Page 216 of Trick or Stalk

The man hasn't moved.

He's still there. Watching.

Hades goes completely still.

Then his head turns slightly toward me. “That's him?”

“Yes.”

His jaw tightens.

And that's when it hits me.

My heart pounds for an entirely different reason.

Oh my God.

They're both here.

Hades is standing right in front of me. I’m touching him.

And the Masked Man is across the fucking square.

The suspicion I've been trying not to acknowledge shatters.

Good girl.

The scent.

The strange familiarity.

It’s all just been a coincidence.

Hades isn't him. He can't be. He’s here with me.

“Stay here.”

“What?”

He hands me the stuffed bat, then he runs.

“Hades!”

He doesn't stop.

People move out of his way as he cuts across the square, then turns and runs.

Holy shit.

“Hades!”

I start after them.

Someone steps in front of me, and by the time I get around them, the Masked Man has disappeared between two buildings.

Hades follows.

Then they're both gone.