The Reckoning

That cold edge slid into his voice again. I made it three steps, then something hit the side of my head. I staggered. An egg-sized rock bounced on the ground and rolled into my path.

“Don’t ignore me,” Royce said. “Don’t interrupt me. Don’t walk away from me.”

I stopped and turned. He smiled.

“That’s better. Now, what do you want me to talk about? What I did to that girl? Or the curse of necromancy? Your choice.”

I gave him a mental shove. He flickered, then shot back, face screwed up with fury.

“Are you trying to piss me off? Because that’s really a bad idea.”

He disappeared. I spun, trying to find him. A rock hit me in the back of the head, so hard I blacked out for a second, coming to on my knees, blood trickling down my neck.

I leaped up and ran. The next stone hit my shoulder. I kept going, trying to envision him flying into the next dimension, but I couldn’t focus, didn’t dare shut my eyes even for a second, the undergrowth grabbing at my feet, branches whipping my face, path long gone.

A rock hit the back of my knee and I stumbled. I managed to keep my balance, staggering forward, then breaking into a run again. A branch poked my eye. Then my foot snagged in a vine and down I went, sprawling face-first on the ground.

I pushed myself to my hands and knees. Something whacked me between the shoulder blades, and I was knocked flat again, face in the dirt. A half-buried stick jabbed my cheek hard enough to draw blood.

I didn’t try to get up this time. I lay on my stomach, head down, eyes closed, trying to send Royce back to the other side.

“I told you to stop…” His voice trailed off as the blow struck-a light, glancing blow. The stick fell beside me, as if he’d weakened too much to hold it.

I pushed harder. The stick rose. I counted to three, then rolled out of the way. He materialized then, face a mask of rage. I leaped to my feet. He swung again, wildly now, and I easily ducked it. He flew at me, wielding the stick. I mentally hit him with everything I had. He flew clear off his feet, landing flat on his back, stick falling.

He grabbed for the stick, but it rolled away. He tried to snatch it. It jumped off the ground, spi

The stick dangled above his head. He jumped for it. It swung sideways, out of his reach. He jumped again. It dropped to the ground.

Royce glared at me, and when he did, a figure appeared beside him-a teenage girl with long blond hair, dressed in a Mi

“Liz!”

“What?” Royce followed my gaze, but she’d disappeared.

I backed away. Royce grabbed for the stick. It rolled away from his fingers. He snatched it up-and it snapped in two.

When he glared my way, Liz appeared, wildly gesturing for me to banish him.

I closed my eyes. It was a struggle to keep them shut and not brace against a blow, but I trusted that Liz had it under control. I pushed him as hard as I could, envisioning all kinds of helpful scenarios-Royce falling off a cliff, Royce falling off a skyscraper, Royce falling out an airlock. It wasn’t hard to come up with ideas.

Royce raged. He cursed. He threatened. But if he threw anything, it never reached me. His words surged and faded, growing weaker each time, until finally there was silence and Liz said, “He’s gone.”

Thirty-five

LIZ STOOD THERE, GRINNING. “We did it.”

I laughed, a shaky two-seconds-from-crying laugh, my knees weak with relief.

She walked over. “So, I’m going to guess that loser is a telekinetic half-demon like me. From the experiment?”

I nodded.

“That doesn’t mean I’m related to him, does it?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Whew, ’cause I’ve got enough nuts in my family tree already. And speaking of nuts, you have some kind of radar for them, don’t you?”

“Apparently.”

“It worked on me, though my crazy quotient must not be high enough yet, because it took me forever to find you. I could hear you calling, but answering was another matter.”

“Thank you.”

My voice wobbled. Liz hurried over, arm going around my shoulders. I couldn’t feel her hug, but I could imagine it.

“Your poltergeist bodyguard is back on duty. Between the two of us, we can handle all the big, scary ghosts. I trounce ’em and you bounce ’em.” She gri

I smiled. “It is.”

“And speaking of big and scary, I’m going to guess you’re out here with Derek, helping him Change into a wolf. You’d better grab him, because there’s more in these woods than losers throwing sticks and stones. There are losers with spells and guns.” She studied me. “And why do I get the feeling that’s not a surprise?”

I explained, as quickly and quietly as I could.

“That Andrew guy is telling the truth,” she said. “There are four people out here, dressed in black, carrying radios and rifles. That’s not a lot, but they’ve got some high-tech gadgetry on their side-normal and supernormal. They’ve set up trip wires and those infrared laser things, and I heard them talking about something called perimeter spells.”

“We need to get back, then, and-”

“Shhh. Someone’s coming.”

I crouched.

Liz whispered in my ear. “I don’t think it’s our poltergeist pal, but wait here. I’ll go check.”

She took off. I huddled as close to the ground as I could get. When a huge figure reared up in front of me, I let out a yelp. It sprang forward.

“It’s me,” whispered a familiar voice.

“Der-”

Thwack. He stumbled, Liz behind him, a sturdy branch raised.

“Liz, it’s-”

She hit him again, a home-run swing between the shoulders, and he went down with an oomph and an oath. She recognized the voice-or the curse-and leaned over, getting a look at him.

“Whoops.”

“I’d say he deserved that, always sneaking up on people.” Simon appeared from the direction Derek had come. He glanced around. “Hi, Liz…” I pointed and he turned her way.

“Hey, Simon.”

I relayed her greeting as Derek got up, muttering.

“Did someone say Liz is here?” Tori stumbled out of the forest.

When I pointed at Liz, Tori smiled the brightest smile I’d seen from her since…well, I don’t know when. Liz had been Tori’s friend at Lyle House, and they said hello, me playing go-between.

“What are you guys doing out here?” I asked.

“We’re your official search party,” Tori said. “Complete with bloodhound.”

She waved at Derek, who was brushing off his jeans.

“I left you a note,” I said to Derek. “I told you where I was going and what I was doing.”

“He got it,” Simon said. “Didn’t matter.”

Derek glowered. “You think leaving a note makes it okay to do something-”

“Don’t say stupid,” I warned.

“Why not? It was stupid.”

Simon winced and murmured, “Ease off, bro.”

“That’s okay,” I said. “I’m used to it.”

I looked up at Derek. He wavered for a second, then crossed his arms, jaw setting.

“It was stupid,” he said. “Risky and dangerous. Those guys could be out here with guns-”

“They are.” I turned to Simon and Tori. “Liz saw them. Andrew was telling the truth. We need to get back inside before they hear us fighting.”

It was a silent walk back. At the rear door, Liz stopped. She reached, palm out, and it was like pressing against a pane of glass.

“I think there’s a spell to keep ghosts out, like at Lyle House,” I said. “You might be able to get in the basement or the attic, like you did there. Other ghosts have. I’ll go-”

“I’m fine out here, Chloe. You go do your thing.”

I hesitated.

She smiled. “Seriously. I’m not going anywhere. When you need me, I’ll be here, okay?”

I barely got through the door before I was wishing I’d stayed outside with Liz.