.”

I finished sending a quick reply on my phone before looking over at Elena, who was laying on my bed with my stuffed cat Cleo. We had spent the past hour preparing for our late night visit to Erinyes and the likelihood of Amara’s betrayal. The alarm clock on my nightstand flashed 11:55.

“Maybe we should tell your parents," she suggested. "If they know that Amara is helping Damon, then he can’t keep going into Will’s head and Will wakes up.”

“Damon knows something. Going after Will doesn’t make sense," I said, peering out the window. "He could’ve had Amara do that at any time but why now? It can’t be coincidence. Besides, he can’t hurt us, El.”

She sat up, clutching the stuffed animal to her chest. “Have you considered that this could be a trap? What if Amara lets us in and then we’re ambushed by guards? Do you want to go through another trial?”

“I’m going, with or without you," I told her, firmly. "I’d rather you two don’t go, to be honest. You can’t even be around Damon too long without getting sick. At Erinyes, they inject the reaper patients with this potion that repels ghosts. It’s so they can’t use them as an escape plan. Ghosts are easily manipulated, especially if they’re alone.”

“That’s why we get sick around Vivienne?” asked Belmont, watching his football highlights on my laptop. “But she’s out now. Why would it keep happening?”

“It must take awhile for it to leave her system. You guys should stay here.” Vivienne was waiting outside in the front yard. “I’ll text you when I’m on my way home.”

Elena grasped my hand as I slung my backpack over my shoulder. “Be careful. If something goes wrong—”

“It won’t. I’ll be careful.”

I opened the window and climbed down using a rope ladder that had been part of my old treehouse. Vivienne waved at a distrustful Elena and Belmont then led me over to a silver Porsche. Skeptical of the driving skills of a girl who spent most of her life imprisoned, I looked at her for an explanation. It belonged to Carnus, who, in Vivienne's words, 'liked to ride around in style'. Amara was sitting in the front seat, drumming her fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of a pop song.

“You sure you’re up for this? You haven’t seen him in years.”

“Telling me not to break the rules?" I asked, shivering from the breeze. "Doesn’t sound like the Vivienne I remember.”

“Like I said, it’s been years," she repeated. “Amara and I might’ve been friends before but she switches allegiances without a second thought. I can’t keep her under control for long.”

“I can handle myself," I said, refusing to abandon the plan. "I’m not a little girl.”

She stopped me from walking towards the car, her fingers curled around my arm. “Listen to me. I don’t care about what happened to that idiot jock. I’ll give you the time you need with Damon but if he tries anything, I’ll throw you over my shoulder if that’s what it takes to leave. I’m not watching you almost die a second time, Tessa. A ghost isn’t worth your life.”

“You’re wrong.”

The ride to Erinyes was quiet and awkward. Amara and Vivienne seemed to be on the outs due to my near death experience earlier in the day and Amara would drive over me several times if it were not for the blackmail hanging over her head. Vivienne and I could hardly be considered friends (reluctant allies, at best) but she clearly wanted to use this late night adventure as a second chance.

“Why are you stopping?” I asked, the car parked in front of the empty playground of an elementary school. “It’s another ten miles. I know where it is, Amara.”

“And you know about the secret entrances, princess?” she said, mockingly. Under my jacket, I unzipped the front pocket of my backpack. “They use them in case of emergencies. That wasn’t in one of your precious books?”

“Then why aren’t we getting out of the car?” I countered, suspicious.

She checked her makeup in the mirror. “I’m waiting for my guard friend. You need a guard to open the entrance .”

Five minutes passed and the playground remained empty. Amara continued to listen to music, purposely turning up the volume to annoy me.

My hands balled into a fist. “No one’s here.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She pouted at me through the mirror. “The world doesn’t revolve around you, Tessie. People don’t just drop everything for you and your pet ghosts. Some of us—urgh!”

Amara clamped her hands over her ears. I lowered the wooden whistle from my lips and as she moved her hands, the tips of her ears had a slight red tinge.

“My dad found this on an expedition in Delhi a few years ago," I said, twirling it between my fingers. “His coworker said it was a hunting whistle but it was actually used to drive away yakshini from villages. The longer I play it, the more it’ll hurt so I suggest you stop playing games.”

“Tessa?” said a stunned voice.

A blonde teenage girl, a year older than me, was peering through the window on the passenger side. She was dressed in ripped jeans, combat boots, and a faded Led Zeppelin t-shirt that was a size too big.

“Alexis?” I asked, opening the door.

The lithe girl hurried around to the other side of the car, wrapping her arms around me. I slowly relaxed into the hug.

“When Amara told me, I thought she might be lying," she whispered. "It’s so good to see you.”

“You too," I said, having not seen her since the summer of ninth grade.

“I heard you had gotten out a couple years ago. I wanted to visit but your parents wouldn’t tell me where you went. Your dad mentioned a retreat in the mountains. Wait, you’re the guard that’s been helping Amara?”

“Not by choice,” she mumbled, pushing her round glasses up her freckled nose.

“Then why?" I asked, worried that Amara was taking advantage of her kind nature. “What does she have on you? You don’t deserve to be bullied by her.”

“I see you haven’t changed. The guards used to joke that you were too nice to the crazies. It’s my fight, not yours, Tess. Besides, I hear you have a lot on your plate with your ghost scooby gang.” She showed me a badge around her neck. “I can take you to Damon. Security’s been tight, with Vivienne out, but I have their schedules memorized.”

There was definitely more to her fear of Amara. “Yeah, I’d appreciate that, Lex.”

Alexis brought us over to an oak tree near the playground, runic symbols carved into its gnarled trunk. The runes glowed bright silver when she tapped on the trunk. After the seventh tap, the ground beneath them rose, revealing a stone staircase. Within minutes, we were no longer on the outskirts of a playground, but the basement of Erinyes. The steel doors on either side of the long hallway looked identical, aside from the plaque with the patient’s initials.

“Most are empty," said Alexis, using a flashlight to illuminate the dark corridor. “Solitary is for the special cases. I never thought he would be down here but he’s gotten worse. The doctors were about to clear him and then he snapped out of nowhere.”

“Have you tried talking to him?”

“They don’t let me see him often because they know we were friends,” she admitted. “Sometimes, they let me bring him meals but he won’t talk or look at me.”

“Who would want to?” taunted Amara.

I glared at Vivienne, who snickered at her rude remark. “Ignore them, Lex. You’re better than them any day of the week. You never deserved to be in here,” I whispered.

Alexis kept her eyes on the pristine tile floor as we continued down the hallway. “We’re here.”

She pointed the flashlight at a door with the initials D.B. “The guards do their nightly checks every twenty minutes so whatever you want to ask him, be quick and don’t make a lot of noise. I’ll flash a light under the door when it’s time to go.”

Vivienne was about to follow me until I stretched my arm across the door. “I’m doing this alone. Stay here to make sure the face hugger doesn’t screw us over.” I handed her the whistle. “Use it if she tries any of her tricks.”

“Tessa, are you nuts? If he’s in solitary, then he’s at his worst,” she said, worried. “Even I’ve never been thrown in one of these cells. I’m not letting you go in there alone.”

“She won’t be," I heard.

Elena and Belmont were standing by the door. He winked at a confused Alexis, whose face was as red as the lettering on her shirt.

“We’re in this together, Tessa. Operation: Reaper started with the three of us and if he knows something about the night Fin died, then Fin deserves to be here too,” reasoned Elena.

“Is this an interrogation or a party?” asked Amara, her hands on her hips. “Who invited you two dimwits? You’ll start puking when you’re within an inch of him.”

Elena tossed back her hair. “Thanks for the concern but we’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, they’ll just be wondering why his floor is covered in transparent vomit,” said Vivienne, sarcastically.

“We don’t have time for this. Let’s go,” I whispered, setting a timer on my phone.

Alexis retrieved a set of keys from her jeans pocket and used a worn silver key to open the door. Elena held my hand as we stepped through the threshold, the door immediately shutting behind us.

Instead of a dank, dark padded cell with no windows, we were standing in a room that looked like it was plucked right out of Belmont Manor. Classical music played from an old radio and the moonlight bounced off the crystal chandelier on the ceiling. A bookcase covered two sides of the room, some of the books looking centuries old with their tattered, dusty covers, and a fire crackled in the fireplace near Belmont.

As my eyes darted around the ornately decorated room, I noticed a teenage boy sitting in a red armchair, a book in one hand and a fork in the other. A gourmet meal was laid out on the polished wooden table in front of him. He looked exactly as I remembered, with his perfectly coiffed dark hair tied back into a bun, dark loafers, khakis, and partially unbuttoned dress shirt.

“Sneaking out behind mommy and daddy’s back. I think your new ghost friend is being a bad influence," he teased.

His grin would charm any girl in seconds but for me, knowing better, it was unsettling. He closed the book before placing it down on the table. Behind me, I heard Elena make a soft retching sound.

“The Once and Future King. You’re never one for subtlety, reading the last book I showed you. Amara told you I was coming?” I asked, unsurprised by her betrayal.

“She didn’t have to,” he said, taking a bite of his pasta. “They already knew you were on your way and told me about your plan. You’re not as discrete as you think, pollito.”

I crinkled my nose at his childish nickname. “Good, we’re not playing games. You admit that you’re helping this psychopath. Tell me who it is, Damon.”

“Is that why you’re here?” There was an inkling of melancholy in his tone. “To interrogate me?”

“Why else would I be here?” I spat.

“Oh, I don’t know," he said, his mouth full. "To see how your big brother is doing in the scary prison he’s been in the past ten years.”

“Your wh—” Belmont rested his head against the wall. “I’m gonna—no, I’m good. I’m not—oh man, this is worse than I thought. When did you get an older brother?”

“We’re twins. He’s older by a minute,” I said, hating when Damon acted like he was years older than me. “Shut up and sit with your head between your knees.”

Damon abandoned his meal, taking his eyes off of a nauseous Belmont. “Of course he didn’t know about me. I’m the family shame, right? I bet you don’t put up pictures of me around the house.”

“That’s what happens when you try to kill your sister," I shot back, showing no remorse. "If you think you’re getting sympathy from someone like him, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

From the moment I planned to visit, I knew the game he would play with me. He wanted to tug at my empathetic side, to make me forget why I was in his room. It was a tactic he had used over the years, ever since the day he was brought to Erinyes. I remembered how I begged my parents to give him another chance, at times blaming myself for the incident on the roof.

One minute, we had been climbing up the ladder for a ‘special surprise’ and then, I was dangling off the edge, seconds from plummeting to my death, before our babysitter discovered we were no longer in the backyard. The way he could manipulate me was the exact reason my parents kept us apart. It wasn’t that I was weak, just that, as twins, we had an unspoken bond.

“Oh, here we go,” he said, as if I was boring him with details of a shopping spree. “I wasn’t trying to kill you. I was trying to save you.”

“You’re insane,” muttered Elena, leaning on the bookcase for support.

His dark eyes passed over her with amusement. “Elena, isn’t it? I see why my sister likes you so much. You’re one of those odd ghosts. Your whole family decides to move on but you stay behind. Have you ever been to therapy in the Underworld? I bet they would find you fascinating. They’d really get into your issues.”

“Do you remember Luke? You used to call him Loser Luke,” I said, changing the subject. “Whenever Mom and Dad would let me visit, he’d give me candy he had in his desk and you hated that because he’d never give you a piece. He knew you liked caramel but he loved screwing with you so he’d give me the caramel instead, even if I didn’t want it.”

Damon raised his glass of bourbon with a chuckle. “Jealousy. He knew he would never be more than a lowly guard and I was meant for better things.”

“And he thinks you’re a conceited prick. I found his number in Dad’s phone and we had a lovely chat this afternoon where I told him to put nightshade in your nightly bottle of bourbon,” I said, as he took a sip from the glass. “He told me you’d wouldn’t taste it and I guess he was right. Since you love reading as much as I do, I bet you know that it works as a kind of truth serum. Did you honestly think I would come here without a plan? I figured Amara was going to warn you but hey, on the plus side, now I know you’re working with that snake.”

I jumped as he smashed the bottle of bourbon against the wall. Elena pleaded with me to leave, afraid of Damon’s temper.

“Get out!” he shouted.

Standing my ground, I crossed my arms. “I’m not afraid of you. We’re not kids anymore, cachorro. I’m not leaving until I get the truth. Who’s the reaper?”

“I don’t know,” he said, looking at the table instead of me.

“You’re lying.”

Damon responded with a crazed laugh, the same I heard the day he tried to push me off the roof. “You poisoned me to get me to tell the truth. How can I be lying? It’s just not the answer you wanted to hear.” He gripped the table, breathing heavily. “I don’t have the answers you’re looking for, Tessa. You’re wasting your time.”

“You said they warned you that I was coming which means you’ve been communicating. Why are you helping them?” I asked, needing to get answers out of this risky mission. "Why are you using Amara to hurt Will? Is this a sick game of yours? What, they promised you payback for the years you spent here and hurting one of my best friends was part of the deal?”

His eyes were shut and under his breath, he mumbled to himself. I knew the effects of the herb were temporary. If I did not hurry the interrogation along, I would not get the truth from him and I could be in actual danger.

“Get out before you learn why they put me in here,” he snarled. “I’ll do the same to you as I did to that guard.”

“I actually thought you were getting better. That’s why Dad had to work for Charles Belmont, because the doctors were going to release you but he thought it was an act so he had to beg the worst man in town for help. I wanted to believe that you changed. I knew the day was getting closer and that they were planning on chucking you in the Meadows or worse but I didn’t want you to spend that last day alone.” My eyes brimmed with tears as he continued to grip the table so tightly that his knuckles turned white. “I wanted you home and I knew you wanted that too. No matter how much you tried to scare me or the kids in this place, I knew you wanted to go back, to be the older brother that Ryan doesn’t even know exists, the one he deserves, but instead, you’re here.”

“T—Tessa…” he stuttered.

“It’s like mom always said. We’re twins. The bond between us, only we can understand and no one knows you like I do so what changed?" I asked, hoping to appeal to a shred of humanity. "What did they offer you that you’re willing to be the monster everyone thinks you are? Why are you helping them?!”

“To save you!”

His voice echoed around the room, shaking the bookcase. We stared at each other in heavy silence and my eyes searched his for a lie. The bravado I mustered to be in the room faded the moment he moved from the armchair. It felt like I had traveled back in time, back to that frightened seven year old who could not look at her twin brother without hiding behind her father.

“I heard you and Amara got close today too. That must’ve been weird. Kissing the girl who your ex cheated on you with in front of that very same ex.” Even though she was behind me curled up in a ball, Elena seemed to forget about the crippling pain in her stomach for a few passing seconds. “It’s like something out of a soap opera. I bet Viv was ready to tear off her head. When they warned me about your secret visit, they sent a gift too.”

Damon kicked a small metal ball out from under the table and as it rolled closer, dread crawled up my spine. “Vi—”

I was silenced by a hand over my mouth, the smell of my father’s cologne filling my nostrils. A pale green smoke emitted from the ball, enveloping both Elena and Belmont. No matter how much I struggled, Damon kept a firm grip on my waist, pulling me into the corner by the fireplace. As the smoke cleared, I screamed into his hand at the sight of them, immobile and glassy-eyed.

“Shh, they’re fine. Te—they’re not dead. It knocked them out. It was supposed to force them to pass on but I modified it a little. I’m gonna let go of you but you can’t scream. If Vivienne hears you, they’ll know.” He released his hold on me. “You need to trust—”

Damon staggered backwards, his hands over his nose. Ignoring the stinging pain in my knuckles, I hurried over to Elena, placing two fingers on her neck where, thankfully, I felt a faint pulse.

“I’m guessing you packed ten years of pent up anger into that. Dad teach you it?” he asked, rubbing his red nose. He ducked as I chucked the metal ball at his head. “Hey, I said no noise. Tessa, I’m not the enemy.”

“No, you’re trying to save me,” I said, sarcasm dripping from my every word. “How stupid do you think I am, Damon?”

“You’ve never been stupid, just naive. It’s not your fault. Mom and Dad wanted to protect their precious little girl.” He blocked the door. “You’re not leaving until you hear me out. They’re using Vivienne as a puppet. She doesn’t know that, obviously, but it’s how they’ve been one step ahead of you.”

“If you’re working with them, why should I believe a word you say? Maybe the gas wasn’t meant to kill them," I said, skeptical of his story. "Maybe you’re saying that to trick me. You’ve done that before. Don’t come near me.”

Staying by the door, he bent down to eye level. “I’m not going to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you. I never claimed to be perfect and maybe my methods were terrible but I was seven. Can you blame me? I’m not lying. Everything I’ve done is to protect you. That fall wasn’t meant to kill you. I spent days practicing with dolls and admittedly, that wasn’t the greatest comparison but I thought it would paralyze you at best…put you in a coma at worst.”

“Oh, is that it?” I asked, resting Elena’s head in my lap while sitting protectively in front of Belmont. My eyes briefly scanned the underside of the door, waiting for a flash of light. “So generous, D. In your delusional mind, how would that save me?”

“Because the council is a bunch of elitist snobs. Abuela once told me that they wanted reapers in peak condition, to prove that we were the alpha race. It was an old mindset that a lot of its members have to this day. They wouldn’t let you practice as a reaper if you were that badly injured.” He fiddled with the silver chain under his shirt. “And then there wouldn’t be a ritual. We’d both make it past eighteen. It was a way to beat their stupid rule.”

I remembered the day we learned about being reapers. We were no older than four and our father decided to take us on a camping trip with relatives from his side of the family. When we woke up one morning, Damon was in a panic, thinking that Henry, one of our older cousins who enjoyed pranks, had drawn on our skin with marker.

It took twenty minutes for our mother to calm us down, slip sweatshirts over our heads to hide the markings, and tell us the truth about our ancestry. For her, it was the best and worst day of her life. Twin reapers were rare, usually only one child gaining the abilities, and with their connection, it allowed them to be stronger than a typical reaper. The council believed that to be dangerous and on their eighteenth birthday, the twins were forced to take part in a special ritual. It seemed simple enough (we join hands and one twin comes out as the victor) until we began to understand that the ‘loser’ was sent into the afterlife, their abilities being taken back by the council. My mother, like many others, had spent years fighting against the law but the council was resolute, insisting that the ritual was a precautionary measure.

“They’ve been talking to me longer than you know, Tessa, like a bird chirping in my ear. I would hear them everywhere. When we were playing outside and in my sleep…they said they wanted to help.” He ran his fingers through his dark hair. “Back then, I never understood why you couldn’t hear them too. You thought it was an imaginary friend of mine but they were getting angry. They wanted you to listen too. I started to realize that they didn’t want to help because they felt sorry for us. They wanted twins for whatever they were planning and if you were hurt, it would stop them and help you.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, thinking he was insane.

“If we went through the ritual, you—I knew you would win.” Before I could even begin to correct him, he shook his head. “You thought I was better at lessons but I wasn’t and Mom knew it too. You never understood how strong you actually are, Tessa. I didn’t want that burden for you. If you were the reason I died, you’d never forgive yourself because that’s the kind of person you are and I didn’t want that for you. That’s why I asked Amara to keep Will asleep. She used her powers to put him in this supernatural coma and as long as she maintains it, the reaper can’t hurt him.”

“Let’s say I believe you." At the moment, it was about ten percent trust and ninety percent believing my brother was deranged. "If the reaper’s been talking to you for years, then what do they want? What does it have to do with Fin?”

“We don’t have tea time together, Tessa," he said, his hands in his pockets. "All I know is that they want reapers to be in charge in every realm. They’ve been gathering followers with the hellhounds and other creatures. I don’t know why they haven’t done it yet. Maybe they’re waiting for something.”

My whole body tensed as he walked towards me. Elena’s eyes fluttered and I heard a painful groan from Belmont.

“I thought if I was in here, they couldn’t get to me but they’re strong…stronger than any reaper I’ve ever met. Please, I need you to trust me,” he implored, his voice quivering with each word. “I want to help you. That’s all I’ve ever tried to do. If we work together—”

The door burst open and he was lifted off his feet and thrown roughly against the wall. His room began to change, now resembling a typical cell with the bare walls and a single cot. The world seemed to be moving ten times faster as Luke, a burly guard, picked up a dizzy Damon by his collar. In the hallway, Alexis, Amara, and Vivienne were stuck to the floor, a brown, sticky substance around their legs.

“Luke, w—”

My father rushed into the room and practically squeezed the life out of me. All I could do was stare at my helpless brother, who struggled against the binds that slithered out from under the cot.

“Tessa, thank goodness you’re safe," my father said, sounding petrified. "If I didn’t get here in time…”

I felt numb as he cradled the back of my head. Elena and Belmont managed to stand, a little wobbly themselves, baffled by what was happening in and outside the room.

“I assume Fin and Elena are with you. We’re going home.” He turned my head away from the cot, despite Damon’s pleas. “Luke will handle it. There’s no reason to worry.”

Vivienne was the first to free herself from the strange goo. Her relieved expression hardened at my father’s glare.

“I assume this is your doing?” he spat, not bothering to hide his scorn. “I can’t say I’m surprised. Celia thought the herbs would keep you away but you always have to slither back in, don’t you?”

“Dad, she didn’t—”

“Yeah, it was my idea,” lied Vivienne. “They’re brother and sister and they missed each other. Sue me for treating them like actual people, not beta fish.”

“If you come near my daughter or her friends again, the council will be the least of your worries, Vivienne,” he threatened.

“You think I’m scared of an old man like you?” she asked, not the least bit intimidated by his muscular frame. “I didn’t get sent here for messing up my mommy’s hair, Devlin. I’m not scared of you or Celia.”

“And that will be your downfall. The council is keeping a very close eye on you so I suggest you behave yourself or you’ll be back in one of these cells.”

During the drive to Belmont Falls, I sat in the front seat, playing with a loose string on the seat belt. I could not look at my father, knowing he was either angry or disappointed, maybe both. We waited at a red light for what felt like an eternity.

“Vivienne didn’t bring me there," I confessed, as the light turned green. "She said that because she knows it’s easier to blame her than to hear that it was my fault.”

He sighed. “I know. I was on my way home from a conference and looking for my house key when your grandmother appeared as a frog on the porch. When I was done thinking I had gone mad, she told me you spoke to Luke and how he agreed to help you speak to Damon in exchange for half your college fund. That’s quite a lot of money but he’s been desperate to get away from that job for ages. She thought it was better to warn me instead of your mother because we both know you’d never leave the house again. Even when we died, she’d just appoint Oliver or Ryan to watch over you in her place.”

“Dad—”

“Why would you go there?" he asked, barely able to hold himself together. "You know how dangerous it is, Tessa. Do you not remember the last time you paid him a visit?”

“Maybe it’s not that black and white,” I said, my conversation with Damon leaving me with more questions.

“Honey, I know you want him to get better. Don’t you think your mother and I want that as well? We’d love nothing more than to have him home and to be a family again but it’s not in the cards,” he said, regretfully. “Why would you visit him?”

He kept his eyes on the road as I explained Amara and Damon’s roles in Will’s prolonged hospital stay. When I mentioned Damon’s claims of hearing the reaper at a young age, I knew my father was seconds from going into lecture mode. It was proof that I had continued my investigation into Fin’s death.

“You swore to your mother and me that you would stop this, Tessa,” he said, attempting to stay calm.

“I can’t.” It was not the answer he sought, but it was the truth. ”If Damon’s right, then that reaper is going after me for a reason. If the council won’t listen to me, then—”

“Then nothing,” he stated, pulling into the driveway. “You’ve told the council everything. Oliver said that they weren’t overwhelmingly on your side but if Cullen believed you, he’ll handle it. He happened to stop by while you were out this morning and asked for the evidence you collected, which I take as a good sign. I showed him the ring you found by the bridge and he agreed with me that it’s not…enhanced in any way.”

“What about those runes?” I persisted.

“I translated them. We will rise from the ashes," he said, turning off the engine. "I suppose it’s a family motto. Cullen said it could have fallen off the bridge at any time.”

Knowing it was a losing battle, I walked into the house. I wanted to be grateful that Cullen was taking my concerns seriously but Damon was the only thing on my mind. Did this reaper mess with him from the beginning, using him as a sort of puppet? Was he putting on an act to lull me into a false sense of security and then betray me like he did in the past?

“Byrne.”

“We’ll talk about it in the morning,” I told Belmont, tossing my backpack to the floor. “I’m too tired to argue with you. I just want to sleep.”

“Uh, that might not be that easy," he said, physically turning my head.

On my bed was a neatly wrapped box, tied with a bright red ribbon. Elena volunteered to open it, a ghost less likely to be harmed if it contained an explosive. She carefully unwrapped the box and pulled out a floor-length white dress. It was strapless with a sweetheart neckline and the crystals embedded in the fabric sparkled in the light like tiny stars.

“It’s so pretty,” admired Elena. “You could be like a Disney princess. When did you order it?”

“I didn’t. Do you think Parker bought it so I’d forgive him?” I asked, checking the box.

“Look at it sparkle. I know the perfect hairstyle to go with this. You’ll look amazing,” she said, twirling with the dress in front of my mirror.

Digging through the copious amounts of red tissue paper, I found a card. I expected to see Parker’s name, along with a lengthy apology, but the reality was much worse.

I hope you enjoyed that time with your brother tonight. Consider it my Christmas gift to you, along with this. I thought it was perfect for the winter ball, for someone so sweet and innocent. Unless you want my partnership with Damon to come to a violent end, you’ll be there. It’s going to be a night you won’t soon forget.

“They’re just messing with you,” said Belmont, reading the message over my shoulder. “They won’t be there, Byrne. We’d recognize anyone out of place.”

“Unless they’re doing what they did to Vivienne. When you guys were unconscious, Damon said the reaper was using her to spy on us and that’s how he knew we were coming. What if they do the same thing to someone like Amity or a teacher?" I asked, folding up the letter.

“We can send it to Cullen and if he does believe us, he’ll send guards, ones who can spot a disguise. My parents don’t want us involved in this so it respects their wishes and maybe we’ll finally find out who this psycho is and why they killed you.”

My phone vibrated in my pocket, two messages, from Katie and an unknown number, flashing across the screen.

Hope this means you can trust me

“Will’s awake.”