I couldn’t think clearly. I was out of time, and I wasn’t going to lose one more person I loved. I ran toward my dad, and even though it was just a few feet, it felt like I was running through quicksand. I saw Ridley step forward, her hair twisting in the wind like Medusa’s whole head of snakes.
I saw Link step forward and grab her shoulder. “Rid, don’t do it.”
For a split second, I had no idea what was going to happen. I saw everything in slow motion.
My dad turned to look back at me.
I saw him start to let go of the railing.
I saw Ridley’s pink and blond strands twisting.
And I saw Link standing in front of her, staring into those golden eyes, whispering something I couldn’t hear. She looked at Link, and without another word, her lollipop went sailing over the railing. I watched it arc down to the ground below, exploding like shrapnel. It was over.
As quickly as my father had turned away from the railing, he turned back toward it, toward me. I grabbed his shoulders and pulled him forward, over the railing and onto the balcony floor. He fell in a crumpled heap, and lay there looking up at me like a frightened child.
“Thank you, Ridley. I mean, whatever that was. Thanks.”
“I don’t want your thanks,” she sneered, pulling away from Link and adjusting the strap of her top. “I didn’t do either of you a favor. I just didn’t feel like killing him. Today.”
She tried to sound menacing, but she ended up just sounding childish. She twirled a pink strand of hair. “Though that’s not gonna make some people too happy.” She didn’t have to say who, but I could see the fear in her eyes. For a second, I could see how much of her persona was just an act. Smoke and mirrors.
Despite everything, even now, as I tried to pull my father to his feet, I felt sort of sorry for her. Ridley could have any guy on the planet, and yet all I could see was how alone she was. She wasn’t nearly as strong as Lena was, not inside.
Lena.
Lena, are you okay?
I’m fine. What’s wrong?
I looked at my father. He couldn’t keep his eyes open, and he was having trouble standing.
Nothing. Are you with Larkin?
Yes, we’re headed back to Ravenwood. Is your dad okay?
He’s fine. I’ll explain when I get there.
I slid my arm under my dad’s shoulder, while Link grabbed his other side.
Stay with Larkin, and get back inside with your family. You’re not safe alone.
Before we could even take a step, Ridley sauntered by us, back through the open balcony doors, those ten-mile legs stepping across the threshold. “Sorry, boys. I gotta jet, maybe head back to New York for a while, lay low. It’s cool.” She shrugged.
Even though she was a monster, Link couldn’t help but watch her go. “Hey, Rid?”
She stopped and turned to look at him, almost ruefully. Like she couldn’t help what she was any more than a shark could help being a shark, but if she could…
“Yeah, Shrinky Dink?”
“You’re not all bad.”
She looked right at him and almost smiled. “You know what they say. Maybe I’m just drawn that way.”
Family Reunion
Once my dad was safely in the hands of the reenactment medics, I couldn’t get back to the party fast enough. I pushed past the girls from Jackson, who had ditched jackets, and were looking skanky in their tank tops and baby tees, gyrating to the music of the Holy Rollers. Minus Link who, to his credit, was right on my heels. It was loud. Live band loud. Live ammo loud. So loud that I almost didn’t hear Larkin’s voice calling me.
“Ethan, over here!” Larkin was standing in the trees just past the reflective yellow rope that separated the Safe Zone from the You-Could-Get-Your-Butt-Shot-Off-If-You-Cross-This-Line Zone. What was he doing in the woods, past the Safe Zone? Why wasn’t he back at the house? I waved to him and he motioned me over, disappearing behind the rise. Usually jumping that rope would’ve been a tough choice, but not today. I had no choice but to follow him. Link was right behind me, stumbling, but still somehow keeping up with me, just the way it used to be.
“Hey, Ethan.”
“Yeah?”
“About Rid, I should’ve listened.”
“It’s okay, man. You couldn’t help it. I should’ve told you everything.”
“Don’t sweat it. I wouldn’t have believed you.”
The sound of gunfire echoed over our heads. We both ducked, instinctively.
“Hope those are blanks,” Link said nervously. “Wouldn’t it be crazy if my own dad shot me out here?”
“With my luck lately, it wouldn’t surprise me if he shot us both.”
We reached the top of the rise. I could see the thicket of brush, the oaks, and the smoke of the artillery field beyond us.
“We’re over here!” Larkin called, from the other side of the thicket. By the “we,” I could only assume he meant him and Lena, so I ran faster. Like Lena’s life depended on it, because for all I knew maybe it did.
Then I realized where we were. There was the archway to the garden at Greenbrier. Larkin and Lena were standing in the clearing, just beyond the garden, in the same place where we had dug up Genevieve’s grave a few weeks ago. A few feet behind them, a figure stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight. It was dark, but the full moon was right over us.
I blinked. It was—It was—
“Mom, what the heck are you doin’ out here?” Link was confused.
Because his mom was standing in front of us, Mrs. Lincoln, my worst nightmare, or at least in my top ten. She looked strangely in—or out of—place, depending on how you looked at it. She was wearing ridiculous volumes of petticoats and the stupid calico dress that cinched her waist way too tightly. And she was standing right at Genevieve’s grave. “Now, now. You know how I feel about profanity, young man.”
Link rubbed his head. This made no sense at all, not to him, and not to me.
Lena, what’s happening?
Lena?
There was no response. Something was wrong.
“Mrs. Lincoln, are you okay?”
“Delightful, Ethan. Isn’t it a wonderful battle? And Lena’s birthday, too, she tells me. We’ve been waiting for you, at least, one of you.”
Link stepped closer. “Well, I’m here now, Mom. I’ll take you home. You shouldn’t be out past the Safe Zone. You’re gonna get your head blown off. You know what a bad shot Dad is.”
I grabbed Link’s arm, holding him back. There was something wrong, something about the way she was smiling at us. Something about the panicked look on Lena’s face.
What’s going on? Lena!
Why wasn’t she answering me? I watched as Lena pulled my mom’s ring out of her sweatshirt and grabbed it by the chain in her hand. I could see her lips move in the darkness. I could barely hear something, only a whisper, in the far corner of my mind.
Ethan, get out of here! Get Uncle Macon! Run!
But I couldn’t move. I couldn’t leave her.
“Link, Angel, you are such a thoughtful boy.”
Link? It wasn’t Mrs. Lincoln standing in front of us. It couldn’t be.