Cody came through next, taking a single step, which left Joel.
He stood in the hallway, facing me as if he were staring at a radioactive bomb.
Standing up, I brushed off my dirty knees and waited as his good hand pressed to the surface of the mirror. The ripples were soft, distorting his frame.
“Cody!” Robin half whispered, half squealed. She pushed Phoebe back and launched herself at her boyfriend.
The sudden greeting overwhelmed poor, unsuspecting Cody. At first he stared down at the leech-like girl attached to his waist as if she were an alien before he grabbed her face and kissed her.
It wasn’t a peck like something we’d seen before; it was a passionate, sloppy kiss that made us look away.
They were locked together heatedly, and Phoebe and I exchanged uncomfortable frowns, waiting for it to end.
Joel’s hand pressed through the two-way mirror, and without thinking, I grabbed it and pulled. Off balance, Joel stumbled through the mirror. His blooded hand curled into a fist and aimed for my face. Seeing me, he paused.
I smiled at him, and thankfully he dropped his hand. “That was mean,” he said to me but smiled, just a little.
When he saw Robin and Cody making out beside him, he said, his voice booming, “Hey! Time and place. Heard of it?”
Cody lifted his face from Robin’s, who sought his jawline instead. “What’s your problem now, Joel?”
“We have things to do,” Phoebe said over Cody.
Robin reluctantly backed away from Cody’s arms. “Your eyes,” Robin said, squinting at Cody’s popped blood vessels. She roamed her hands over Cody as if to make sure he were real before glancing to us. “What are you doing here?”
“Following Cooper,” Joel said, eyes level. “He had his boxers all up in a knot about you.”
“Cooper?” Cody sounded lost, staring into Robin’s eyes. “Cooper who?”
As if hearing it for the first time, Robin stiffened. “Cooper?” she asked and stepped away from Cody.
The tension in the air thrummed. Robin sized up Joel, and I thought back to when I first met Cooper. He had insisted on being around me. He said he was a friend of Robin’s, but I’d never seen them hang out before—I didn’t think so, anyway.
“Cooper Mesick,” I answered Cody after the long pause.
“Why would Cooper Mesick be looking for you?” Cody asked Robin.
Robin sighed, shaking her head as she turned watery eyes to each of us. “You don’t know?”
“Know what?” Cody asked, sounding like a demand.
She turned to Cody and reached out for his hand. “He’s my ex.”
Joel rolled his eyes.
Phoebe cracked first. “Is there something you want to add, Joel?” A twinge edged her voice, as if they knew something the rest of us didn’t. Phoebe didn’t know Cooper Mesick or Joel, I was certain of it. Or I had been, once.
Joel shook his head. “Nope. She’s right. He’s her ex.” Then he turned his back to us, staring into the hallway we’d left. The empty mirrors all reflected each other, leaving us out of them.
Robin hesitated before continuing. “We stayed friends, but I didn’t think he would try and come here.”
“He did,” I said. “I tried to make him leave when I realized what was going on but…”
“Bullshit!” Joel roared.
His outburst sparked a flare of anger that was so sudden and sharp I couldn’t stop myself. “It’s true. I remember telling you to get out. I remember telling him to leave me alone.” I realized my voice had risen to a screeching volume. “If you would have listened, you wouldn’t be here.” I paused just long enough for Phoebe to come up behind me and touch my shoulder.
“We know, Fuller,” she cajoled. “It’s okay.”
Turning away, I stared down the long dark hallway. We had to get out of here. Or rather, I had to get away from Joel. Every sneer and sarcastic remark pushed me closer to that edge. I thought of the madness that took Nell.
“Why are you smiling like that?” Robin asked me.
I realized my teeth were gritted, lips peeled back, but I wasn’t smiling. At least I didn’t think so. “Nothing. We have to get out of here.”
As if on cue, the shrill wail echoed all around us again.
“What’s that?” Phoebe whispered.
Robin latched back onto Cody, whose eyes were wide.
Joel, who was leaning against the wall we’d just come through, said, “Sounds like a baby.”
Cody asked, “What’s a baby doing here?”
Phoebe limped ahead of me, as if a few extra steps would allow her to see around the bends and turns of our labyrinth. “Maybe we need to find it to find our way out.”
Robin’s despair tripled when she softened her tone. “There is no way out.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
“That can’t be true.” Cody stroked Robin’s tousled, shoulder-length hair.
“We can’t be stuck here,” Phoebe agreed. “Something might’ve changed now that we’ve found you.”
Why was she looking at me like I’d know?
I shrugged and tried to smile. “Maybe.”
Robin wiped at her steady stream of tears. “We should have never went to that house.”
I wanted to say, “Oh trust me. I’ve been down that road of regret. Don’t touch it.” But her sniffling vulnerability stopped me.
Joel pointed up the hallway. “What’s that?”
“A mattress,” Robin said.
I was the first to move toward it. Phoebe followed, limping as she went. Robin, Cody, and Joel stayed behind.
As I neared the mattress, the grime and dirt became more evident. A spring had torn through the fabric near the center. Patterns of pink roses had faded to the point where I could only see the print near the edges. A small picture frame leaned against the black wall nearby.
Careful not to kneel on the mattress, I picked up the frame, which shaped around a drawing.
“Fuller,” Phoebe whispered, catching my attention.
She wasn’t looking at me but at the wall where the two-way mirror stood. Blocking the view of the hallway were dozens of drawings. Each was magnificent in its own way.
The details and shading were intricate and professional.
Disturbingly, they were of us.
I looked to the one in my hand. It was of Phoebe, Cody, Robin, and Joel all huddled in a tight circle. Robin was crying, her face tilted up to Cody. Phoebe’s face was scrunched, her mouth open wide as if she could be screaming. Joel was yelling, the line on his forehead creased and angry.
Looking to the wall, I saw one of Aidan and me. We were sitting close to each other, holding hands. My expression was that of deep meditation while Aidan stared in horror. Blood oozed out of the corner of his mouth.
A hand touched my shoulder.
I jumped and twisted to see Phoebe. She was pointing to another drawing on the wall. There were so many it was hard to know which to focus on. “Who’s that?” Phoebe asked.
Out of all the sketches, only one person wasn’t from our group.
The girl from the library wore a long robe. The hood covered most of her face, but I recognized her.
Elfelejt. Forget.
“And look. Is this a clue?” Phoebe tapped a picture of Claire Weatherbe, huddled in a ball. A stairway was behind her, glowing eyes beneath the steps. The one next to it was of Cooper. He stood next to a sturdy-looking tree. In his hands, he held a noose.
“I don’t know,” I said and passed Phoebe the framed picture I’d found.
Robin and Cody had decided to join us. I hadn’t even heard them coming.
Cody breathed out, “Whoa.”
“What do they mean, Robin?” Phoebe asked.
Robin shook her head. “How should I know?”
Phoebe popped out her lower lip. “Thought maybe you would have come to some conclusion. You were here for a while, weren’t you?”
“Well yeah, but they’re just pictu
res,” Robin pointed out. “Besides, they creeped me out.” She inched closer to Cody until he put an arm around her.
My eyes shifted past Cody and Robin to see Joel staring slack jawed at a young woman that I didn’t recognize. This one wasn’t a drawing. Instead, she was real.
I pointed, snagging everyone’s attention.
The girl couldn’t have been much older than sixteen. She stood alone near the spot where we’d come through the mirror.
Phoebe snatched my arm, fingers squeezing hard.
She and I hurried back to Joel, who pressed his back against the two-way mirror so hard I wouldn’t be surprised if it cracked.
“Who are you?” My voice imposed upon the stiff silence.
This solitary figure held an unmistakable aura of bitterness at the turn of her mouth. She had limp strawberry blonde hair that was matted to her head as if she’d been dunked in slime. As she glared through the dripping tresses at us, I shivered. It was as if she summoned the cold with her blue eyes.
She opened her mouth, taking a wet, uneven breath, before closing it again.
Joel sidled along the wall, inching closer to us.
“She asked you a question,” Phoebe said to the strange newcomer. Her stance widened. “Who are you?”
The girl shifted her icy glare to Phoebe.
“Oh my God,” Robin whispered behind me. “Why is she wet?”
The strange teenager tilted her head to the side, her bright eyes glistening. But she wasn’t looking at me; she was looking at Joel.
“Joel?” I whispered. “Do you know her?”
He didn’t answer. Despite his weakened condition, he appeared ready to leave us behind.
“Don’t separate,” I warned, and he acknowledged me with the faintest nod.
The ghostly pale girl stepped closer. It was so swift it was a twitch, a blur.
Gasping, I knocked into Phoebe as I jumped with a start. “We should run,” I whispered.
“We’ll never out run it,” Phoebe whispered back, just as fierce.
“I think it just wants Joel.” Cody joined our hushed conversation. “Let’s just leave him.”
I glanced at Cody. The hair bristled on my arms when I realized he looked serious.
The strange girl took another quick step closer, water dripping to the dark floor. Her feet left brief, damp impressions that faded and steamed away.
“Joel!” Robin gasped in a tiny voice. “Do something.”
“Bess?” Joel’s single intake of breath disguised the name in a whisper.
Phoebe asked, “Like the poem?”
Joel swallowed hard. “But…” The sweat glistened on his face as he pushed himself away. “But she’s dead.”
“What does she want?” I asked as the girl took another fearful step toward us. I was certain I didn’t want her to reach us.
In unison, we all backed away.
“Joel!” Robin insisted, her voice reaching a squeak. “What does she want?”
Joel shook his head. “She’s dead,” was all he said.
Phoebe growled. “We see that. But if you want, she is probably more than willing to gut you alive if you don’t let us know what we should be doing.”
Shrill shrieks from the infant unnerved me. Part of me wanted to find it and wrap it up in my arms as I would Caitlin. Except this baby, wherever it was, had turned cries into a shriek so high pitched, it was more like a whistle.
I hugged myself, feeling the warmth in my stomach gain traction. I couldn’t influence, I knew, and I didn’t want to give Damien a reason to make things more difficult.
Phoebe gripped my arm harder. “What is going on?”
I cleared my throat and motioned to Bess. “Did she die when she was older? Was she pregnant?”
Joel’s dark eyes flickered up to me. He didn’t have to answer.
“How?” I asked.
Joel said, “Didn’t your parents explain how babies were made?”
Flustered, I stumbled over my words. “I get it. You’re kind of freaked out, but you want to tell us how she died?”
The baby’s voice grew louder. It took all I had not to clamp my hands over my ears.
Phoebe gasped. “Was it yours?”
Joel didn’t answer. His face screwed up in a mixture of fear and hatred.
“Bess…” Cody whispered behind me. “As in Elizabeth?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Joel barked in annoyance.
Phoebe was quicker than me. “As in Betsy?”
I ducked my head as a renewed shrill cry pierced the air.
“How did it go again?” Phoebe asked. “The poem.”
Robin’s pale green eyes fluttered between Cody, Phoebe, and me. “What?”
Phoebe said, “Three of the names I remember. Elizabeth, Bess, and Betsy.”
Cody chimed in. “They all went together to get a bird’s nest.”
“It was seek a bird’s nest, idiot,” Joel snapped.
Staring at Joel, I shouted, “Say the poem, the whole thing!”
“I don’t remember every line,” he snarled. “I just remember: They all went together to seek a bird’s nest. They found a bird’s nest with five eggs in it.”
I had to shout, as the screaming baby had nearly drowned us out. “They all took one and left four in it!”
“What was the fourth name?” Phoebe demanded.
“Oh crap,” Cody spat before grabbing Robin around the waist. He picked her up as he spun around and began to run.
The sudden turn in tactics made me hesitate.
Phoebe, however, sprinted after him without question.
Turning my head, I saw Bess standing in front of Joel. She brought up her right hand as if to stroke his face, though he leaned away from her touch.
Terror reflected in his eyes as Joel screamed so loud the shrill whistle died away.
His hands reached up as he tried to grab hold of the pale wrists before Bess could touch him.
“Run!” I shouted and turned to follow the others.
As if positioned on a spring, Joel bolted with me.
The further we ran, the more noticeable Phoebe’s limp became. Joel ran as if his legs had been stuffed with lead.
Cody and Robin had managed to get so far ahead of us that they were no longer in sight.
I shouted their names, hoping they’d slow down. We couldn’t separate. This was exactly when Damien would find a way to keep us apart.
Breathing hard, Joel began to slow to a jog. It wasn’t long before he fell against the two-way mirror-wall.
His hand up against the wall to brace himself, he looked back to the strange ghost-like woman following us. Each of her steps was quick, jerky, and calculated. Her eyes glowed behind the tresses of her matted hair.
Water left a trail of steam behind her, fizzling against the black floor.
“Joel, what did you do to this girl?” Phoebe demanded as she slowed down.
Heck, I’d be pissed if Joel got me pregnant. I asked, “Did you rape her?”
Joel gave me a dirty look. “Are you stupid?”
I shrugged, trying to seem indifferent. “You’re a jerk. It’s a legitimate question.”
“No, it isn’t!” he yelled, clearly offended. “She got pregnant. It was a mistake. I didn’t want it, and she did, so I left.”
Looking back, Bess tilted her head to the side at the words, pausing in mid-step. “Left,” she said. Her voice echoed as if over a P.A. system.
Joel clenched his jaw, the muscles twitching.
“You left me,” the girl said again. Sadness touched the icy tone. “And I died.”
“Elspeth!” Phoebe exclaimed.
It took me several seconds to understand what she meant.
“Joel, repeat after me,” Phoebe instructed as the pale Bess approached him, reaching out her hand again.
Shaking, Joel had little choice.
“Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess,” Phoebe began.
“They all went together to seek a bird’s
nest.”
Joel repeated obediently when Bess’s hand touched the side of his face. Wheezing sharply, he discolored before our eyes, appeared jaundiced. His entire body went board straight, as if every muscle were seizing.
“They found a bird’s nest with five eggs in it.” Phoebe’s voice wavered.
This time, Joel didn’t move. His lips twitched, but no sounds came out.
Phoebe took a deep breath and half limped, half ran for the girl.
Intending to use her shoulder as a battering ram, Phoebe never collided with her. Instead, she ran straight through and slammed into the wall with a cry of pain that dwarfed the wailing babe.
Trying to think of what I could do, I reached out and grabbed Joel’s shoulder. “Say it, Joel!”
His voice was weak, but I heard him say the line, his mouth barely moving as his lips began to change color before my eyes.
“They all took one,” I coached as Phoebe dragged herself to her feet, “and left four in it.”
Bess’s glowing blue eyes shifted to me. Their haunting gaze rippled outward until I felt cold all over.
She released Joel and turned to me.
Her freezing fingers touched my temples before I could back up.
In an instant, all of my body warmth was snatched away.
My legs, arms, torso, everything contorted. Ice coated my numbing skin and absorbed. Inching in, it infected muscles, turned blood to slush, and scratched bone. That felt the most painful. Every joint was sandpaper, scraping and hard to move.
Don’t move, I thought. You’ll break everything in your body.
“Fuller!” I heard Phoebe but didn’t dare roll my eyes to see her. Even they felt frosted, giving me a dull headache that rapidly froze over.
Joel, who was now free, took two large steps back, and I realized he was running away.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Phoebe hobbled past Bess and me. “Joel!”
Surprisingly, he stopped and jerked his head to look from Bess to me to Phoebe. He was still poised to run. The color began to return to his face—or what color there was left beneath his tan.
Midnight Ruling Page 23