“It’s going to take a while to get through,” I say, makingmyself at home on Henry’s couch. When we first launched the Beijing Ghost tutoring app, we used to gather here for semi-official business meetings, brainstorming new ways to get the word out and refine the app’s features. But now that the app has gained traction, we mostly just come here to take advantage of Henry’s home theater and swimming pool.
“We have time,” Alice assures me, sitting cross-legged on the other end of the couch like a student in a discussion circle.
“Well, to be precise, we have approximately three hours and fifty-three minutes until my mother comes home.” Henry’s voice floats over from the kitchen.
Alice rolls her eyes good-naturedly. “Ignore him. Go on.”
“Before I do—you know who Ares is, right? Ares Yin?”
“Oh yeah, Henry mentioned something about the new guy,” Alice says. “Apparently he’s super scary?”
“I didnotsay he was scary,” Henry corrects, returning from the kitchen with our usual drinks: an iced water for himself, a warm lemon tea for Alice, and a Diet Pepsi for me. He hands the tea carefully over to Alice before sitting down with his own glass. “I merely observed that many people find him intimidating. I, for one, am not intimidated by him. I would just be wary of someone like that.”
“For good reason,” I say grimly. “Because something really, really weird happened with him the other night, and I thought you might have a better idea of what to do after your little... situation.”
This is how the three of us have been referring to the fact that Alice suddenly started turning invisible last year—like literally,actually invisible, something I refused to believe until I watched her vanish right in front of me. We talk about hersituationas if it was a random, mildly embarrassing early-teen phase, the same way some people might go through a pony phase or a boy-band phase.
“Don’t tell me Ares can turn invisible too,” Alice says, her eyes widening.
“No. That’s the thing—I don’t think it’shim.Like, it’s not something within his control. But there was this vision....” I go over everything from last night in as much detail as possible, from him sneaking onto a rooftop where he definitely didn’t belong, to me following him into the park, to the vision and his reaction afterward.
When I’m finished, both of them are silent for a long time.
“So do you think it’s real?” I prompt. “What I saw in the lake?”
They exchange a glance.
“Ares said he saw a burning house too, right?” Henry asks slowly.
“Yeah, and I didn’t even describe the vision to him. So it couldn’t just be a coincidence.”
“And you’re sure you saw a lighter in his hand,” Henry confirms. “You think he’s the one who set your house on fire.”
I nod. “I definitely saw a lighter. And the house was definitely my house. He seemed eager for it to happen too. Like, really, disturbingly eager.”
Alice’s face tightens with worry. “What’s his deal? Why would he want to burn your house down? Should we—I don’t know, should we tell the teachers? The police? If this guy’s out to get you...”
“But that’s the thing,” I say. “I have no idea whyhe’s out to get me.”
“And unfortunately, they can’t arrest Ares for something he’s yetto do,” Henry says with a grimace. “We don’t have any proof he’ll harm Chanel or her mother, aside from the vision—which, if what Ares was saying is true, nobody else except the two of them can see.”
“So... what do I do?” I ask. But despite the churn of dread in my stomach, I also feel steadier than I have since yesterday, with Alice and Henry next to me.
“Let’s go over the facts first,” Alice says, standing up and pacing in circles around the couch, the way she always does when she’s stressed or thinking hard about something, as if her body needs to be moving in sync with her mind. “We know the vision involves Ares, it’s at your house, and—do we know when the fire will happen?”
“Prom night,” I say. Just one day ago, nothing excited me more than the idea of prom. Now there’s nothing I dread more. “The night of the lunar eclipse. In my vision... I saw the blood moon.”
“So that’s three weeks away,” Henry says.
I take a sip of my Diet Pepsi, but the sweet fizz of the drink burns like acid down my throat.Just three weeks.In three weeks, my childhood home might be turned to rubble, with my mom inside it—
“I suppose murder isn’t an option,” Alice says in a contemplative voice.
Henry and I stare at her.
“What? I said itisn’tan option,” she says, throwing her hands up. “Not the easiest one, anyway,” she adds.
“Alice, you know I would break you out of prison in a heartbeat,” Henry says very gently. “But I would most prefer not to.”
