Reena opens the curtains and light filters in. A soft-looking red-and-white quilt hangs over a rocking chair in the corner.
“My grandparents’ cabin,” she says, walking over to sit down on an overstuffed sofa. “We used to spend every holiday here when I was alive.”
She says that—“when I was alive”—without a trace of sadness, and I wonder if I’ll ever feel that indifferent about my own death.
She pats the seat beside her. “Make yourself at home.”
I ease onto the flowered cushion.
“It’s nice,” I say, because it is. It’s warm and cozy, and I can see why Reena made it her prism.
“I like it.” Then she smiles at me. “You look rested.”
“Yeah. Thanks for, um, dropping me off.”
“No problem. Sometimes being on Earth can be exhausting. It was fun, though.” She studies my face. “Don’t you think?”
“It was . . . interesting. But I’m not sure—”
“Thatcher got upset, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What did you tell him?” Leo asks anxiously, dropping down beside me, very close, a little too close. I have an urge to edge away, to remind him to watch my personal space. He’s crowding me, making me feel uncomfortable, and I can’t help but wonder if, even though I can’t feel it, he’s tapping into my energy again.
“Not a lot. Just that we moved some things around.”
He and Reena exchange a glance full of meaning—I’m not sure how to read it.
“That’s good,” Reena says. “He can make a big deal out of nothing.”
And I can’t help but wonder—
“Like what you did with the weather? It was pretty impressive.”
“I’ve never done that before.” Reena’s face lights up. “It felt amazing.”
“The sky was a painting. Like performance art or whatever.”
“I know, right? It’s all about having fun with haunting. No matter what other ghosts might preach.”
I smile, even though I feel like I’m betraying Thatcher. I have one question I want answered, and then I’ll leave. “On your neck. There’s—”
“The black spot of death,” Reena murmurs in a low voice that’s almost seething. For a second I wonder if I’ve upset her, but then she breaks into a relaxed laugh and pulls her hair back, turning her head so I can see it.
It’s dark and ashy, almost like she was burned with a cigar in that spot.
“It used to be the green moon,” she says. “I’m sure Thatcher has told you about the mark that guides ghosts to Solus.”
“Sort of. I mean, yeah, I’ve seen it, and he told me how it changes as you get closer to merging, right?”
“Right,” she says. “Unless it goes black like mine.”
“I thought you couldn’t see them in the Prism. Only on Earth.”
“Again, unless it’s black like mine—then it shows all the time.”
“But what does it mean?”
“You tell her, Leo. You earned yours first.”
I twist around to look at him. His black circle is bigger than Reena’s, but just as dark and ashy.
“This spot,” says Leo, smiling sinisterly, and suddenly I wonder if I should be asking about the spot, if it’s too intrusive of me. “This spot is a symbol of power, rebellion, a badge of honor. It means that I never have to merge with Solus. That we never have to merge.”
Reena laughs. “Leo, don’t be so dramatic!” She scoots closer to me so that I’m hemmed in. I want to make a run for it, which is ridiculous. I like Reena. “It means that we know about our lives. It indicates that we’ve been back.”
“Back to what?” I ask.
“Back to our death spot.”
“I thought you couldn’t go back,” I say. “Thatcher said it wasn’t possible because . . . because you can’t—” I don’t remember him saying why we couldn’t go, just that we couldn’t.
“You have to understand that Thatcher has a lot of hang-ups. There’s no reason for you not to go if you want to,” says Reena.
I consider the implications and possibilities for a moment. I’m curious about where I died, about why Thatcher doesn’t want me to go there.
“What will I see there?” I ask.
“Nothing scary,” Reena assures me. “The Guides won’t take new ghosts there because it can jar your memory, reconnect you with your life, and stir up grief.”
“They want the new ghosts to be mindless robots so they can finish their haunting and merge with Solus,” says Leo.
Soulless. He says it in that way again.
“Right,” says Reena. “But you’re smart, Callie. And you already have your memories. So where’s the harm in seeing where you died?”
She’s smiling with encouragement, and her eyes are shining.
“You don’t want to say good-bye to Earth and leave everyone you love forever, do you?” she asks pointedly.
“No,” I say. “I don’t want to do that.”
“Right—you’re choosing to be with Nick, and Carson, and your father, forever.”
Reaching up, I tentatively touch my neck, wondering if the green moon tattoo is there now, if I’m willing for it to go dark.
“Forever?” I ask.
“Hell, yes!” says Leo. “And that’s a good thing. Solus is where you truly die. Not here. We can still have fun, see our families, mess around on Earth, and almost live our lives.”
Reena nods. “It’s empowering. It’s freeing to visit your death spot.”
I hesitate.
“It might bring you some peace to be there,” Reena continues.
“We can go right now,” says Leo, standing up.
I stay seated. “I’m not sure.”
Reena smiles with understanding. “Callie, would you rather go visit someone else’s death spot instead?”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“We spend a lot of time at the place where Norris died,” she says. “It’s kind of our hangout on Earth.”
“Really?” I ask, thinking that sounds a little creepy. “Where did he die?”
“His was kind of a unique ending,” Leo says mysteriously. “We’d hate to ruin the surprise.”
Leo definitely has a macabre sense of humor, and I don’t quite trust him. But Thatcher has no doubt discovered that I didn’t follow orders and wait for his return. He may be searching for me. I’m not ready to face his disappointment.
“Yeah, let’s do this,” I say.
“You won’t regret it,” says Reena.
But some part of me already does.
Leo howls the entire time that we’re in the portal, hurtling through space. It’s almost like the rebel yell that the guys at school used to let out during tailgating parties—loud and long and full of fight. But when they did it, it sounded like the volume was turned up on life; Leo’s yelp is more like an eerie echo of death, and I shiver as we pass through the portal, stepping out on the metal rail of a train track and stumbling down to the wooden planks.
A bony arm catches me. “Whoa there, Callie.”
“Hi, Norris,” I say.
He grins. “The gang’s all here.”
I spot Delia’s blond curls before she turns around to say hello. Then Leo and Reena emerge from the portal and it closes up with a spark.
“Where are we?” I ask.
“Lyndon’s Crossing,” says Delia.
“Why does that sound so familiar?” Looking around at the railroad tracks, the trees growing on either side of them, I don’t think I’ve been here.
“Some stupid kid died here a few years back,” says Leo, staring right at Norris. “Train-dodging idiot.”
“Shut up, man.” Norris knocks Leo on the arm.