the shifting light of the candles, the pointer streaked to the opposite side of the board.
NO
“Then get the hell out—” Chase started, but the pointer kept swirling, moving in a clockwise circle until it returned to its point of origin.
YES
Chase’s eyes met mine, and my breath released.
“Is this what it did before?” he asked.
Nodding, I focused on the white glow of a single candle. “Will you … will you tell us your name?”
I stared as the pointer shifted in a methodical circle.
YES
Victoria nudged me.
Chase sat motionless.
“W-what is it?” I asked.
Beneath our fingers, the pointer flowed eagerly to the middle row, a letter on the left, then directly above. Back to the middle, this time to the right. Once again, directly above. Then back to the left.
MARIE
Saturday the name had meant nothing.
Now it meant everything.
“Holy crap,” Chase muttered, and in my mind, I screamed for him to be quiet. But those words would not come. Only words for the board, the spirit. “M-mom?”
Time slowed, crawled. The darkness throbbed. The word yes was so close, up a row and slightly to the left.
The pointer slid down, glided right.
S
My whole world just stopped.
The pointer kept sliding, marginally to the right, hesitating before zipping up a row and zinging left, then dropping to the last row of letters and gliding to the second to last.
“Stay?” I whispered as one of the candles crackled. “I am,” I promised on a violent twist of my heart. “I promise! I’m not going anywhere this time. I know you’re trying to tell me about Grace—”
The pointer zipped in a quick zigzag, up then down, up then down.
“Away,” Chase murmured, and my breath jammed.
STAY AWAY
Victoria gasped as Chase shot forward, crowding the board like it was a football he was about to destroy. “From what?” he asked. “A place? A person— Grace ?”
The pointer moved fast, zinging from the right to the left to the middle.
TRAP
His grip on my hand tightened, punished. “What kind of—”
“No.” The word came out amazingly firm. “It has to be me,” I reminded, my eyes locked on his. We were touching in every way we could, our fingers, our knees, our hands locked together. But it wasn’t enough. “Please. You have to let—”
The slow, steady glide of the pointer, without the prompt of a question, killed my words.
TEN
My finger tensed, as if I could stop what was coming, but the triangle swirled faster, one letter after another.
“Love,” Victoria muttered as the letters kept piling up. “Won’t.”
The votives flickered. My heart slammed hard. I could feel it throb beneath my eyes and at the corner of my mouth as the triangle hovered over the last letter.
Victoria tensed. “Die . ”
LOVE WONT DIE
Something tickled the back of my neck, but my body was no longer my own. I couldn’t move, could barely feel. It was all so hazy and far away, disconnected.
“W-what do you m-mean?” The words didn’t want to form. “Whose love—”
Chase jerked. “Trinity—”
I ignored the warning in his voice—and his death grip on my hand—even as the cold wouldn’t stop bleeding, until there shouldn’t have been anywhere else to go.
And yet the chill kept spreading. “Grace’s? Mine?”
The crystals glowed.
“T, don’t—”
But the movement of the pointer, first left to D, then back to the E, killed his words, too.
The triangle kept moving, slowly, methodically.
D E S T
Everything blurred, wouldn’t stop blurring, the letters and the crates, Chase and Victoria and the room … It zipped in and out of focus as I forced myself to swallow. Forced myself to breathe. Both burned.
I N Y
“Destiny,” Victoria murmured as the triangle stopped on the last letter.
The shaking started deep inside me, slowly at first, faster. Jerking. And the pointer shot up to the middle row, up again to the letters above.
M I
My whole body spasmed.
“What the eff—” Chase muttered as
NO
“Then get the hell out—” Chase started, but the pointer kept swirling, moving in a clockwise circle until it returned to its point of origin.
YES
Chase’s eyes met mine, and my breath released.
“Is this what it did before?” he asked.
Nodding, I focused on the white glow of a single candle. “Will you … will you tell us your name?”
I stared as the pointer shifted in a methodical circle.
YES
Victoria nudged me.
Chase sat motionless.
“W-what is it?” I asked.
Beneath our fingers, the pointer flowed eagerly to the middle row, a letter on the left, then directly above. Back to the middle, this time to the right. Once again, directly above. Then back to the left.
MARIE
Saturday the name had meant nothing.
Now it meant everything.
“Holy crap,” Chase muttered, and in my mind, I screamed for him to be quiet. But those words would not come. Only words for the board, the spirit. “M-mom?”
Time slowed, crawled. The darkness throbbed. The word yes was so close, up a row and slightly to the left.
The pointer slid down, glided right.
S
My whole world just stopped.
The pointer kept sliding, marginally to the right, hesitating before zipping up a row and zinging left, then dropping to the last row of letters and gliding to the second to last.
“Stay?” I whispered as one of the candles crackled. “I am,” I promised on a violent twist of my heart. “I promise! I’m not going anywhere this time. I know you’re trying to tell me about Grace—”
The pointer zipped in a quick zigzag, up then down, up then down.
“Away,” Chase murmured, and my breath jammed.
STAY AWAY
Victoria gasped as Chase shot forward, crowding the board like it was a football he was about to destroy. “From what?” he asked. “A place? A person— Grace ?”
The pointer moved fast, zinging from the right to the left to the middle.
TRAP
His grip on my hand tightened, punished. “What kind of—”
“No.” The word came out amazingly firm. “It has to be me,” I reminded, my eyes locked on his. We were touching in every way we could, our fingers, our knees, our hands locked together. But it wasn’t enough. “Please. You have to let—”
The slow, steady glide of the pointer, without the prompt of a question, killed my words.
TEN
My finger tensed, as if I could stop what was coming, but the triangle swirled faster, one letter after another.
“Love,” Victoria muttered as the letters kept piling up. “Won’t.”
The votives flickered. My heart slammed hard. I could feel it throb beneath my eyes and at the corner of my mouth as the triangle hovered over the last letter.
Victoria tensed. “Die . ”
LOVE WONT DIE
Something tickled the back of my neck, but my body was no longer my own. I couldn’t move, could barely feel. It was all so hazy and far away, disconnected.
“W-what do you m-mean?” The words didn’t want to form. “Whose love—”
Chase jerked. “Trinity—”
I ignored the warning in his voice—and his death grip on my hand—even as the cold wouldn’t stop bleeding, until there shouldn’t have been anywhere else to go.
And yet the chill kept spreading. “Grace’s? Mine?”
The crystals glowed.
“T, don’t—”
But the movement of the pointer, first left to D, then back to the E, killed his words, too.
The triangle kept moving, slowly, methodically.
D E S T
Everything blurred, wouldn’t stop blurring, the letters and the crates, Chase and Victoria and the room … It zipped in and out of focus as I forced myself to swallow. Forced myself to breathe. Both burned.
I N Y
“Destiny,” Victoria murmured as the triangle stopped on the last letter.
The shaking started deep inside me, slowly at first, faster. Jerking. And the pointer shot up to the middle row, up again to the letters above.
M I
My whole body spasmed.
“What the eff—” Chase muttered as
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