Betrayal - By Lee Nichols Page 0,23

you think there was another Bennett, too? Before you? Did the Emma in the tapestry love another one of you? Were they doomed, as well?

He moved to lay a hand on mine, then stopped, knowing he’d burn me. You have to put that aside, Emma. Neos grows more powerful every day. You must learn to protect yourself.

I sighed. He was right. I stood and held my sword at the ready. Yeah, my aunt told me I need a weapon to focus my powers. I’m not sure how I’m going to get around with a sword, but it’s the only thing I’ve got.

To focus? he said. What do you mean?

So I told him the whole story about Rachel and the wraiths, plinking absently at the piano as he paced and listened.

When I finished, he shook his head. You’re quick and agile, but you don’t have the build for swordfighting. You’re too small. A man will overpower you every time.

I wanted to argue. To sit him down and make him watch old episodes of Xena. But I wasn’t exactly a warrior princess, and he was right, I hadn’t been able to overpower Neos, because he was too strong in Coby’s body.

The Rake put his boot on the bench beside me and reached inside for a hidden knife. What you need is a dagger. It’ll allow you to move close and fast, strengths not available to wraiths or Neos.

I reached for his knife, but he pulled it away. Not just any dagger—you need her dagger.

Emma’s? Where is it?

He hesitated, and his eyes grew distant. The men who wanted to kill Emma hid her dagger in an unconsecrated cemetery, a mass grave for criminals and heathens.

So I need to … dig it up? Gross.

That’s not the problem. The dagger is bait for a trap. The men wanted to lure Emma there so the ghasts would kill her.

Great. Sounds like good times, I said. Where is it?

In my day, it was called the Crossing.

The Crossing? I’d seen that name before, on one of my endless walks through the village. You mean, like, that playground?

He gave me directions, and sure enough, they’d built a playground over an unconsecrated cemetery. First a ducking chair as a tourist attraction, and now a kids’ playground over dead bodies. You had to love Echo Point.

Don’t go alone, he said. The ghasts will be hungry.

7

I found Natalie in her room upstairs, changing after her run.

“I need a favor,” I said.

“You won’t fit in my jeans,” she said, pulling on a pale blue wool sweater. “And your feet are way too big for my shoes.”

“Okay,” I said. “First, I would so fit in your jeans. And second—”

“Your butt’s bigger,” she said, zipping her pants with attitude.

Maybe a little bigger, but she didn’t need to rub it in. “What is up with you?” I said.

“What? I didn’t say it was too big.”

“Natalie. What’s wrong?”

She refused to tell me—for about ten seconds. Then she said, “I like it here. I like my room, I like that Nicholas lays fires and Celeste does the laundry, and that Anatole tries to woo me with his fatty foods. I like Echo Point and Thatcher, even if everyone hates you at the moment. I guess I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop. This is the closest I’ve been to home in a long time.”

“Well, you’re staying. The Knell said you could be on my team.”

“I know, but Bennett’s gone. They’re not going to let us live here without him. Two minors living alone in a museum?”

“We’re not alone. There are—”

“Ghosts.”

“Oh. Yeah.”

I didn’t want to think about Bennett being gone and whether that meant Natalie and I could no longer stay in the house. I liked it here, too, and didn’t want to leave. And I really didn’t want to agonize over how a guy who says he loves you isn’t supposed to desert you. I was trying to put Bennett out of my mind.

So I said, “Want to go mess around with some ghasts?”

Natalie perked up. “Can we?”

“You’re not scared?”

“Why would I be scared? I’ve got you around to dispel them. This’ll be fun.”

I wasn’t sure how other ghostkeepers traveled to fight a couple of ancient ghasts, but Natalie and I walked, and by the time we got there it was dusk.

“In the playground?” Natalie asked. “Are you sure there are ghasts here? How come nobody’s felt them before?”

I nodded. “That’s what, um, Edmund told me.”

I didn’t know how to explain the Rake to Natalie. Yeah,