Rosemary and Rue

“Manuel, are you listening to me?” Devin snapped. “Don’t make me take that gun away from you.”


“He won’t do it himself.” I kept my hands raised. “Don’t you wonder why?”

“Be quiet, bitch.” Devin stormed over to me, grabbing my arm and twisting it behind my back, just like I’d done to Dare on the day we met. His fingers dug into my elbow. I winced, gritting my teeth against the pain. “Don’t confuse him.”

“Why not, Devin? Don’t you want him to understand? You always told me that knowledge was power.”

“October . . .” For a second—just a second—I thought I saw the man I knew behind the blankness in his eyes. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

“Don’t you want him to grow up just like you?” I could see Dare out of the corner of my eye, creeping toward Manuel. Be careful, little girl, I thought, please, be careful . . .

His hand tightened. I could almost feel the bruises forming. “I didn’t want to kill Evening. I worked with her, for you. I let her pretend you were still alive, and so she helped us. She never did it for us. Just for you. I never wanted her dead. But she wouldn’t give me the hope chest, and I needed it, Toby, more than you can dream. You played at being a pureblood, but you know you’ll never be one. You know why I needed it. Changeling time runs out so fast.” He sighed. “She had to die.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I needed to keep him talking, if only for Dare’s sake. That girl was still doing her damnedest to turn me into a hero. “Scooby and the gang aren’t here yet.”

Devin released my arm, stepping away. “I want you to understand that it wasn’t personal. I missed you. I wasn’t lying when I told you that.”

By moving, Devin had given Manuel a clear shot at my entire body. Dare was too far away to reach him in time, and in a way, I was grateful. She wouldn’t get hurt trying to save me.

“You changed.” I turned to look at him, resisting the urge to rub the circulation back into my arm. If I was going to die, I was going to do it with something resembling dignity.

“So did you.” He sounded almost sorry. Then his eyes hardened, the moment passing, and he turned to Manuel. “Take your time, make it hurt. She’ll tell us where she hid it.”

Manuel raised the gun, whispering a prayer. I closed my eyes, hoping his aim was bad and the first bullet would do the job. That it would end quickly.

I didn’t see what came next. I opened my eyes to see Dare leaping onto her brother’s back, momentum sending them both crashing to the floor. The gun went off when it hit the floor, bullet punching through the ceiling. I dove for my own gun an instant too late, shying back as Devin grabbed it from under my hands.

“Toby, get the gun!” Dare shrieked, trying to keep Manuel pinned. He had fifty pounds and six inches on her: there was no way she’d keep him down for long. I pushed myself to my feet, keeping my eyes on Devin. His attention was entirely on Dare, face twisted into an expression that went past rage or sanity. He was gone.

He’d been gone for a long time.

“No one disobeys me!” he snarled.

Dare looked up, eyes going wide, and screamed as the first bullet hit her in the side. Blood sprayed over the wall behind her, hitting Manuel across the face. The terror in her eyes turned to pleading as she glanced toward me, like she was hoping I could take it back. Even then, she thought I’d be her hero.