I hoped I wouldn’t get him killed.
Parking was a nightmare when we got to the Haven Crest grounds. We were directed into a lot across the street where the hospital used to store a lot of their grounds-keeping equipment. I was glad I hadn’t worn heels by the time we finally got to the security check. None of us had bags so we were able to skip through. I didn’t see any drug dogs, but they were checking people for weapons.
Then we had to get in line to have our tickets checked and get our bracelets—over-twenty-ones got a different color, so they could buy beer if they wanted. They also stamped our hands in case the bracelet came off—and so people couldn’t hand bracelets over to people trying to sneak in without having bought a ticket. A perfect Seal of Solomon in black ink over the scar on my right wrist. By the time we got into the actual concert area, it was almost twenty to nine.
We met Mace and Kevin just inside. Neither Kevin nor Mace were sporting any bruises, so I assumed they’d made peace.
Roxi showed us where she’d hidden our supplies so we’d be able to get to them when we needed. We found a place to stand with a good view of the stage not far from there. The lights around the perimeter dimmed a bit as the stage lights came on, and the opening act—a local band—was announced. The crowd cheered, and more and more people herded in through the gate.
I turned my head, my gaze traveling from old building to old building, both reclaimed and derelict. There were people standing in front of them, people of all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life and spanning a couple of centuries. The ghosts of Haven Crest were lining up.
And then, drifting in from all directions, were more ghosts. Town ghosts. Some wore suits or dresses. Others wore jeans or uniforms. There were children and adults and senior citizens. Some were whole, and some were in pretty rough shape. I recognized a girl with no face as a ghost from the hospital. They gathered near the barricade and stopped. They were waiting, I realized. But for what, I didn’t know.
And then the sound of an electric guitar ripped through the night, and I turned my attention to the stage. Might as well have some fun before Hell broke loose.
WREN
I heard music. Cheering.
The concert had started.
Something blossomed inside me—a feeling of awareness and warmth.
Lark. She was near. I smiled. Noah said he’d let me kill her. Silly boy. As though anyone else could.
I went to the window and looked outside. I could see the stage, all lit up. The band playing wasn’t bad, but they weren’t the main attraction. That’s what we were waiting for. Energy hummed all around us, but it wasn’t enough.
Noah stood beside me. “Soon,” he said and lifted my hand to his mouth. I watched as he kissed my knuckles. The black veins running through me were everywhere, so stark against the pallor of my skin. They were almost pretty—like tree branches. Noah liked them.
I wondered if he noticed the red veins that crept out from beneath his collar and along his hairline, and I smiled. “Yes,” I said. “Soon.”
LARK
It was almost midnight.
Gretchen had just screamed the final note of “Bleak Wednesday,” which was one of my favorites, though I was too wound up to enjoy it, and the crowd erupted into wild applause and screaming.
Gretchen held up his hands. “It’s time,” he shouted into the microphone.
More cheers. This time the ghosts joined in. I shivered. They pushed closer from all directions. All these humans were going to get caught in between. I could feel the ground itself trembling beneath my feet. This whole place was about to implode with spectral energy.
And there was Joe, standing beside me. He looked anxious. “I’ve never been raised before,” he said. “Does it hurt?”
“I don’t think so,” I said.
“Olgilvie is on the move.” He looked around at the crowd. “How are you going to get through this to catch him?”
“I’m not.” When he looked at me as though I’d just cut out his heart, I explained. “Mace is. His father’s police chief. He knows the officers working here tonight. He’s going to set them after Olgilvie.” I took my phone out of my bra and typed a text to Mace. “See?”
Joe peered at the lit screen of my phone. “‘Time to move.’” He glanced at me. “That’s it?”
I nodded. “Mace will see that, wait a few minutes and then tell the other cops he saw Olgilvie in the field, and that he looks like he needs help. He’ll lead them right to him.” I didn’t explain that earlier I’d shown Mace the spot where Laura was buried.
Joe looked away. “Thank you.”
“Thank me when it’s over.”
A roadie came out and draped a black robe around Gretchen’s shoulders. A black robe? Really? Whatever. He also gave the singer a book. It looked old and leather-bound, but it could have been an early edition of Little Women for all I knew.
He began to read.