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“Upstairs. Lillibeth is in her room. Ravinia is planning to leave sometime soon, you know.”
Catherine sighed. “I was hoping she’d be over that by now.”
They stared at each other. Catherine had her problems with Ravinia, but Cassandra was the one she could fathom the least. Catherine herself had a bit of Cassandra’s precognition, but she could not see into Cassandra’s mind the way she could sometimes see into the minds of others, and she was always amazed, grateful, and a tiny bit frightened at the strength of the girl’s ability.
“You’re mad at me for talking to her,” Cassandra said. “The detective.”
“No.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I’m concerned. There’s a difference. I gave Detective Dunbar something that, unfortunately, may shine a light on us here. A light I would prefer not to shine, but I need her to get me some information.”
“What kind of information?”
Catherine smiled faintly. If Cassandra didn’t know, she wasn’t about to tell her. “What did you tell Detective Dunbar?”
“I told her he was coming.”
“Ah, yes. He’s coming.” Catherine closed her eyes and pressed a finger to her temple, fighting a headache.
“It really is like the Cassandra of mythology, isn’t it?” the girl said suddenly, with some bitterness. “You don’t believe me.”
“Oh, I believe you, all right. That’s not it. I just wish you hadn’t said anything to Detective Dunbar.”
Cassandra shook her head angrily. “You can talk to her, but I can’t?”
“You know it’s wiser to keep your predictions inside these walls.”
“I think I’d like to be Margaret again,” she stated flatly. “Call me Maggie from now on.”
“Cassandra.” Catherine was deeply shocked.
“Rebecca and Lorelei have lives outside of these gates. Happy lives. Normal lives. And after Justice died, I thought things would change. You said they would change.”
“You said ‘He’s coming,’ and you didn’t mean Justice,” Catherine countered. “That should be reason enough to keep things as they are.”
“No, I don’t mean Justice. . . .” Cassandra darted a glance to the back window suddenly, toward the graveyard. “The bones,” she whispered.
“The bones?”
They both stared silently for a moment, and then Cassandra drew in an unsteady breath. “You don’t see them?” she asked her.
“Them?” Catherine slowly wagged her head,
even while her nerves jangled. Sometimes Catherine could see a trace of Cassandra’s vision. Not often, but sometimes.
“He came from bones.”
“We all have bones,” Catherine said, seeking to deflect Cassandra from this line of thought.
“You don’t need to treat us like children, Aunt Catherine. You’ve got to let go of us. You do know that.”
“I made a vow to myself to keep you all safe.”
“It’s not going to work this time. Our world is about to fall apart.”
Catherine’s heart seized. “What do you mean?”
