I know all those years her mind wasn’t really her own. But all the pain she caused is still fresh in my mind, you know? She’s my grandmother, though, and I don’t want her locked underneath the house forever. I don’t want anyone else to have to spend their life like that; otherwise, it feels like my sacrifice is for nothing.”
He combs his fingers through his hair, brushing his hair out of his eyes. “You keep saying all of this like it’s a done deal, like you’re for sure going to die, but sometimes visions change—stuff can still change—so how can you know you and Alex are going to die for sure?”
“Alex isn’t going to die,” I say without really meaning to.
He jerks back, shocked. “What do you mean?”
I lean in, keeping my voice low. “Can you keep a secret?”
ALEX
Aislin materializes us in front of the house in Iceland then lets go of my hand.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asks again, wrapping her arms around herself as the cold air hits her. “Maybe there’s another way. We still have a little time left, you know. We can fix this.”
I shake my head, opening the front gate. “Time’s up, Aislin. This is what I’m going to do, what I want to do.”
“Well, I’m waiting here.” She refuses to step onto the pathway that leads to the house. “I can’t watch what’s about to happen.”
“I understand.” I hike up the snowy path to the front steps and bang on the door. “Open up! I know you’re in there.”
An old woman that lives in the house next door steps out onto her porch. “Keep it down. We don’t want any nonsense around here.”
I bang on the door again, this time harder. “I’m just trying to talk to the person who lives here.”
“No one lives there,” she snaps. “Now leave or I’ll call the police.”
I give the door a good hard kick before I stomp down the stairs and back to Aislin. I grab her arm and tow her along with me as I hurry down the sidewalk.
“Where are we going?” Aislin rushes to keep up with me.
“Just keep walking.”
I glance over my shoulder at the old woman who’s still watching us then turn back around. I walk to the end the sidewalk then round the corner and stop in front of the fence. I hop over it, diving into the back yard.
“Wait here,” I tell Aislin then jog up the back porch.
I check the back door and the window; both are locked. In a desperate move, I punch my fist through the window of the door, and the glass gashes my knuckles.
“Alex!” Aislin hisses through the chain link fence, but I am already reaching through the window and unlocking the door.
As soon as I shove it open, the Banshee’s wail rings against my eardrums. I don’t bother taking out my knife since I’m here to give her what she wants.
I run up the stairs, tracking her cries to a locked door. Stepping back, I run forward and kick it down.
“Way to make an entrance,” the Banshee says from the windowsill as I stumble into the room. Her blond hair is pale against the moonlight as she tilts her head toward me. “What do you want?”
I take a deep breath, ready to make my offer, ready to lay down my fucking life in an instant because it means Gemma can live, but the Banshee holds up her hands before I can speak.
“Let me guess,” she says, whisking away from the window. “You found your mother, but now she’s trapped in the Afterlife, paying her debt until Helena will allow her to walk the world again, and you want me to free her.”
I start to nod, but then shake my head. “That’s not why I’m here.”
She smiles maliciously. “You want something else”—she circles me, tracing her finger across my shoulder—“but I’ll have to forgive you first.” She leans over my shoulder, sniffing my neck. “I can be very giving if asked the right question.”
I clench my fists, knowing I have to keep my temper under control.
“I’m ready to make a bargain with you, and trust me, what I’m going to offer, you’re not going to want to refuse.”
A few minutes later, I return outside to Aislin who’s waiting for me on the step with a fire burning in front of her feet.
“What?” she asks when she notices me staring at the flames. “I got cold.”