Well done, faithful one.
Because Ididhear them.Right?
I look around, trying to determine where that voice could have come from...and that’s when I see it.
A book on the windowside table. Ancient-looking. Covers that look as if it were made of jade.
But most importantly of all, it’ssparkling,and so I nearly trip over my own feet in my haste to get it.
I open the book, and words scribbled in gold ink—I’m thinking fountain pen, with a really fine nib—start appearing, one letter at a time.
You defeated one of the others.
“You’re talking about Amos?” I ask shakily.
Yes.
“Why did he kill Abigail the first time? In...my world, he was only conning people out of money—”
Because that is how evil works.
It makes the darkness grow darker.
You do not even realize what is happening until it is too late.
You become evil, and evil has become you.
There is no longer rhyme or reason to what the others do.
I remember Amos touching me and his various attempts to seduce me. It didn’t make sense at that time. But now I get it. The fact that it didn’t make sense...now explains it all.
They destroy for the sake of destroying.
They cannot help it.
And if there is nothing left to destroy—
Then they will destroy themselves.
A silver arrow in the bottom right corner shows up, and I take that as my cue to turn to the next page.
For your courage, you are offered a reward. Choose one:
A) A magical talent of your own
B) A surprise
I stare at the options.
No mention of Devyn.
No mention of Abigail.
No mention of what happens next, of whether the timeline resets, of whether I’ll wake up back in my tiny apartment in Providence with nothing but memories of a man who looked at me like I was worth keeping.
I want to ask. The question burns in my throat—what about him, what about us, what about—
But I’m too scared.
