“By the way, I wasn’t teasing about the cleaning and the food.”
“I didn’t think you were.” And he would learn I hadn’t been teasing, either. I paused and glanced back at him. “I admire the way you’re protecting Reeve, I do, but all our secrets are hurting her. She’s already suspicious, and those suspicions are making her unhappy. There’s got to be another way.”
“Miss Bell,” he said, slamming his pen on the desk.
I knew a very stern lecture was coming, so I hurried into the hall.
In my room, I changed into battle-ready clothing and gathered everything I’d need. More daggers, a syringe filled with the antidote, a pocketful of throwing stars and my phone.
I tucked the business card the man had given me in the bottom drawer of my desk and saw there was a note resting next to my computer.
I was going through the things that survived the fire, and I found my great-grandfather’s journal. I had given it to your mother years ago. A few of the pages are now singed, but that’s the only damage. I know it’s weird, but I thought you might like to have a family heirloom.
Love, Nana
The journal!
I’d thought it had come from my dad, that he’d given it to my mom. How had my great-great-great-grandfather known to write it? I mean, the ability to see the zombies was passed through genes just as easily as blue eyes, but my mother had never seen them. Neither had Nana.
What could this mean?
No time for puzzles. Right.
But this had to be the surprise Nana had mentioned. And what an amazing surprise it was.
I owed that woman a million hugs.
I didn’t mean to, but I glanced at the vanity mirror as I opened the door. A habit I’d developed after first meeting Cole. I’d always wanted to look my best for him. This time, my reflection caught me completely off guard.
Tick. The girl in the mirror—me!—had her hand lifted and pressed against the glass, as if reaching for me.
Tock. How could... How was... Impossible.
Tick. In a daze, I walked toward her—toward me.
Tock. She never moved. I mean, my reflection never moved.
Tick. I pressed a trembling hand against the coolness of the glass.
Tock. Her hand fell away.
A thousand different thoughts raced through my head.
I’d decided she was real rather than a figment. So...what was she? A part of me?
Another me?
The smudges under her eyes curved and seemed to drip onto her cheeks. A dying me?
Trembling, I swiped a tube of red lipstick from the bathroom and wrote over the glass. Who Are You?
I slammed the lipstick on the vanity surface and marched to the door. As I stepped into the hall, I glanced back. Breath caught in my throat. I read Your Doom.
Running back inside and smearing the words gave me no satisfaction, only increased my shock. Whatever she was, she didn’t like me.
Can’t worry about this right now.
I raced from the room, and this time, I didn’t look back. I wouldn’t think about anything I’d seen, about the change...the change... No! I wouldn’t allow another panic attack to swoop in and carry me away. Mr. Ankh would find out, and I would be banned from the meeting at Cole’s.
I checked the halls. Empty. Good. Reeve must be in her room, and I wasn’t sure where Nana had gone. Even the housekeeper was nowhere to be seen. As promised, the driver was waiting for me at the front door. I sailed past him without a word and buckled into the backseat of the dark sedan. I held my breath as he slid into the driver’s seat. He started the engine. Eased forward.
I exhaled.
Along the way, I checked the sky. The rabbit cloud was still there.
My phone rang, startling me. I recognized the number and experienced a conflicting tide of emotions, from uncertainty to gratitude. “Justin,” I said. “I should have called you. Thank you for helping with the fight and taking what was meant for me.”
“Hey, I owed you.” Then, “How are you, Ali?” His voice was low, as if he wasn’t sure of his welcome and was determined not to spook me.