Total pages in book: 181
Estimated words: 181613 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 908(@200wpm)___ 726(@250wpm)___ 605(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 181613 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 908(@200wpm)___ 726(@250wpm)___ 605(@300wpm)
I breathe out a sigh and open my tent, then get in, taking one last look at the bright light shining through the woods before I zip up the flimsy cocoon keeping me safe from the darkness… safe from him.
A violent shriek wakes me up.
I sit up straight in my sleeping bag and wipe the hairs off my forehead.
Did that scream really happen, or was it all in my head, like a dream?
Another squeal pierces the sky.
I immediately crawl up from my bed and zip down my tent, racing out into the cold, dark of night with nothing but my pj’s and the flashlight on my phone.
“Who was that?” I yell.
“Aspen!”
Cecelia’s screams from the cliff’s edge kick my adrenaline into gear, and I bolt through the small forest area that separates our clearing from the drop-off. The gusty wind swishes my dyed red hair in my face as I zigzag between the trees until I reach the same cliff we were at just this afternoon.
Cecelia and Levi peer down at something below the ledge.
In a split second, Cecelia rushes toward me. “Aspen! Over here!”
Talon rips open his tent and steps out together with a very sleepy Océane, who’s still rubbing her eyes. “What’s going on? Who’s yelling?”
I run to meet Cecelia, and she grabs my hand to drag me back to whatever it is that made her scream.
“What happened?” I ask as we approach Levi.
“I need help over here!”
That sounded like … Apollo?
“Is Apollo down there?” I ask.
Levi’s entire body turns rigid as his eyes find mine in the dark, his oval face bearing the horrors of trauma. “I’m sorry.”
My heart slows its pace, a faint flutter replacing the drumming behind my rib cage, as though my body is preparing for the shock it’s about to endure. Because when I step closer under Levi’s watch and peer into the deep end, the same horror that cracked his face rattles my bones.
Down there … on the hard rocks between the edge and the ocean lies the splattered, bloodied body of Mavis Rivera.
My half sister.
Dead.
CHAPTER 2
Aspen
Years ago
“Boo!”
Mavis’s face, appearing underneath a flashlight in the dark, makes me jolt up and down in my seat.
“Ha ha! Gotcha!” She points and laughs like it’s funny I got scared.
We’re not supposed to stay up this late, but our parents are already fast asleep, so there’s no one to check on us. And Mavis sure loves playing games in the middle of the night.
“My turn,” I say, snatching the flashlight away from her.
Darkness surrounds us, with only the glow-in-the-dark stars on the door lighting her bedroom. I get up and roam about, hiding behind my chair while I wait for her to settle in fear. Then I pop up and say, “Boo!”
But she just laughs. “Good one.”
“Aren’t you ever scared?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Never.”
I roll my eyes. “No fair.”
She shrugs. “I can’t help it. There are far scarier things than your face.”
I snort and smile. “Thanks for the compliment.”
“I mean, I see floaty heads in Mom’s bedroom all the time.”
I grimace. “Floaty heads? What? Like actual ghosts?”
When she nods, my stomach almost turns over, and I lean in to whisper, “You see actual ghosts? Since when?”
“I don’t know. Forever, I guess.”
“That’s insane,” I say.
She shrugs. “You get used to it after a while.”
“Do they talk?”
“Nah, not really. I’ve tried, but nothing works.”
“Maybe you should try a Ouija board.”
Her eyes widen. “Oh … wow, can’t believe I never thought of that. Okay, let’s do it. We’ll get one tomorrow.” She holds out her hand. “Together.”
“Wait, you want me to talk to them too?” I’m getting the creeps. “Do they live in our house? How many are there?”
“Maybe three. I don’t really keep track. There are too many in this city.”
“Wow…”
“Are your flabbers ghasted?” She smirks.
I put my thumb and index finger together. “Just a little.”
She leans in. “So … want me to introduce you?”
I make a face. “Absolutely not.”
“Scaredy-cat.” She chucks a pillow my way and laughs, so I throw it right back, and we end up in a pillow fight.
She giggles. “C’mon, then! I’m not scared of nothing!”
Not scared of nothing.
Not even death itself.
Apollo
Present
I crawl up on the rock, water crashing into me as I waste no time clutching the body and checking for a pulse.
Nothing.
“God-fucking-dammit,” I grunt.
I cross my hands above her chest and begin applying pressure to her heart, trying to pump the life back into her.
She’s bleeding from the ear, and her leg is splayed in a very wrong position, but we can fucking fix that. Right?
I open her lips and give her CPR, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference as her body lies limp on the rocks.
The screaming coming from far above doesn’t help either.
“Goddammit, Mavis!” I yell at her, pushing down even harder into her ribs to make that goddamn heart of hers pump again.