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“Woah,” Jackson breathes.
“It’s moving too fast,” Brooks says. “I can’t read it.”
“Jesus Christmas, must I do everything for you Belluas?” I squint at the board as the planchette flies across the letters. He says, “NOT GHOST.”
“What does that mean?”
“Obviously that a ghost isn’t responsible for the murders.” Brooks sighs. “This is just a regular old human murder. I knew this job was a waste of our time.”
But Sid isn’t done. The planchette spins wildly. We all lean forward as he spells a single word.
DEMON.
18
EIGHTEEN: LILY
Demon. Demon.
The word blinksin my mind like a neon sign. All I can see are the walls dripping with blood, that foul demonic sigil scrawled across our living room, my dad’s organs spread across the floor.
Demon.
Bile rises in my throat,and I can’t hold it back. I jerk my hands from Orion and Brooks and clamp them over my mouth. Sid’s ghost flickers out of view. My stomach churns, and I pitch forward, spilling my guts across the spirit board.
“Lily?”
His voice sounds muffled,like he’s calling to me from underwater. I drop to my knees on the floor. I think someone hastheir arms around me, but I don’t feel their touch. I am cold all over, sinking into a pit of despair.
Demon.
The darkness swallows me.
19
NINETEEN: JACKSON
Ican’t rip my eyes from Daisy. I’m pretty sure a demon would have to claw its way out of the earth and drag me down to hell to get me to leave her side.
She looks…small in sleep. It’s a word I always used to associate with the girl who once was my best friend, but I can’t say that descriptor ever crossed my mind as I’ve come to know the woman she has transformed into. Without that ornery, combative glint in her eyes, she looks like an entirely different person.
Beautiful.
Serene.
Peaceful.
And yes, she has always been beautiful, but years of hunting have hardened Lily in ways I still can’t quite understand. And the way she reacted when we found out that a demon was responsible for the hotel murders… Orion says it’s probably PTSD from her parents, and it only makes me hate myself more.
We should have been there for her. She shouldn’t have to have PTSD.
I ball my hands into fists to keep from doing something stupid—like brushing her hair away from her face or kissing her forehead just because—and watch the steady rise and fall of her chest.
When she fainted, Brooks nearly lost his shit, but Orion was quick to calm our more volatile brother while I brought Lily to the bed and tucked her in. My girl—and yes, I’m thinking of Lily as my girl, even though I know I shouldn’t—needs her rest, especially after the bombshell Sid just dropped on us.
A demon.
A damn fucking asshole bitch of a demon is behind the attacks on the hotel.
