“We’re here to talk to your sister,” came the reply, and the sultry baby-talk was unmistakable. Penn was at her front door.
Gemma sat straight up, her heart pounding erratically in her chest. Part of her was afraid, the same way Penn always scared her. But the rest of her felt strangely excited. The sound of Penn’s voice drew her in, in a way that it hadn’t before, almost as if it were calling to her.
“You can’t see her,” Harper said.
“We just want to talk to her,” Penn said sweetly.
“Only for a minute,” Lexi chimed in, in her usual singsong way.
“No,” Harper said, but her voice had less conviction than it had a moment ago. “You’re not her friends, and you can’t talk to her anymore.”
Gemma got off the bed and raced down the stairs, but she stopped halfway. From her vantage point, she could see them at the front door. It was only Penn and Lexi standing outside, with Harper firmly blocking their path.
Looking at Penn and Lexi just then, Gemma realized she’d begun to look like them. Not exactly like them, since Penn and Lexi looked distinctly different. But there was a certain quality to them, a preternatural splendor. Their flawless tanned skin seemed to glow, as if they were illuminated by their own beauty.
“Hi, Gemma,” Penn said. Her dark eyes rested on Gemma in a come-hither way that she couldn’t deny.
“Gemma, go back upstairs.” Harper glanced back at her sister. “I’m sending them away.”
“No, don’t,” Gemma said quickly, but her words were so quiet, she was surprised anyone heard them.
“Gemma, you’re grounded,” Harper reminded her. “Even if you wanted to see them, you can’t. But you don’t want to see them.”
“Stop telling her what she wants,” Penn said with just a trace of venom in her voice. “You have no idea what she wants.”
“Right now I don’t care what she wants. Get out of my house.”
“Harper, stop,” Gemma said and descended the stairs. “I need to talk to them.”
“No!” Harper shouted, looking totally appalled by the idea. “You are not talking to them.”
“I need to,” Gemma insisted. She swallowed hard and looked again at Penn and Lexi.
They had done something to her. As certain as she was standing there, she knew that they were responsible for whatever was happening to her. That meant they knew how to fix it, or at least how to deal with it. Gemma had to talk with them to find out.
Harper tried to shut the door, but Penn’s arm shot out in a flash and pushed the door back open. Penn smiled at Harper, the menacing smile that revealed too many teeth.
“I’m sorry,” Gemma said earnestly. “But I have to go.” She slid through the gap that Penn had made for her and stepped outside.
“Gemma!” Harper yelled. “You can’t go! I forbid you!”
“Forbid me all you want, but I’m going,” Gemma said, and Lexi wrapped her arm around her in some kind of camaraderie.
Penn stood between Harper and Gemma, and Gemma could see from her sister’s expression that she was considering whether or not to tangle with Penn. Harper turned to Gemma then, and Gemma gave her a pleading look. Harper’s gaze went from fierce to torn.
“Gemma,” Harper said again, more helplessly this time. “Please come inside.”
“I’m sorry.” Gemma shook her head and backed up with Lexi toward a car that idled in front of their house. “I’ll be home later.” She waited a beat before adding, “Don’t worry.”
“We’ll take good care of Gemma,” Penn assured Harper, still with her too-wide smile.
“Gemma!” Harper called out as Gemma slid into the backseat with Lexi, and Penn shut the door behind her.
Thea was sitting in the driver’s seat, like she was waiting in the getaway car for a bank robbery, and Penn joined her in front a few seconds later.
Gemma stared out the window as they pulled away, watching her sister standing on the front step. She looked up at Alex’s house next door, his bedroom window glowing yellow under the darkening sky.
She pulled her gaze away, and her eyes met Penn’s in the rearview mirror.
“What are you?” Gemma asked.
“Not yet.” Penn smiled. “Wait until we get to the bay. Then we’ll show you exactly what we are.”
*
Gemma had always wondered how Penn, Lexi, and Thea got to the cove, and she was eager to find out. Thea drove the car around the bay and headed to the coast on the other side. Once she parked in a gravel lot behind a patch of cypress trees, all the girls got out of the car.
Gemma noticed that they left their shoes in the car, and she would’ve done the same if she’d even remembered to put them on before she left the house.
Nobody said much of anything as they walked on a beaten path through the trees. The moon was nearly full, shining above them, but other than that there was no light.