Betrayal - By Lee Nichols Page 0,28

Emma, I didn’t hesitate. Instead of turning and running, as he clearly expected, I lunged at him. The dagger caught him in the stomach. I pulled my arm back and stabbed him in the chest, blind with fear and fury and loathing.

Inside her body, feeling what she felt, I wanted her to stop. But I couldn’t control the memory. Couldn’t stop my arm from slashing, not until I heard footsteps behind me. Another man. I fled, leaving the knife behind me, caught in the big man’s chest.

The rows of corn whipped past in a blur—spinning, spinning until with a whoosh, the dining room reappeared around me.

And I found myself sobbing in Simon’s arms on the floor.

“It’s okay,” he said. “You’re here, you’re safe.”

“She stabbed that man. That ghast. She stabbed him over and over. And I felt like it was me, that I did it.” Tears streamed down my cheeks. “He wasn’t a ghost—he was alive, and she killed him. I think—I think she lost control. What if I—”

“I’ll help you with that,” Simon said. “With control.”

“I can’t use the dagger.” I shivered. “Every time I touch it, I’ll remember.”

“You’ll learn to control that, too. To decide how much you want to remember, and when. I don’t know half as much as Yoshiro, but I know enough to help. Why do you think William called me?” He nodded toward the door. “It wasn’t to keep those two in line; it was to help you.”

I stared at the dagger that I’d dropped onto the floor. I was drawn to it, in a way that frightened me. And I didn’t know if it was the lingering memories of Emma’s, or my own desires.

Simon helped me to my feet. “You should get some sleep.” He waited until I was at the door before saying, “Oh, and Emma?”

“Yes?”

“The ghost Edmund didn’t tell you about that dagger. I’d prefer if you didn’t lie to me.”

I nodded briefly, went upstairs, and locked myself in my room. I stared at my homework but thought about the memory of killing the man in the cornfields.

I wasn’t just seeing and talking to ghosts anymore. The wraiths at the Knell, the ghasts at the playground. It was all life and death. When had things changed? I used to argue with Bennett about dispelling ghosts, yet I was the one doing most of the killing these days. I pictured the Emma in the tapestry at the Knell. She hadn’t looked afraid. She looked as though she liked slaying ghosts. And now I knew my Emma had turned into someone who could kill a man, not just a ghost. I worried that it was going to take that kind of fierce darkness to finish Neos, and that it wasn’t a place I wanted to be.

8

I kept my head down during school the next day, and things seemed slightly better. Like I’d moved from a living hell to mere purgatory. Either Natalie’s speech had succeeded, or I was getting major points for introducing a new cute guy to school. Anyway, there were fewer frowns and more nods than the day before. Even from some of the girls, who tended to be less forgiving than boys.

Kylee caught me just inside the front hall and offered to pair up with me for fencing. Kylee was ninety pounds soaking wet, and could barely lift her own backpack, yet still could kick my ass at fencing. She was good at following the intricate rules. I was good at killing wraiths, not executing perfect coupés.

“I noticed you and Sara are kind of …” She tilted her head, waiting for me to finish.

“Yeah,” I said, unwilling to go into details. Everyone knew Sara and Coby were best friends. How hard was it to figure out why we’d stopped talking to each other?

“Anyway,” she said, “I promise to go easy on you.”

“Thanks,” I said, heading off to Latin. I knew there was a reason I’d always been nice to her, despite the butt-kickings.

Natalie was across the room leaning on Harry’s desk, seemingly flirting with him. The traitor. I went and sat next to Lukas, who sprawled at a desk that he made look miniature. He was even taller than I’d realized.

“I think I’m in love,” Lukas said.

“With who? You’ve only been here like ten minutes.”

“Okay, so it’s lust.”

I glanced at him in alarm. “Not with Natalie.”

He sat up straighter. “What? She’s hot. Though I’d have to be a fool to fall for another ghostkeeper.”

I grunted.

“Oh, sorry. Forgot about you and