The Reckoning

Thirty-five

LIZ STOOD THERE, GRINNING. “We did it.”

I laughed, a shaky two-seconds-from-crying laugh, my knees weak with relief.

She walked over. “So, I’m going to guess that loser is a telekinetic half-demon like me. From the experiment?”

I nodded.

“That doesn’t mean I’m related to him, does it?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Whew, ’cause I’ve got enough nuts in my family tree already. And speaking of nuts, you have some kind of radar for them, don’t you?”

“Apparently.”

“It worked on me, though my crazy quotient must not be high enough yet, because it took me forever to find you. I could hear you calling, but answering was another matter.”

“Thank you.”

My voice wobbled. Liz hurried over, arm going around my shoulders. I couldn’t feel her hug, but I could imagine it.

“Your poltergeist bodyguard is back on duty. Between the two of us, we can handle all the big, scary ghosts. I trounce ’em and you bounce ’em.” She grinned. “Hey, that’s pretty good.”

I smiled. “It is.”

“And speaking of big and scary, I’m going to guess you’re out here with Derek, helping him Change into a wolf. You’d better grab him, because there’s more in these woods than losers throwing sticks and stones. There are losers with spells and guns.” She studied me. “And why do I get the feeling that’s not a surprise?”

I explained, as quickly and quietly as I could.

“That Andrew guy is telling the truth,” she said. “There are four people out here, dressed in black, carrying radios and rifles. That’s not a lot, but they’ve got some high-tech gadgetry on their side-normal and supernormal. They’ve set up trip wires and those infrared laser things, and I heard them talking about something called perimeter spells.”

“We need to get back, then, and-”

“Shhh. Someone’s coming.”

I crouched.

Liz whispered in my ear. “I don’t think it’s our poltergeist pal, but wait here. I’ll go check.”

She took off. I huddled as close to the ground as I could get. When a huge figure reared up in front of me, I let out a yelp. It sprang forward.

“It’s me,” whispered a familiar voice.

“Der-”

Thwack. He stumbled, Liz behind him, a sturdy branch raised.

“Liz, it’s-”

She hit him again, a home-run swing between the shoulders, and he went down with an oomph and an oath. She recognized the voice-or the curse-and leaned over, getting a look at him.

“Whoops.”

“I’d say he deserved that, always sneaking up on people.” Simon appeared from the direction Derek had come. He glanced around. “Hi, Liz…” I pointed and he turned her way.

“Hey, Simon.”

I relayed her greeting as Derek got up, muttering.

“Did someone say Liz is here?” Tori stumbled out of the forest.

When I pointed at Liz, Tori smiled the brightest smile I’d seen from her since…well, I don’t know when. Liz had been Tori’s friend at Lyle House, and they said hello, me playing go-between.

“What are you guys doing out here?” I asked.

“We’re your official search party,” Tori said. “Complete with bloodhound.”

She waved at Derek, who was brushing off his jeans.

“I left you a note,” I said to Derek. “I told you where I was going and what I was doing.”

“He got it,” Simon said. “Didn’t matter.”

Derek glowered. “You think leaving a note makes it okay to do something-”

“Don’t say stupid,” I warned.

“Why not? It was stupid.”

Simon winced and murmured, “Ease off, bro.”

“That’s okay,” I said. “I’m used to it.”

I looked up at Derek. He wavered for a second, then crossed his arms, jaw setting.

“It was stupid,” he said. “Risky and dangerous. Those guys could be out here with guns-”

“They are.” I turned to Simon and Tori. “Liz saw them. Andrew was telling the truth. We need to get back inside before they hear us fighting.”

It was a silent walk back. At the rear door, Liz stopped. She reached, palm out, and it was like pressing against a pane of glass.

“I think there’s a spell to keep ghosts out, like at Lyle House,” I said. “You might be able to get in the basement or the attic, like you did there. Other ghosts have. I’ll go-”

“I’m fine out here, Chloe. You go do your thing.”

I hesitated.

She smiled. “Seriously. I’m not going anywhere. When you need me, I’ll be here, okay?”

I barely got through the door before I was wishing I’d stayed outside with Liz.

“You were mad at me for staying on the roof,” Derek said, bearing down on me.

“So I took off to spite you?”

“Course not. But you were mad at me for taking a risk. So you did the same, to prove your point.”

“No fight with you is ever worth risking my life, Derek. And I wasn’t mad at you. Upset, yes. Worried, definitely. But if I thought my opinion counted more with you now, it’s a good thing you straightened me out fast.”

He blanched at that. “I-”

“I went out there for the very reason I said in my note. Because we had to know and I was the best suited to get the answer.”

“How? Do you have night vision? Superhuman strength? Superhuman senses?”

“No, but the guy who did wouldn’t come off the roof, so the next best choice was the person without all that. The one they know isn’t a threat.”

“She’s right,” Simon murmured, coming up behind us. “You don’t like what she did, but you know it needed to be done.”

“Then we should have decided that together.”

“Would you have listened?” I asked.

He didn’t answer.

I continued. “I couldn’t talk to you, because you’d have stopped me. I couldn’t talk to Tori because you’d blame her for letting me leave. I couldn’t talk to Simon because he’d know you’d blame him, so he’d stop me, too. I don’t like sneaking around, but you didn’t leave me a choice. It’s black-and-white to you. If Simon or I take a risk, we’re stupid and reckless. If you do, we’re stupid for worrying.”

“I never said that.”

“Did you listen to me up on the roof?”

“I said I was coming in.”

“When? I left twenty minutes later, and Simon was still up there, trying to talk you down.” I shook my head. “Enough. We don’t have time to bicker. We need to make plans.”