She unfolds the note with her gloved hands and holds it up so Wrath and I can both read it. Everyone else gathers closer, trying to see what it says.
Come meet me by the tour bus before the show
–Wrath
“What the fuck?” Wrath says, shaking his head. “I didn’t write that.”
“Someone is impersonating you, then,” Stormy says, eyeing Grim as he lets out a sigh.
“A Frath?” Simon asks, eyes wide. He slaps a hand over his mouth with a groan. “Pretend I didn’t say that.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Wrath responds.
“What do you mean?” Pinkie asks.
“People like to imitate our costumes,” Poison supplies. “There was one time where a fake Wrath—a Frath, as you called it—” he looks at Simon, “—almost got backstage because everyone just assumed it was the real guy.”
“You think someone is dressing up as Wrath to lure women in and kill them?” Amelia asks. Liz has finally gotten off the phone. She comes and stands next to my sister.
“Well, we aren’t sure about the dressing up part, but—” Pinkie starts to explain.
“Wait,” I say, looking to Grim, but he doesn’t look at me, so I address Pinkie instead. “At the party the first night. I saw Wrath standing in line for drinks at the masquerade ball and then like five seconds later he was standing next to Eerie across the room. I thought he was a vampire so I didn’t think much of it at the time, but what if there were two of them?”
“Someone’s been impersonating me?” Wrath mutters. Poison comes and wraps his arm around his friend.
“I think I might know who,” Liz says, holding up her cell.
“Who?” Simon asks, looking from Wrath to Liz, concern forming lines on his forehead. “We gotta find them and make sure this doesn’t happen again.” He looks over at the body and I swear his skin turns green. He makes a noise that sounds like a precursor to vomiting and takes a step away.
Liz ignores him and looks at Grim. “I just got off the phone with Urvine. You know him?”
Grim nods. “He’s our liaison with the council. Gives us jobs sometimes.”
“I had him trace that hex seal. Its magical signature and style matches someone they have on record exactly.”
“Who?”
“Jinx Belcross.”
Jinx?
Wait, could Jordan be involved in this too? Are the hexes and the murders connected?
“You guys getting hexed and these murders aren’t necessarily connected.”
“They could be, especially with the right motive,” Liz counters. “Jordan Yarrow is Bliss’ ex, and he has had it out for her and Goddess’ Trance ever since they kicked him out of the band. If he thought Voracious Maw and Goddess’ Trance were getting close, he could very well have decided to get pay back.”
“But what about the murder from three years ago?”
“He’s always hated Voracious Maw, even before he was kicked out. I think he always felt insecure about them. He didn’t like that I liked their shows,” I point out.
Amelia nods. “He was always super outspoken about not liking their gimmick—sorry,” she adds hastily to Wrath, who only cocks his head at her. “He hated their masks, and hated how they’d really gotten the female gaze down. Probably because he never could have done something like that himself.”
“Dead Hearts isn’t doing super great,” Taser explains. “I’ve been asking around ever since the masquerade party. I heard their label is pretty close to dropping them.”
“So what?” Poison asks. “He’s trying to sabotage us and frame Wrath for murder?”
Grim sighs, nodding. “It’s worth looking into.”
