said, “I don’t want to die at all.”
I looked him right in the eye. “What if Phin and Mark don’t get here with the troopers in time? Do you think Sparks and Kelly are really capable of going through with their plan?”
His hand came up to gingerly touch the bruise on his cheekbone. “Mike Kelly would.” He said it with certainty, and I wondered what other bruises he had that didn’t show. Someone—a Kelly, I guessed, from his answer—had really worked him over.
“We have to get out of here.” I didn’t know what made me say it with such force, or why the awful feeling of being trapped and waiting for rescue had turned to the worse feeling of being trapped and waiting to get thrown off a ravine to my death. Other than the rational fear of that, of course. Some sureness was coiling tight in my chest, and I didn’t question it.
Ben dropped his hands to his knees, ready for any suggestion. “If you’ve got some spell for lifting a half ton of truck, I won’t complain.”
I chewed on my lip, thinking hard. “Phin could probably magically MacGyver something, but that’s not my thing.”
“What is your thing?”
“Ghosts.” Saying it aloud seemed to solidify something in my mind. It felt real and tangible. True.
“That’s not particularly helpful in this situation,” said Ben, harshing my moment of self-actualization. “Unless your ghost can lift a half-ton truck.”
“Maybe it can.” I didn’t know. Believing one thing had just left me with more questions. “I do know it’s warned me twice about danger,” I told him. “I mean, it nearly froze me to death, but it kept Sparks from finding me the other night.”
Cuidado. I could almost hear the ghost now. Was that why I was so certain we couldn’t wait on Phin to bring the authorities?
“I’m going to call it.” The idea was on my lips before it had fully formed in my brain. “Maybe if it could warn me before it can help us now.”
Ben raised his hands, as if holding me back. “Whoa. Didn’t you just say this thing nearly froze you to death?”
“Yeah, it did, but I think I can control things now. You said it. I’m the human. This is my world, my rules.”
“Amy, honey.” He rubbed my arm gently, as if telling me bad news. “You shouldn’t listen to me. I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about.”
I ignored him—because he was right—and stood, wobbling only slightly. Ben pushed himself to his feet using a stalactite. Or stalagmite. The stone was all dry, which meant this wasn’t a living, growing cave, but stable. Or maybe not, if people were blowing holes in it.
I found the knotted spot in my psyche that had looped tight the night of Aunt Hyacinth’s call, feeling the tug of the bond in that place deep inside. The place where you got hunches, where you dug down deep for courage.
My head pounded with the effort I put into my thoughts—Come to me. Help me. If I don’t get out of here, I’ll never find you.
Nothing happened. I opened my eyes, looked around for confirmation that all was still, that the air was cave-cool, not cold.
This was going to suck if I failed in front of Ben. It was going to suck if I failed and died, but if Ben weren’t here, at least no one would know about it.
He must have seen the doubt in my face. “You controlled it before. I saw you.”
“Yeah.” The stabs of doubt faded to pinpricks.
“Maybe you need to speak Spanish.”
I didn’t quite groan. “Great. Señora Markowitz would be laughing now.”
Shaking myself out, much like Daisy had done, I spread my fingers and toes, the flex of tendon and muscle sending warmth and energy to my extremities.
“Venga aquí. Venga a mí. Ayúdame a encontrarle.” I hesitated a moment, then added, “Por favor.” Because politeness never hurt.
Air currents swirled against my skin, a coolness on my flushed cheeks that stirred my hair and soothed my headache. The air swirled faster as I flexed my fingers again. Controlling the moment, but giving up my stubborn, fearful grip on the mundane world and giving in to the Goodnight one. Falling down the rabbit hole, and not worrying how I would get back out.
The light was electric and white, not luminous and blue.
“Turn off the lantern, Ben.”
After the smallest hesitation, he did as I asked. In the utter blackness, the current strengthened. Icy fingers lifted my hair, and steam collected in