JD leaned forward again. “I know,” he said. “And so did Chase, and Drea, and Drea’s father. . . . You need to tell me what’s going on so we can stop this.”
“What do you mean, Drea’s dad? What does Walt Feiffer have to do with this?”
“Shit,” JD said. Of course she didn’t know; she couldn’t have. . . .
“JD, what does he have to do with this?” she persisted. There was an edge of hysteria in her voice.
“Mr. Feiffer is dead.” He was too tired to mince words.
The color drained from Em’s face. “No,” she said. “No, that’s . . . You’re wrong. That can’t be true.”
He could see how badly she wanted it to be false. Death was all around her now—and by extension, it was all around him, too. “I’m sorry, Em,” he said. “I found him. I found him just this morning. And that’s why I want to help you. I need to. I know you’re in danger and if they did that to him—”
“You can’t,” she interrupted. Em looked up at him with eyes as big as quarters. They were glossy with tears and there was a smudge of makeup below her right eye.
“What did they do to you?” he begged. Why didn’t she see he was trying to help her?
“They offered me something,” Em said. Her eyes were focused on a faraway spot. “In return, I had to do something for them. It was worth it, though. You have to believe me, JD.”
“What did you do?” he asked, afraid of what the answer might be.
“I . . . I bound myself to them.” She glanced up at him. “I know it sounds crazy, but I . . . ”
“It doesn’t sound crazy,” he said, coaxing her to continue. “Tell me.”
“I swallowed five seeds,” she said in barely a whisper. Her eyes told him she was one hundred percent serious.
“Seeds? What kind of seeds?”
She shook her head. Tears were rolling down her face. “I don’t know. Red ones . . . ”
“But why?” It didn’t make any sense.
“They said if I took them, they’d give me what I wanted. But ever since then . . . I’m changing. Drea warned me—” She cut herself off and turned her face toward the window.
JD tried to keep calm, even as he felt the heat rising into his face. The room felt like it was melting. The real world, the world he’d always known—where there was no magic but no monsters, either—seemed to be dissolving like sugar in water.
“I’m not supposed to be telling you this,” Em said tearfully. “I shouldn’t be putting you in danger.”
“Em, it’s you who’s in danger,” he said. “I was at their house the other day. I saw—”
She exploded. “You were where?” All of a sudden she was on her feet. He could see her chest heaving up and down. When she continued, she made a point of lowering her voice, and it came out as a strangled whisper. “What the hell were you thinking? You can’t go there, JD. You can’t go back there. Jesus. You have to stay out of it. Promise me. Promise me you will.”
“Why? I get that you’re scared of them,” JD said, ?“but I know how to stop them.”
“Impossible,” she said. “They can’t be stopped.”
“They can,” he insisted. He swallowed. This conversation had been far easier in his head. “Mr. Feiffer knew how to banish the Furies.” He remembered what Mr. Feiffer had told him—he knew how to get rid of the evil for good. JD felt his throat constrict. How might Mr. Feiffer have helped him, if he’d had the chance?
“Mr. Feiffer?” For a second, she stared at him. “He couldn’t have known anything about them. If he did, do you think his daughter would be dead? Do you think he’d be dead? No. They’re ruthless. And powerful.” Suddenly she turned a full circle—wide, panicked. “I get it. They’re tricking me. They—they want me to break my vow. ?They want to hurt you. I won’t let them.”
“Em, calm down.”
“I won’t let them,” she repeated, her voice rising shrilly.
They both jumped when they heard someone on the stairs.
“JD?” It was Melissa coming downstairs. Nothing good would come of scaring her. They looked at each other.
“Yeah, Mel? What’s up?” JD called out. Em swiped the tears from her face. They looked at each other again and a silent agreement flowed between them: No more. Not now.
“Do you need anything? You okay?” he asked Mel once she appeared at the foot of the stairs.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” she said, looking back and forth between him and Em. “Are you guys okay?”
“We’re fine,” Em said. “Just had a little trouble sleeping and came down here to see if your brother was awake. . . . ”
“I couldn’t sleep either, really. And it’s already seven o’clock. Gonna be exhausted today. . . . ” Mel said as she disappeared into the kitchen.
“This isn’t over,” he whispered once Mel was out of earshot. He reached for Em’s hand. It felt small and cold.
“Not yet,” she said. Her voice was resigned. “But soon.”
? ? ?