“Yes.” He draws his fangs. “Unless you let us handle it. They deserve it, not just for what they did to you, but for what your sister did to Mabel.”
My lips part, and for half a second, I want to tell him to go for it. Tear the hearts out of everyone who’s given me hell over the last few years. But would that be the end? Would the Order keep sending people? How much death and carnage would it take to just be able to live my life in peace?
Maybe it should scare me that there’s a small part of me curious to figure it out.
“Cheaters don’t win,” I say, both trying to convince Theo as well as myself. “And some day, I can look them in the eye and tell them just that: when you cheat and lie and still don’t win, it’s a whole other level of embarrassment.”
“But that’s precisely it,” he goes on. “It is an embarrassment. And a frustration for them. And they’ll only come back harder. Fight dirtier.”
A sick feeling in the pit of my stomach starts to form, because he’s right—again. “I just have to believe that good wins. Eventually.”
“Maybe. But will you live long enough to see that day?” He flashes a cocky grin. “Take solace in the fact that you are—for a lack of a better term—living rent free in their heads. Theyarevery much obsessed with you, which is why you are actually controlling them. They cannot simply go out and live their lives without thinking about you. You consume their every thought, every move, every motive. The more they try to control you, the more they are showing you have power over them.”
“I guess I never thought about it like that.”
“There’s a lot you haven’t thought about,” he says with a sign, sounding bored. “Now are you ready to proceed so we can close this exciting chapter?”
“Maybe you’ll have fun.”
“I highly doubt that.”
Shaking my head, I put my glass in the dishwasher and go upstairs to get my shoes. Devon steps out of his room as soon as I get into the hall. I bring a hand up, sparking magic around my fingers. Devon’s face falls when he sees me standing defensively.
“H-hey,” he says shyly, taking a step back, whether it’s to resist temptation or to make me feel comfortable, I don’t know.
“Hi.” Awkward tension fills the air. “Hey,” I start. “Two of the people from our list of demon-deaths had recently been recruited by the Order. Does that sound familiar?”
He shakes his head. “Sorry, but no. Also, the fuck?”
“Right?” I want to drop my guard and talk to him about this, but the bite on my neck looks even worse today. Mabel did her best to cover the bruises with makeup, but it’s still pretty obvious. The scabs are tight when I turn my head, serving as a constant reminder of what Devon has become. “I might be getting close to figuring out what you found.”
“I think I talked to someone,” he starts. “That night. I checked my phone and my search history. I called someone and we talked for seventeen minutes. The number is out of service now.”
“A burner phone, maybe. Can you text me the number?”
“Yeah, of course.”
The door to Mabel and Zeke’s room opens and they both come out, pausing when they see Devon talking to me in the hall.
“Hey,” Mabel says and hurries over. “Ready?”
“Yeah, just gotta grab my shoes.”
“I’ll come with you.” She links her arm through mine and escorts me into Xavier’s room, which I guess is also mine now. I grab a pair of black boots and then go down the stairs with Mabel. Devon’s door is shut when we go past. A heavy feeling starts to form in the pit of my stomach, bringing back the same sadness I felt when I opened the fridge.
“Look what I got!” Mabel says as we both get into the back of Theo’s SUV. Zeke sits shotgun and starts flipping through songs. “Tarot cards!”
“Ohh, cool.”
“Can you teach me?”
“Of course,” I tell her and she hands me the deck. We spent the entire drive to Huntersville reading cards. We park a blockaway and walk to the bar. It’s already full, and we get led into a table that’s been reserved just for Mabel. She goes live on one of her social media channels, showcasing the bar to her followers.
It’s themed like a 1920s speakeasy, and I can tell Mabel just loves it. This is her era, after all. The whole vibe is great, and the cocktail waitresses are dressed like flapper girls. We’re seated in the back, in a “secret room” that you go to through a hidden door. It’s pretty cool, if I’m being honest.
We order drinks, and by we, I mean just Mabel and me. I get a fruity mocktail and Mabel orders the new bottled blood that’s being advertised. According to the label, it’s a mix of pig blood and human donor blood that has been “filtered and refined”.
I’m almost curious enough to taste it. Almost.
