The beating of my heart slowed. My thoughts turned to the terrible burning that was consuming my body. I could feel his hands crushing my neck. My eyes unfocused, my vision went gray, and a sudden darkness beckoned.

Then there was nothing. No pain. No graveyard. No Luke. Just a vast emptiness surrounding me.

Without warning, I wasn't alone. I realized in a moment of horror that I sensed something nearby. Not the living, but something else. Spirits? At first, I couldn't hear or see anything in the darkness, but then a black cloud and a rush of noise surrounded me.

Is that screaming?

Someone was shouting—another voice was praying. Slowly, one face formed in front of me and then another, until I was surrounded. But these faces weren't flesh and bone—they were ghostly images, flickering in and out of the darkness. Thin, transparent lines of gray came and went like someone was turning a light switch on and off. More noise, this time someone was yelling in pain. Something held me immobile in this place.

Where am I? How do I escape?

The faces and voices began to move closer, and I felt nothing now but fear.

And then a loud, male voice boomed from within the darkness. "You are not of my blood, but my blood brought you here. What is it you're seeking?"

"Seeking?" I asked. No—I didn't ask... I wasn't really there, was I?

"Come, child, there isn't much time. What is it you seek?"

Revenge. The word blazed across my mind.

"So be it," the voice said, and the world around me went silent.

No more ghostly images. No more sound. Now just a vast, gray space stood before me. Lighter gray wisps floated in the darkness toward me, like fog on a moonless night, and I was overcome with panic and claustrophobia. The dark mist closed around me and my blood chilled at the thought that any number of monsters could be in it with me. But I seemed to be alone, and I drifted in the darkness for what felt like an eternity, unable to tell up from down, all scale and substance lost in the darkness. I could feel my arms and legs, though they seemed distant and numb, and when I touched my face with my hand, my skin felt cold and stiff.

Am I caught somewhere in between the real world and the afterlife? Is any of this real?

I drifted forever, trapped out of time and space, and terror overcame me. I screamed and cried, but no one came to help. I was stuck here and feared I might never escape. Finally, my panic began to subside. I picked a direction and tried to swim through the smoky darkness. The mist or smoke or whatever it was, swirled around me, but it didn't feel like I was moving. I struggled for a while, until I finally gave up.

I screamed in frustration, wishing—no, demanding—to be somewhere else, and finally the mists began to move. I felt more than saw the fog swirl around my face. In the far distance—or perhaps not far at all, it was hard to tell with no frame of reference, I saw what I thought was a flicker of light.

Gathering my will, I drove myself toward it, and it either slowly moved closer to me, or I moved closer to it.

And then I noticed something else.

A growl, a snarl. Small, red eyes peering at me from the darkness. The eyes blinked, and I felt stunned. What was this new horror? More ghosts? No, something different—something worse. I knew it deep within my very core.

I'd been frightened when confronted by the ghostly images and strange cries, but now something inside me, something more primitive, was screaming at me I was in danger. Whatever was out there was far worse than anything I'd experienced so far. It was evil. It was dark and sinister.

It wanted me.

The eyes were moving closer. The snarling was louder now. I felt a terror rise within me that I had never felt before. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. The thing in the darkness would consume me.

And then something else drowned out the frightening noises. I felt the panic leave and a calmness overcame me. Familiar voices were coming from the light far away in the darkness.

My family was calling to me to join them.

They were there, in that light, waiting for me. The pain of their absence was no more. Life and its struggles were past me. There was nothing now but my family and the light. I willed myself closer, expecting any minute to see the face of my mother, of my father, but instead it was my grandmother who welcomed me. She stood as if bathed in sunlight. She was wearing her favorite blue dress, the one that matched the color of her eyes. Her hair was wrapped in a tight bun.

A look of bewilderment crossed her face. "Child, what are you doing here?" She reached out her hands and then pulled them away. "No, it's not your time, you shouldn't be here. You have to go back."

As soon as she said, "go back," I heard a familiar voice shouting at me from a great distance. The sound was muffled; I could barely make out the words.

It was Luke.

"Do you see the light? Do you hear the voices?" he cried.

I should have felt relieved to hear his voice, but instead I felt panicked.

Yes, I hear you, I wanted to respond. Go away. Let me go to the light. Leave me to my peace.

And then, suddenly, there was only pain and a rush of noise and sensation. The burning in my chest, the pounding of my heart—my mouth opened, and oxygen rushed into my lungs.

I struggled against the pain. I fought to go back to the light. I wouldn't leave my family. I refused to let them go without me again. My body jolted as something rammed into me. More pain. More burning. A jolt again and—

I was back in my body. In the world.

Luke's mouth was covering mine. Blowing air into me, I realized. And his hands were on my chest. CPR. He's doing CPR. My brain fed me words as I began to think through the fog.

His mouth lifted from mine. He looked terrified. More scared than I had ever seen him. He begged, "Stay with me, Colina!"

I tried to talk, but I couldn't. I coughed savagely. My throat was raw and on fire.

He forced me up into his arms. "Drink this. It will take the pain away."

Liquid ran down my throat. I choked and coughed, but the pain slowly ebbed away, and I could breathe. I could swallow. My chest felt bruised, and my throat felt sore, but I was alive.

Luke was still hovering over me. His face was close to mine. I needed distance from him, and with all my strength I pushed myself away.

He backed up. "Are you alright?" he asked.

I couldn't meet his eyes. This guy killed me. What was I supposed to say?

"No." My words sounded guttural.

He stretched out his hand to help me stand. The desire to push it away was so strong, but I reminded myself that I asked him to do it, to kill me and make me a death dealer. I took his hand, and he pulled me up into his arms.

The strong hands now resting on my back were the same brutal hands that had taken my life. It was more than I could handle. I struggled against his embrace.

Luke tightened his hold. His voice was soothing, "It's okay. You're safe. Everything is fine." His hands began to move up and down my back in a gentle motion.

A cry broke from my lips, and I leaned my forehead against his shoulder. His head came down and rested against mine. "It's okay."

It wasn't, though, and never would be again. Tears ran down my face. I couldn't stop the emotions I'd been holding in so tightly from breaking free.

I was all alone.

My mother, father, and brother had not been in the light with my grandmother, which meant they were in between. Would I ever see them again?

My sobs were louder and harder now.

Luke began to rock slowly back and forth. I felt like a tree in the breeze. The motion was soothing.

"You're safe," he whispered the words against my cheek.

My sobs slowed and eventually stopped. "You can let go."

He pushed back and looked down into my face, his hand raising my chin and forcing me to look into those dark eyes. Concern and something else I couldn't quite make out filled them.

"You killed me." My voice was unsteady.

He held me close again. "I brought you back."

"Please tell me we only have to do that once."

He whispered against my ear, "I swear I won't kill you again. Cross my heart and hope to die."

It was a bad joke.

"Come on. We're done for tonight." Luke started to move away. "We need to get out of this cemetery quickly, before any spirits—"

We both froze as the ground gently shook beneath our feet. I looked at Luke. "Did you feel that?" I whispered.

Luke looked down at the grave. "I did."

There it was again, a loud thumping noise. The ground beneath our feet moved again, this time harder.

We both stood there, watching the ground, waiting for I wasn't sure what. The seconds ticked on, and nothing else happened.

Luke looked over at me and said, "Whatever that was, it was not part of the ritual." He turned and started to walk away, and I slowly followed.

I couldn't help it, every couple of steps, I looked back over my shoulder, expecting to see something following us.