Betrayal Read online

  The thing that really stopped me, though? Harry and Sara, sipping from a thermos they handed back and forth. I guess a flask wasn’t big enough.

  “Well, this was a bad idea,” I said, backing away from the firelight before anyone noticed me.

  Even Natalie paused. “Possibly not one of my best.”

  “Cowards,” Lukas muttered.

  “Maybe we should just go home,” I said, hopefully.

  “They’re only human.” Natalie bit her bottom lip, then turned to Lukas. “Dude, take one for the team. Suck up to Britta, so she doesn’t pick on Emma.”

  “And what, you’re gonna flirt with the linebackers?” he said.

  She grinned. “If I absolutely must.”

  “They’re not half as scary as Britta,” he said.

  Still, he obediently went in for the kill. There was something predatory about him as he prowled over and threw himself at Britta’s feet. She made what was clearly a cutting remark, which he answered with what was clearly a joke. One of her friends giggled, and in another minute he had Britta leaning toward him, looking gorgeous in the light of the fire. I pitied him for the terrible sacrifice.

  Meanwhile, Natalie spotted Anna and dragged me over to say hi. Anna was the type of girl who grew up to be a soccer mom. Cute and nice, yet very conscious of the social pecking order. She was pleased to see Natalie, not so much me.

  I gave her a weak smile, aware of Harry and Sara staring at me across the bonfire. The smoke distorted their unfriendly expressions and gave them a sickly cast despite the warm glow of the fire.

  I lowered my head, grabbed a beer from the cooler, and took a seat as far from them as possible, where the firelight faded into dark shadows. I nursed my beer as a dozen more kids arrived at the party, a few of them even sitting with me for a minute. Well, Kylee from Fencing did, and two boys who I’m pretty sure thought I looked desperate for a little attention.

  I shivered and watched the ocean swells, checking out Harry and Sara every few minutes; they were getting progressively drunker. Then hammered. Then beyond wasted.

  I wanted to leave, but Natalie’s laugh sounded through the night a few times. She lived for parties, she loved dancing and laughing and flirting. She deserved a little uncomplicated fun. Lukas didn’t deserve anything, because he was still flirting with Britta, but I figured I’d give them another hour before I made them leave.

  Sitting with my second beer, I watched sparks from the bonfire rise in a swirling column toward the dark sky, then fade away. I hugged myself, wishing Bennett were here to keep me warm. I wondered where he was, if he was missing me. If he felt as lonely as I did without him.

  Then I heard Harry’s forceful, cultured voice suddenly rise from the chatter. “No man is an island, entire of itself.”

  He took a deep swig and continued speaking, but I couldn’t make out the words. I didn’t have to. I knew the poem by John Donne—I’d read it in English Lit last year. Leave it to Thatcher to have a class drunk who spouts poetry. He turned toward the water and lifted his thermos high and raised his voice, shouting at the ocean until the other kids quieted.

  Then he staggered toward the lapping water and despite his drunkenness his voice rang out in the cold evening air:

  Any man’s death diminishes me,

  Because I am involved in mankind.

  And therefore, never send to know

  For whom the bell tolls;

  It tolls for thee.

  He drained his thermos and tossed it into the waves. Then he started shoving through the frigid water after it, speaking again, though his words were lost in the surf.

  He looked almost comical, walking fully dressed into the waves—but that water was freezing. I felt a deep stirring of unease. Something wasn’t right. I looked back at the kids around the bonfire. Nobody seemed worried. Where were Natalie and Lukas?

  I called to Sara: “Tell him to come back.”

  A girl I didn’t know said, “Shut up, QBK.”

  “Don’t be mean to Emma,” Sara croaked in her deep voice. “She only wantsh to help.”

  Then she laughed hysterically. If possible, she was even more wasted than Harry.

  “Sara,” I said, trying to rub the tingle of impending disaster from my arms. “He’s going to drown.”

  “Shtop whining.” She threw an empty beer bottle at me, though she was so drunk she missed by twenty feet. “And start beering.”

  She found that hilarious, and the other kids around the bonfire laughed with her. I trotted into the darkness toward the water’s edge, yelling for Harry, who was wading deeper and still reciting an inaudible monologue.

  My shoes sank into the wet sand. I followed him along the shore as the tide dragged him further down the beach, calling for him and for help.

  And I finally heard someone say my name: Emma.

  “Natalie!” I said. “Harry’s drunk, we need to—”

  I’m here. I’ll help you.

  “Thank God! Go tell—”

  And I realized I’d been hearing the voice inside my head. That it wasn’t Natalie. The voice continued, Don’t worry. There’s nothing to fear. You’re fine, Emma—you’re more than fine.

  For a moment, I thought it was my mother’s voice—then Martha’s. It was kind, with an undertone of strength, gentle and soothing as a lullaby.

  “Where are you?” I peered down the beach, but couldn’t see anything in the darkness under the dim sky.

  I’m here. I’m here with you. Your family and friends, they’re all gone, they left you, but I’m here. I’m always here for you.

  The bitter wind stirred, and pretty lights shimmered beside me. The voice took on a girl’s form. She was a few years older than me, with short dark hair, wide eyes, and scarlet lips. The girl from my dream. She smiled at me with even, white teeth, and I felt I knew her. She was like an older sister, who understood everything about me. She could take all my pain, my failures and responsibilities, and make them disappear.

  That’s right, Emma, she said. You don’t need anything except me.

  “We need to help Harry.”

  I’ll take care of everything.

  I smiled as my worries drifted away. For the first time in a long time, I felt at peace. I didn’t know what I’d been worried about. She’d take care of me; she’d take care of everything.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Natalie approaching. “Emma?” she said, slightly breathless. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m great.”

  “Do you feel that? There’s a wraith nearby.”

  “That’s no wraith.” I smiled.

  Save him! the ghost woman said. Harry’s in trouble.

  “We need to save Harry.” I stared into the waves and didn’t see him. “Oh God—where is he?”

  He’s drowning, Emma—he’s sinking under the waves.

  “Harry’s fine,” Natalie said. “He’s back at the bonfire. It’s you I’m worried about.”

  She’s lying. She tempted Harry into the water. She won’t let you save him; she’s drowning him. It’s her fault Coby’s dead. She’s trying to kill Harry, too. Stop her, Emma—stop her!

  Omigod, she was right. Simon had warned me about a traitor—how could I have been so blind? It was Natalie. I’d thought she was my friend in California, but it was all just a setup to lure me to Echo Point. She betrayed me once. How could I not think she’d do it again? Was she still working with Bennett? Were they in this together?

  “I was so stupid. I never should have trusted you. You set that trap with Neos,” I snarled at her. “You’re the one who called the wraiths to the mausoleum. I tried to stop you, but … what else have you done? Betrayed Martha and Coby? How could you?”

  “Emma!” She reached for my arm.

  I grabbed her wrist and flipped her onto her back in the sand. She gasped as the fall knocked the wind out of her, and tried to push me away.

  Get her, I told the ghost woman.

  She clamped her hand on Natalie’s shoulde
r and dragged her into the oncoming waves. Natalie struggled as the cold water touched her. Her eyes widened as the ghost woman made herself visible to her.

  “Hey!” Lukas yelled, sprinting closer. “Stop her.”

  With his fists balled, he summoned his compelling powers—and if he’d been a ghost, he would’ve been dead, because I would’ve shot him with the worst dispelling energy I had. Anything to stop him from hurting that ghost and ending her soothing voice.

  Instead, I flung myself at him and knocked him to the ground.

  “Emma! What the hell? What are you doing? She’s killing Natalie.”

  “Natalie’s the traitor. The ghost woman’s saving us.”

  He twisted roughly and I caught a glimpse of the ocean. The ghost stood barefoot in the tide, wearing a short-sleeve black dress that came to her knees, impervious to the cold. She had Natalie by the shoulders and was forcing her head underwater. Natalie struggled, but was no match for the ghost’s strength.

  “Emma, snap out of it. She’s drowning her!” Lukas shouted.

  “Natalie betrayed us,” I snarled, and punched him.

  He drew more energy into himself, and I punched him again. Then he loosed a stream of power that caught the ghost behind her knees and flipped her into the water.

  Natalie rose coughing from the waves, and Lukas, now lying on his side, compelled the ghost with a desperate barrage of force. When Lukas’s blast hit, the ghost shimmered, and I pinned him to the ground, but he kept pouring his energy into the ghost until she faltered.

  I get stronger every time they beat me, the ghost said into my mind. Next time, I will save you. Once and for all.

  Then she escaped into the Beyond. And even as my mind returned to my own control, I felt her calling for me, so loving and intense that I regretted seeing her go.

  Lukas shoved me off him, and I lay in the sand stunned by what had happened. What had I done?

  Lukas helped Natalie from the water. He didn’t bother waiting for me, but threw her over his shoulder and carried her toward the car. I trudged through the wet sand after them.

  “Is she all right?” I asked, when I caught up with them at the car.

  “Still breathing,” he said. “No thanks to you.”

  14

  Simon met us at the emergency room. They’d checked Natalie’s heart and lungs and treated her for hypothermia. They wouldn’t let us see her, but Simon had guardianship papers and they allowed him in.

  He’d brought fresh clothes for all of us, and Lukas and I changed in the bathrooms. When I returned to the corridor, I found Simon pacing, looking overwhelmed.

  “Is she okay?” My stomach tightened. “Tell me she’s okay.”

  “She’s fine—she’s spending the night and we’ll collect her in the morning.”

  “Can I see her? I want to tell her I’m sorry.”

  “She knows,” Lukas said, stepping from the men’s bathroom, drying his hair with a handful of paper towels. “You didn’t stop saying it the whole drive here.”

  “I want one of you to tell me what happened,” Simon said.

  “She freaked,” Lukas said.

  “Natalie?” Simon asked.

  “No, me,” I said. “It was the siren. It was more than a hum this time. We could see her. And she spoke to me.”

  “That’s a siren?” Lukas asked.

  “She got into my head. She told me … she convinced me that Natalie …” I choked back a sob. “If Lukas hadn’t stopped her, I don’t know what would’ve happened. Face-to-face, the siren’s too strong for me. I lose all control. She plays on my worst fears.”

  “That’s why we’re a team,” Simon said. “What else happened?”

  We went out to the car, and on the drive home we told him the rest. “Neos sent her to weaken me,” I said. “And it’s working.”

  “We’ll stop him,” Lukas said. “We’ll stop them both.”

  “How?” I asked.

  We both looked at Simon in the light of the dash, but he didn’t answer.

  Natalie returned home the next morning, plotting to become a candy striper in order to flirt with one of the doctors. In other words, she was fine. In fact, she was worried about me, so we spent the day lounging together with a tray of Anatole’s goodies.

  As we lay on her bed, downloading free games onto my iPhone, I apologized again.

  “Would you stop already?” She quickly ran her finger over the surface of the phone, killing zombies on the screen.

  “I just— Ooh, get that one!” I advised over her shoulder. “You know I don’t want you to die, right?”

  “You mean, in this game or in real life?” Natalie asked.

  “Real life,” I said. “You could die in the game, so I can have a turn.”

  The game switched screens to a new level and she grinned at me. “Too bad, sucker.”

  I smiled back, relieved she didn’t blame me for the siren, happily helping her move to the next level.

  That night, I slept the dreamless sleep of the glutton … until I woke with a start, frightened by the proximity of a ghost. I knew it wasn’t Nicholas or Celeste, because they came and went without me noticing.

  I pulled my dagger and Coby drifted forward. It’s me.

  Oh, thank God! I pressed my hand to my heart. Are you okay? I haven’t seen you since the wraiths. You look all right. Are you? I was gonna summon you, but—

  Settle down, he said, his ghostly face amused. I’m fine.

  God, I just wanna hug you. Where’ve you been?

  Licking my wounds. Those wraiths are nasty.

  You saved us. I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.

  You would’ve lost, he said, with a hint of his old smile. But that’s me, Coby the Friendly Ghost. I searched the Beyond, finding out about Neos.

  Don’t do that! That’s what got Martha killed.

  He gave me a look. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m already dead.

  Well, but you could be deader. I don’t want you any deader.

  I’m not staying forever, you know. His voice was soft and gentle. Once we get Neos, you’re going to dispel me.

  I can’t do that. Which was a lie. I won’t do that.

  Yes, you will. You owe me.

  I swallowed and changed the subject. What’s the Beyond like? I’ve always wanted to know.

  Like a … a bad dream. Not a nightmare—one of those dreams where nothing makes sense. You ask for help, but your words come out wrong and the answers don’t make sense. You forget who you are and what you’re looking for. I can sense Neos, but I can never locate him—he hides himself somewhere.

  We’ll find him, I said, but my voice lacked conviction. I was still freaked out about the siren.

  And what about Harry and Sara? he asked.

  They’re okay, I lied.

  I’ve seen them. They’re not okay.

  So I bowed my head and told him everything.

  You have to tell them the truth, he said.

  That a ghost killed you? Sure, that’ll work.

  If that won’t work, figure out what will. They’re hurting, Emma, and they need you. His voice was cold and rough, lacking any trace of the sweet guy I used to trust more than anyone else.

  I nodded, knowing I’d run out of excuses. And that I needed to face up to the fact that Coby would never be the same.

  He looked like he was about to say something more, but instead drifted to the window and through it, floating over the maple tree outside and twisting in the air before landing with his feet on the ground. I watched through the pane of glass as he vanished into the night.

  The next few days passed uneventfully. A sad medley of school, training, and missing Bennett. Yeah, I had his playlists, but they weren’t enough.

  Then Simon took a break from investigating Neos’s final resting place to give us a lecture about the principles of the Beyond, but we were more interested in hearing how the search was going. Apparently William and Gabriel had come to the same c
onclusion as Max, and everyone in the Knell was trying to pinpoint the grave.

  Well, everyone but us; we were training to stop Neos once they found his single weakness. If he had one.

  “How hard can it be to find the grave?” Natalie asked. “Aren’t there burial records?”

  “They’ve all been expunged,” Simon told her.

  “So the body just disappeared?” Lukas shook his head. “They knew he committed suicide; they must’ve taken him to the morgue.”

  “I’m sure they did,” Simon said, and his lips narrowed.

  “What was that?” Lukas said.

  “What was what?”

  “That thing you did with your mouth.” He looked at Natalie. “Did you see that?”

  “Yeah,” Natalie said. “There’s something he doesn’t want to tell us.”

  “I want to tell you what you need to know,” Simon said. “If you want to defeat Neos, you need to understand the principles of the Beyond.”

  “I’ll tell you what we need to know, Simon,” I said. “If we’re going to face Neos together, we need to know everything. Either we’re a team, or we’re not.”

  He didn’t say anything for a minute, then nodded. “The Knell found where Neos had been buried—in California. They sent two teams. Two of the top teams.”

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “The grave was empty,” he said. “The body had been exhumed and moved.”

  But there was more. I could hear it in his voice. “And?”

  “Neos was expecting them.” Simon pinched the bridge of his nose. “They walked into an ambush. Wraiths, just like at the mausoleum—except they didn’t have Emma.”

  “What happened?” Lukas asked, quieter than usual.

  Simon shook his head. “We lost two teams.”

  He told us about the teams, the members he’d known, and though his face remained expressionless, it was clear he was grief stricken. He’d been holding himself together for us.