Pressure grew in Kit’s chest. He looked down to see fingertips emerge from the centre of his torso, followed by hands. It was…disconcerting, to say the least, watching the rest of Jack squeeze himself out of his body.
“Jack, I beg you. For the love of all that’s holy, please never ever do that to me again,” Kit said, rubbing at his sternum.
Jack gave him a surprisingly jaunty salute, then asked, “How long till sundown?”
“An hour or so,” Kit said, going by his inner body clock.
“We’ll stay with you until then,” Jack said.
Kit’s eyelids threatened to flutter shut, but he forced them open. He needed to keep watch over Quin.
True to Jack’s word, the ghosts kept him company in the hallway with him until the sun went down. Jack spoke a little, telling Kit about their lives before Lawrence took them. Exhaustion dragged at Kit, but he committed every tidbit of information to memory.
Just before the sun went down, Jack floated higher into the air. “We’ll be leaving soon,” he said.
Kit blinked. “What do you mean?”
“We can rest, knowing he can do no more harm to others.”
That brought tears to Kit’s eyes. “Do youwantto rest?”
“The last thing Thomas ever said was that he’d see our creator suffer for his crimes. Once that’s happened, we can let go.”
Kit locked eyes with Thomas, who nodded his agreement. “I thought you might have wanted to…I don’t know, come with us?”
Matthew shook his head, and Jack answered for them all. “We’ve been in this state for a hundred years. It’s not much of a life.”
“I’m sorry. So, so sorry.”
Jack gave Kit a small smile. “Don’t be.”
A tear escaped Kit’s eye, and he wiped it away as he sniffled. “I can’t believe you’re making me feel more emotions. I’ve had quite enough of them already.”
Jack laughed, and Thomas looked amused. “We’re going to go back to the manor. Say goodbye to the others for us,” Jack said.
“I will. And thank you. We’d all have been burnt to a crisp if you hadn’t helped. You’re a hero.”
“I like the sound of that. Farewell, Kit.”
Before he could do much more than wave, the three ghost boys vanished. Kit let himself slump against the wall, willing the bereft feeling to leave him. He sensed when the sun dipped below the horizon, as the insistent pull to fall asleep faded.
DJ wandered out of the bedroom, clad in only a tiny pair of boxers, scrubbing his eyes. He glanced at the carnage laid out before him and sniffed. “Is that petrol?”
Kit nodded.
“Damn. The cleaning fees for this place are gonna be through the roof.”
Kit burst into peals of laughter, his entire body shaking. Rake and Shaun appeared behind DJ, equally bare. Shaun looked alarmed, and Rake had his usual serious expression on his face.
“What the hell happened?” Shaun asked.
Rake responded. “Lawrence, I presume.” His gaze slid to Quin. “Is there a way to keep him unconscious until we get back up north? The ring clearly isn’t working.”
“The ring’sgone,” Kit said. “Can one of you put him on the bed, please? On a spare blanket, please. He’s probably a bit damp from the petrol.”
Rake did just that, lifting Quin and, with what might have been help or hindrance from DJ, took him into the room they’d been staying in.
Shaun crouched in front of Kit. “Kit, your face,” he said, his expression turning horrified. “Oh, god, yourarms.” He reached out but stopped short of touching him. “Is that from the sun?”
