She had to make a Find Me mirror with her heart in her throat and tears in her eyes.
It was really not a surprise when it turned out badly.
All she could see was someone’s elbow. Though luckily, it was an elbow she would have known anywhere.Thank god I mapped out every inch of his body, she thought, and then laughed. And Pod laughed. And all the lights in the house went on and off again, as if somewhere her beloved grandmother was glad, too.
Seth was alive. Now it was just a matter of making sure he stayed that way.
“Okay, buddy,” she said to her furry little companion. “Time to go get your dad back.”
And in response, Pod clapped his tiny hands with joy.
SHE KNEW THEYknew she had come. She could feel it crackling in the air, the moment she entered the House That Isn’t Here. A kind of tension—the residue of werewolf fear. Plus, there was no golden, glowing hallway to greet her.
All the lights were out, with no discernible way to turn them back on.
But it was okay. She’d thought of that. She’d brewed a potionthat formed a glowing blue ball, when she spilled a drop of it into the air. And more: it seemed to guide her. When she stepped to the door of the first room, the orb kept going. It floated all the way to the end of the hall, trailing wisps of light. Then it hovered in front of the door there, waiting for her to catch up.
She had to force herself not to hurry. Because hurrying meant mistakes, and she couldn’t afford to make any. These fuckers were wily, and they were mean, and if they couldn’t hurt her by tricking her, she knew they’d do it by hurting Seth. So, careful was the name of the game. Cautious. With liberal use of the watch on her wrist, which she’d enchanted to detect threats.
If it buzzed, watch out.
If it stayed quiet, all was well.
Or as well as could be while she hunted a bunch of deranged monsters. Because even with all the protection she was covered in, and the weapons she’d brought along, she knew that was what she was doing. And it was absolutely terrifying on about a million different levels. She had to force herself to creep forward, heart hammering, mouth dry, every part of her shaking.
It seemed to take forever to get to the door at the end of the hall. Then even longer than that to turn the doorknob. Her hand was sweating so much it kept sliding off. She had to wipe it on her jeans and take some calming breaths and think of Seth’s sweet face before she could manage.
And finally, finally it gave. The door opened.
But she kind of wished it hadn’t.
Because nothing on this earth could have prepared her for what she found beyond. She almost yelled in horror, despite how steely and tough she had wanted to seem. And she only caught herself by remembering that this wasn’t real. It wasn’t actually the auditorium from high school, appearing exactly as it had when she’d last seen it. It was just an illusion, of a kind so powerful she knew the Jerks could never have created it.
It was the room itself that had done this, quite clearly. She could feel it humming through her whole body—the sense that something in here knew exactly what you were most afraid of. Itknew, and then it simply recreated whatever that was, right down to the last letter. And god that last letter was good.
There were banners on the walls yelling about a spring fling. One of the stage spotlights was flickering, just like it had back then. Hell, the magic here had even filled the rows of foldout chairs. A bunch of disturbingly uncanny approximations sat there, staring at the stage.
And every one of them turned to look at her when she stepped into the room.
Waiting, she thought, to laugh at her again.
She almost turned and fled. But then she remembered: they weren’t real. And even if they had been, they had no power over her anymore. Truthfully, she was sorry she had ever let them have power over her at all. It seemed so foolish now, so small, like something another person entirely had been bothered about.
Though it surprised her when that thought seemed to make them flicker a little. They took on a faded sheen. And it got stronger, the more she let the idea sink in. I am not that girl anymore, and all of you were never anything to her anyway, she told herself. Until somehow, there was not a single face left. Just chairs, the stage.
Jason sat on the edge of it, swinging his legs, like this was all such a blast. “You figured us out. Seems you’re not as silly as I took you for,” he said in that snotty voice of his. “Still, it was pretty foolish of you to come here at all. I mean, what do you think you’re gonna do? Rescue your little boyfriend? When there are ten of us and only one of you?”
Yes, she wanted to snarl.I’m gonna demolish every last one of you. But she stayed calm. She shrugged. “Ten, huh? Thought you’d have more,” she said, and watched his face crease into unabashed fury, in response.
“It’s enough to stop you from ambushing us again,”
“Oh, so that’s what happened last time. I just played dirty.”
“You fucking know you did, you little bitch. Using that potion.”
“You mean the one I can also use to make any of the wolves you’ve recruited—but who don’t really have anything against me—feel a lot better than they currently do?” she said. Then shelet that hang in the air for a second, before continuing in the same conversational way. “Because you know, I’m guessing that’s why they joined you. You promised them a witch you can bend to your will, and force into helping them. But see the thing is, Jay, I don’t need to be forced. If they want to leave you now and come to the little sanctuary I’m setting up, I’d be only too happy to fix them.”
There,she thought. Though truthfully, she didn’t expect her ploy to work well. It had seemed like a long shot, back when she had dreamt it up. So it was a shock when someone popped up from their hiding place behind the piano in the corner.
