Caspian just looked confused. “What’s-”
“Never mind,” I blurted out, forcing myself to think about the puppy I saw in a store window at the mall during Christmas when I was twelve. He’d been so cute and fluffy, and I got to pet him-
“Thank you,” Cacey said immediately. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. That was a much better one.”
I stared down at the floor. My face was never going to feel normal again. I was always going to have a scarlet ring of shame around my ears.
“Aaaaaaanyway,” Cacey said a moment later. “I’m just here to let you know that we’re still keeping an eye on things, so keep playing it cool. If you see Vincent, let us know. Don’t accept rides from strangers. Don’t eat Halloween candy that doesn’t come from your neighbors, yadda, yadda, yadda. You know the whole safety drill. Understand?”
I glanced up at her. “Yeah, we got it.”
“Good.” She stood up. “Then, I’m off.” She waved to Caspian, then turned to me. “Oh, and I heard about this big prom thing coming up? Just FYI: Don’t be surprised if you see me and Uri there.” She started to move toward the door, but stopped. “Do they still serve Coca-Cola at those things? Or do I need to bring my own?”
I just laughed. I couldn’t help it.
“I’m taking it that’s a no?” she said. “I don’t need to bring my own?”
“No,” I said eventually. “You don’t need to bring your own soda. They’ll have drinks.”
“Cool. Then, have fun. Drink smart. And use protection.” She slipped her hand into her back pocket and withdrew something before tossing it to me. “And by that, I mean this.”
I glanced down at it. “A phone? I already have one of those.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t.” She nodded at Caspian.
“You got a phone for me?” he said in clear surprise. Then suspicion crossed his face. “Why?”
“So in case you need to reach us right away and you can’t get to her phone, you have your own.”
Caspian and I shared a look. It made a lot of sense, and I couldn’t help but wonder why we hadn’t thought of it sooner.
“Oh, and don’t worry about the bill,” Cacey called, continuing out the door. “You’re covered by the Revenant calling plan. The long-term contract, however, is a bitch.”
She laughed again as she went out the door, and a minute later I heard her downstairs talking with Mom and Sophie.
I flopped back onto the bed, feeling like I’d just been run over by a truck.
Talking to Cacey was exhausting.
* * *
Later that night Caspian and I left for Cyn’s house right before nine. Main Street wasn’t that far away, so it would only take us about two minutes to get there. I was actually a little bit surprised at how close she’d been this whole time.
On the way there we passed Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell’s house, and I noticed two things right away. The first was that even though it was dark outside, their house looked really dark. And … empty. The second was the reason why it looked that way: the FOR SALE sign in the yard. I came to a complete stop in the middle of the road and just stared at it.
“What’s going on?” Caspian asked, coming to a stop beside me.
“That’s the … For … It’s …”
I couldn’t even speak. All I could do was point.
“Isn’t that-”
“The Maxwells’ house,” I blurted out. “Kristen’s house. For sale.” I stood there, just looking back and forth at the sign and their empty house. I couldn’t believe it. They’d just upped and moved? What about Kristen? What about her room?
“This doesn’t mean they don’t love her anymore,” Caspian said, reading my mind. “You know that, right?”
“Yeah, but how can they …? Why would they …? I didn’t even know they were thinking about leaving,” I said softly.
Caspian stood there with me in silence, until I realized that we were going to be late for Cyn’s séance. “We should go,” I said, reluctant to pull myself away.
Caspian looked at me questioningly. “Are you sure? We can skip tonight.”
“And miss all the fun?” I shook my head firmly. “No. Let’s go.”
Because it didn’t matter how long I stood there and wished for things to change. The Maxwells had made their decision. Now it was time to make mine.
When we got to Cyn’s, the porch light was out and we had to bump our way up the dark walkway. The doorbell stuck when we pushed on it, and it kept buzzing and buzzing and buzzing. I was just about to cram my hands over my ears and tell Caspian we were leaving, when the front door finally swung open and Cyn peeked out.
Her wild red and green hair had been tamed back, pulled into a smooth mane that flared out from beneath a witch’s hat. Dark eyeliner rimmed both of her eyes, making them look large and exotic. As she moved forward to greet me, I saw that the little black dress she was wearing was sheer, and almost see-through. Jealousy reared its ugly head and I almost wished that we had gone home. I didn’t want Caspian to get a glimpse of any part of her beneath that dress.
“Hey, Cyn,” I said, moving to block his view.
She threw both arms around me in a giant hug. “So glad you could make it, dahhhhling. Do you like the hat?”
“Love it.”
She gestured for me to come in, and I stepped through the door. Caspian followed quickly behind, but when he passed Cyn, I could have sworn that her eyes focused on him for a moment. I held my breath to see what she would say.
A crash came from above us, and then loud laughter. Cyn’s eyes flitted away from where Caspian was standing, and drifted up. “Ben’s here,” she said by way of explanation.
“Ahhhh, I see. Then the party’s already started.”
“Yup. Follow me.”
I tried not to pay attention to the living room as we crossed through it. It wasn’t that it was dirty, or even cluttered. Far from it. It just had a vague, unlived-in look about it. None of the furniture matched. No pictures hung on the walls, or sat above the tiny TV. And there wasn’t a single personal possession in sight.
Cyn led me to the stairs, but she didn’t say anything. I couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed by the way her house looked or just didn’t care. We climbed up two flights, and then came to a door. The door was attached to more stairs that led the rest of the way.
“The attic,” Cyn said slowly as we walked up. “Watch out for bats.”
Automatically I ducked my head, and she laughed.
“I’m teasing. There haven’t been any bats up here for a couple of weeks. Well, live ones, anyway. I found a skeleton in one corner, but I left it. Maybe we’ll be able to contact its former owner tonight. Do you speak batanese?”
I wished that I could have reached back for Caspian’s hand and held on to it. I didn’t want to see any bats, living or dead. Then I felt that buzzing sensation on the back of my leg, and I glanced at him. He smiled at me and whispered, “I’m here. I won’t let the bats get you.”
I smiled back. November first, November first, November first.
I took one final step up from the last stair, and the room opened into a wide space. A few chairs had been set in a semicircle, but almost everybody was sitting on the floor, spread out along a Persian rug with a black cast-iron pot in the middle of it.
Ben, of course, already had his shoes off.
“Hey, girl,” Beth called. She was sitting next to a boy I didn’t recognize, but he looked a little bit younger than us. Grant?
“Hey, Beth. Ben.” I waved to both of them.
Cyn pointed to a girl I didn’t know, sitting beside Ben. “That’s Sara-from my art class-and Mark.” Her hand went to a boy slumped in a giant leather chair. He put up one finger, then let it drift back down again.
“And Grant,” Beth chimed in. “From computer class.” She gave me a look, and I smiled knowingly.
“Hey, Grant,” I said. He was kind of cute in a geeky techboy kind of way.
“Hey
, Abbey,” he replied.
Suddenly Ben did something that resembled a magic trick and made a candle “disappear,” and the girl he was next to, Sara, encouraged his every move. He went to make it come back again and knocked over the lid of the black pot sitting in the middle of the rug. It fell heavily to the floor, and everyone laughed.
“Where do you want me to sit?” I asked Cyn, hoping that Caspian would be able to find a spot close by me.
“Wherever.”
I realized that they were already sitting in an almost closed circle, with an opening on the other side of Sara. I gave her a small smile as I went to sit down beside her. My back was to a supporting post, but there was enough room for Caspian to sit behind me, which he did.
“What should I do?” he asked softly as soon as we were settled in. “Make stuff move? Levitate?”
I gave him a brief shrug. I didn’t know what else he could do. And I really didn’t know what Cyn had already planned.
“Maybe I’ll just make the curtains move or something.”
I glanced over at the diaphanous white curtains hanging from a nearby window. Then I gave him an almost imperceptible nod. That was a good trick. I didn’t want anybody freaking out too much.
Be honest. You don’t know what he can or can’t do, and you don’t want to find out here in front of everyone. What if he tries to move something and can’t touch it? Do you really want to see that and not be able to react?
Ruthlessly I squashed that thought down and pasted a smile on my face. I didn’t want to think about that right now. “Are we ready to get started?” I asked loudly, with a note of forced cheer. “Let’s get this séance going!”
Ben hooted and drummed his hands against the floor. “Yeah!” he said. “Let’s see some ghosts!”
Cyn went over to a small cupboard and took out some candles and matches. Then she came back to us and held them up. “We’re using red, green, and black candles tonight,” she said. “Red for love, because we want the spirits to know that we come with love in our hearts. Black for the veil, because they will have to pass through it to reach us. And green for protection. We don’t want anyone here who isn’t welcome.”
The candles were passed from one hand to another, and I ended up with a red one. Cyn lit the first one and then got up to turn out the lights. Flames wavered and wax dripped as we lit our candles off of one another.
When Cyn returned, she sat at the opposite side of the circle and drew her feet up in front of her. They were bare. At her side was a potted plant.
She stuck a hand into the pot and withdrew some of the dirt, muttering something to herself and rubbing the dirt between her fingers. She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, she tossed the dirt into the black pot on the rug. “Everyone ready?” she said.
I nodded.
It was then she noticed that I had a red candle.
“Abbey …” She trailed off and frowned, looking like she was concentrating hard. “Black,” she said suddenly. “You need a black candle.”
Okay. I shared a look with the Sara. Her face was eager.
“You.” Cyn pointed at her. “Switch candles.”
Sara obediently handed me her black candle, and I handed her my red one.
“That’s better.” Cyn nodded. “Okay, Ben, will you light the candles in the pot?”
He leaned over and lit them.
“We have one of each candle in the sacred vessel,” Cyn intoned. “Black for the veil, red for love, green for protection. There is also a ring of earth.” She stopped and whispered, “A.k.a. dirt,” and a low giggle escaped from Sara. Cyn continued, “To bind the candles together and act as a grounding force. We came from earth, and thus we shall return to it.”
I could feel the slight tilt of my lips as I watched her. I bet Cyn doesn’t even believe any of what she’s saying. She probably got this from The Vampire Diaries or something. But I had to hand it to her. She definitely fit the role of an ancient pagan priestess.
“Now, everyone just close their eyes and concentrate,” she said. “Think of someone you’d like to speak to and repeat their name over and over in your mind. I shall begin the incantation now.”
My eyes flew to Ben as soon as she said that, and his eyes met mine. Don’t think Kristen, don’t think Kristen, don’t think Kristen, I mentally pleaded with him. As much as I desperately wanted to see her, or hear from her, I didn’t want it like this.
Not like this.
His gaze skittered away, and I couldn’t decipher what he was thinking.
It’s just pretend, I told myself. She won’t really come through. This is just a stupid thing that stupid teenagers do. Relax, Abbey. Just relax.
I almost had myself convinced when Cyn started talking again.
“Lift the veil, come forth,” she said urgently. “Lift the veil, come forth. Lift the veil, come forth. I beg of you. Lift the veil, come forth. Lift the veil, come forth. Lift the veil, come forth!”
The last time she said it, her voice turned to a scream and my back went ramrod straight. I sat up and inhaled sharply. Every hair on my arms lifted, and a cold sensation slithered down my spine.
Chapter Eighteen. A MESSAGE
But all these were nothing to the tales of ghosts and apparitions that succeeded.
– “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
“ Is anyone coming through?” Ben asked Cyn, leaning over to her. “Helllooooo. Are you with us?”
“Who’s here?” Sara asked. “Is there anyone with us?”
Someone snickered. I think it was Beth.
“Can you ask my grandmother to come through?” Sara said, loudly and eagerly. “Rose White. From Boston, Massachusetts. Can you bring her through? Is she here?”
“Chill, girl,” Beth muttered. Then Grant whispered something low to her, and she turned to him, giggling.
“I am channeling … Michael Jackson,” Ben said suddenly. “Whoo! I’m feeling the urge … the urge … to dance!” He stood up and did something that resembled a moonwalk, singing “Billie Jean” the whole time. Beth clapped her hands for him just as he was about to grab his-
“You guys,” Sara interrupted. “This is serious.”
“Silence!”
We all looked at Cyn. Her eyes were closed, but she had a look of determination on her face. “Someone is at the door. Trying to come through.”
She lifted her head but kept her eyes closed. When she spoke again, there was something different about the texture of her voice, and she couldn’t seem to get out a complete thought. “… have to warn …,” she said. “Trouble. Coming. Trouble.”
We all watched, mesmerized, as her body started jerking. Then her head fell forward.
“Oh, shit,” Beth said, finally breaking our shocked silence. “Is she, like, having a seizure or something?”
I couldn’t tell if this was all part of the show, or if something really was wrong. Either way, though, it was too much. It had gone on for too long.
“Cyn?” I managed to get out. “Cyn, are you okay?” I went to put my candle down, and the instant it left my hands, Cyn’s head lifted up. Her eyes opened, and she screamed. A hoarse, terrible scream.
We all gasped.
Cyn started weeping. She covered her face with her hands, and then all of a sudden, she pointed at me. “You’re next! You’re next, and he’s coming, and you better be careful. He wants you and he means to have you. You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”
I was frozen. She was talking about him. Vincent. Was it Kristen trying to warn me away from her killer? Or was it Cyn just playing me?
“Whoa, okay,” said Ben. “I think this is enough, Cyn. You scared us all pretty good.” He tried to put a hand on her arm, but she shook him off.
“If you think what happened before was bad, just wait,” she said. “A little blood is nothing.” She sobbed again. “He will tear you to pieces! He will rip out your heart and soul just as surely as he did mine. Nothing will stand in his way!�
��
Cyn reached out to me, bumping the pot so that it was dangerously close to tipping over. Someone dropped their candle, and it rolled across the floor, away from the group. Several heads turned to watch it.
“Let’s go, Abbey,” Caspian said behind me, standing up. “I don’t know what’s going on, but she’s fucking crazy.”
I scuttled back a bit. Closer to him, yet helpless to move away any farther. I was desperate not to hear what she was saying, and at the same time I was desperate to hear more.
Cyn lunged. And then grabbed my face.
“Abbey, Abbey, can you hear me?” she asked.
“Kristen?” I whispered. Low enough so that no one else could hear me. “Kris, is it you?”
She put one hand up against my cheek, and up close I saw her eyes. I would have recognized those eyes anywhere. They weren’t Cyn’s eyes. They were Kristen’s. “I’m sorry,” she said urgently. “Sorry this happened to you. Sorry … because of me …” Her words faded.
“It’s okay, Kristen. It’s okay. Just stay. Please. Stay-” My voice broke.
She smiled again. “You were my best-”
“There’s so much I have to tell you,” I replied. “So much you don’t know. So much to talk about-” I found myself gripping her hands fiercely.
Her eyes widened. “Be careful, Abbey! Be careful!”
And then, as if on cue, all the candles went out.
Someone screamed, and a flare of sudden panic grabbed hold of the room. “Who just touched my ass?” Beth shrieked.
“Make it stop, make it stop,” Sara was saying in a small voice. Mark yelled for someone to find the damn light switch, and I held very still.
Cyn’s hands were cold, and she was completely quiet.
“I got it,” Ben said. The overhead lights flickered on a moment later. “Is everyone okay?”
I glanced at Cyn. She looked confused. But more importantly, she looked … like her. Her eyes were green again. Not brown.
“Why am I over here?” she asked. Then she saw our hands. “Did something happen?”
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