The door handle to the room clicks before it opens. Preston and Gage come in, and I have no doubt Gage is accompanying him in case one of us loses our shit. The guys don’t look like they did hours earlier when they were so hostile, ready to kill us. They’re tired, their expressions rife with guilt.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve coming in here,” Seth says, starting for them. “You know what I could fucking do to you. You know what I could make you do to yourselves and each other. And I haven’t been thinking about anything else after what you did to us.”
“After whatSyphordid to us,” I remind him as I stand with the rest of the guys. Matteo comes up beside me, hooking an arm around me and tugging me close.
As Seth fumes, Brad approaches him, draping an arm over his shoulders. I imagine he’s holding him to restrain him, but he better be ready to cover his mouth. “How’s Finnegan?” Brad asks them.
Preston’s chin quivers. “He’s doing fine. He just woke up. So I figured we’d leave Spencer with him. Figured you guys might have some questions.”
“Somequestions?” Brad asks.
“Okay, maybe a lot of questions.”
“Do you want to start talking?” Seth asks. “Or should I make you?”
No one bothers to get onto Seth. Maybe because we’re too fucking tired. Or maybe because we’re so desperate for answers, we wouldn’t really mind.
“This all started at the end of the fall semester last year,” Preston says. “Finnegan found this notebook in the wall of the frat. It belonged to a group that used to practice magic. It was all fun and games at first. Like using a Ouija board. We didn’t really buy into it. Then some things started happening that made us realize what we were messing with. Alexei, that thing we told you about Finn’s mom, that was after we met Syphor. But then we used a spell from the book, and it changed Finnegan. Syphor entered him, and he had this power to get in our heads. We were all tied to him after that—we were his fucking drones. He made us do horrible things to each other.”
“But you remember it?” I ask.
Preston’s and Gage’s gazes shift around the room.
“We remember everything,” Preston mutters, the weight of his words hitting me right in the chest. “We were always there, in our heads, but we couldn’t control our bodies. We couldn’t talk to each other about it.”
“It was hell on earth,” Gage adds. “He would let us go about our lives to keep up appearances. Us being students at St. Lawrence gives him access to the Rift…and the Sinners. So he would perform as us during the day, and at night, he would work on his mission.”
“Which was?” Brad asks.
“There’s something on the other side. Something worse than him. Something even he fears.”
“That’s what we were warned about,” Luke says. “Last semester, when you and Finnegan were attacked by a bear…”
“I remember,” Preston says. “We all do. Syphor knewsomething was coming for Cody. Syphor could feel it, and he hoped we could stop it because I think the entity he works for wants Cody for itself. So he arranged for Alexei to meet us out there the night it was getting close. He didn’t realize you guys would show, and it threw the whole plan off, especially when Seth pushed for us to head back inside.”
“So how long have you known about the Sinners?” Seth asks.
“Only since Syphor. Before that, we didn’t have a clue anyone else knew about this stuff.”
“So Syphor was the one who got Alexei to follow us?”
Preston nods.
“I’m sure you can understand why I’m having a hard time believing you,” Seth says. “I’m tempted to push for the truth, but the only reason I’m not is because Cody would tell me that’s wrong, and though he’s passed out, I respect his wishes.”
“We can appreciate why you’d be suspicious,” Gage says.
“Seth,” a faint voice comes from behind us, and we all turn to see Cody stirring.
“We’re not finished yet,” Seth warns Preston before hurrying to Cody’s side.
“Codes, you okay?”
Cody squints as his eyes adjust to the light. “I feel all right, I guess.” He’s still a little out of it, blinking as he seems to be forcing his eyes to stay open.
“Do you know more about this thing that’s coming?” Luke asks Preston, picking up where Seth left off. It’s a question that’s on all our minds.
Preston shakes his head. “No. Syphor had access to all our thoughts, but we didn’t have access to his. We saw what he allowed us to see. Knew what he allowed us to know.”
