join their ancestors, which means they’re left to face the spirit world alone.”
My brow furrowed. “But you know that’s not true, right? I mean, Sam’s made it across okay, and he personally told me that he’s met up with your ancestors.”
“Oh, I know that’s how it works,” he assured me. “But try to convince my family of that and they’ll call you a liar right to your face. It’s what they believe, and nothing I say is going to change their minds. Especially since most of them believe it was my mom who took the urn in the first place.”
“But what possible reason could she have for depriving your family of the urn?”
Heath leaned forward and started the car again. “That’s a whole other story,” he told me. “And one I’ll tell you later. Right now, I just want to get back to the hotel and lie down for a while.”
It was then that I remembered the talon marks I’d seen on the side of Beverly’s car. “Heath,” I said, “there’s something you should know about your aunt’s accident.” I then explained to him what I’d seen on the side of her car. “I didn’t mention it when you came out of the station because I didn’t want to say anything in front of Ari, and I don’t know for an actual fact that they’re really demon marks. I mean, in theory I suppose they could’ve been gouges from the tree she hit, but the pattern is way too similar to that demon we encountered in San Francisco. I really think we should check it out.”
Heath’s face was hard like granite, and without a word he put the car into drive and pulled back out onto the road. At first I thought he might be mad at me for telling him, but he reached for my hand again and gave it a gentle squeeze.
We wound our way through a variety of roads until we crept onto one that, I was guessing, didn’t see much traffic. There was nothing as far as the eye could see but scrub and low mountains. We drove for about five minutes when Heath slowed down, and leaned forward, letting go of my hand to focus on the road ahead. “What’cha looking for?” I asked him.
He stopped the car and pointed out the windshield. “Those.”
Heath put the car into park and got out, and I followed suit, joining him at the site of a set of skid marks that began near the yellow dividing line and ended at the trunk of a tree that’d been nearly broken in half.
My breath caught, especially when I remembered poor Beverly’s car. We walked beside the marks, softly and reverently as if following a funeral procession, until we both stood under the boughs of the lone tree.
Heath’s face was pinched and clouded with emotion. I moved closer to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. “I’m so, so sorry about your aunt and uncle.”
He hugged me and said, “Would you reach out to Aunt Bev and see if she’s here, Em?”
“You think she’s grounded?”
He shrugged. “You know how it is with car accidents. Lots of ’em end up stuck at the scene.”
I stepped back from him and took a deep breath, opening up my senses, looking for her spirit in the ether. I bumped into nothing but the emotion still lingering in the area, and I let myself follow the thread.
I moved back along the skid marks to their point of origin and then even a few steps farther along the road to spread my hands out, literally feeling the air as I went. “What is it?” Heath asked, coming to my side.
“She was really scared,” I said. “Like . . . terrified scared, and the weird thing is that she was terrified some feet before the skid marks start.”
Heath studied me. “What else are you getting?”
My eyes fell on the tree and I lowered my hands to walk back over to it, sensing the waves of terrified energy running like rain down around me as I went, and when I got to the tree, the terror just . . . stopped. “She was killed instantly,” I said, my hand going to my neck. “Her neck snapped.”
Heath was still studying me. “That’s what Pena said.”
I
My brow furrowed. “But you know that’s not true, right? I mean, Sam’s made it across okay, and he personally told me that he’s met up with your ancestors.”
“Oh, I know that’s how it works,” he assured me. “But try to convince my family of that and they’ll call you a liar right to your face. It’s what they believe, and nothing I say is going to change their minds. Especially since most of them believe it was my mom who took the urn in the first place.”
“But what possible reason could she have for depriving your family of the urn?”
Heath leaned forward and started the car again. “That’s a whole other story,” he told me. “And one I’ll tell you later. Right now, I just want to get back to the hotel and lie down for a while.”
It was then that I remembered the talon marks I’d seen on the side of Beverly’s car. “Heath,” I said, “there’s something you should know about your aunt’s accident.” I then explained to him what I’d seen on the side of her car. “I didn’t mention it when you came out of the station because I didn’t want to say anything in front of Ari, and I don’t know for an actual fact that they’re really demon marks. I mean, in theory I suppose they could’ve been gouges from the tree she hit, but the pattern is way too similar to that demon we encountered in San Francisco. I really think we should check it out.”
Heath’s face was hard like granite, and without a word he put the car into drive and pulled back out onto the road. At first I thought he might be mad at me for telling him, but he reached for my hand again and gave it a gentle squeeze.
We wound our way through a variety of roads until we crept onto one that, I was guessing, didn’t see much traffic. There was nothing as far as the eye could see but scrub and low mountains. We drove for about five minutes when Heath slowed down, and leaned forward, letting go of my hand to focus on the road ahead. “What’cha looking for?” I asked him.
He stopped the car and pointed out the windshield. “Those.”
Heath put the car into park and got out, and I followed suit, joining him at the site of a set of skid marks that began near the yellow dividing line and ended at the trunk of a tree that’d been nearly broken in half.
My breath caught, especially when I remembered poor Beverly’s car. We walked beside the marks, softly and reverently as if following a funeral procession, until we both stood under the boughs of the lone tree.
Heath’s face was pinched and clouded with emotion. I moved closer to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. “I’m so, so sorry about your aunt and uncle.”
He hugged me and said, “Would you reach out to Aunt Bev and see if she’s here, Em?”
“You think she’s grounded?”
He shrugged. “You know how it is with car accidents. Lots of ’em end up stuck at the scene.”
I stepped back from him and took a deep breath, opening up my senses, looking for her spirit in the ether. I bumped into nothing but the emotion still lingering in the area, and I let myself follow the thread.
I moved back along the skid marks to their point of origin and then even a few steps farther along the road to spread my hands out, literally feeling the air as I went. “What is it?” Heath asked, coming to my side.
“She was really scared,” I said. “Like . . . terrified scared, and the weird thing is that she was terrified some feet before the skid marks start.”
Heath studied me. “What else are you getting?”
My eyes fell on the tree and I lowered my hands to walk back over to it, sensing the waves of terrified energy running like rain down around me as I went, and when I got to the tree, the terror just . . . stopped. “She was killed instantly,” I said, my hand going to my neck. “Her neck snapped.”
Heath was still studying me. “That’s what Pena said.”
I
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