Before I Wake
Page 92
You are still losing blood Harmony said, and my father sighed.
You swear youll be right behind us?
I nodded. Youll probably be able to see us in the rearview mirror. When my father finally gave in, Tod and I helped Harmony get him into her car while Nash helped Sabine buckle her seat belt beneath her brokenand now swollenarm. Then Nash headed to the pavilion to pack up the lunch stuff. Tod and I were about to blink to opposite sides of the lake to gather the rest of the troops when Luca came running toward us from the shore.
Kaylee! he shouted, and all three of us turned. An instant later, and Tod and I would have been gone.
Whats wrong?
Dead guy. Or dead girl, Luca said. Either way, someone here is deader than either of you.
A jolt of fear shot up my spine, followed by an echoing bolt of anger. Not again
Its probably Tinas body, Tod said, while Nash filled Luca in on what had happened, and I was almost ashamed by how relieved that thought made me. As awful as it was to think that Sabines foster mother had been hauled around in her own car by the demon whod killed her and stolen her soul, that was better than the alternativeyet another death. Where? I asked.
Over there somewhere. Luca nodded toward the parking lot, and my relief swelled. If Tinas body had arrived with her car, that would explain why Luca hadnt sensed it before.
Show us, I said, and we followed him away from the covered eating area toward the parking lot, with spaces for just six vehicles. Four of the spaces were occupied by cars wed driven: mine, my dads, Tinas, and Jaysons.
Luca stopped in front of our row of cars, then veered to the right, past my car, like he was being physically tugged that way. Here. He started down the aisle between Tinas car and Jaysons, and my heart pounded so hard my chest ached. I didnt want to think about Sabines foster mother lying dead in her own car. I didnt want to think about anything. I wanted this moment to be over, before it had even begun.
At the end of the aisle, Luca turned to the rightaway from Tinas car. He stepped slowly, hesitantly toward Jaysons trunk, his eyes narrowed in concentration, and I could feel my own brow wrinkle in confusion. Its in there. Dead. Not rotting yet, so its very recent.
What? No, I said, frustrated by the fact that logic and the truth didnt seem to line up. Why would someone put a body in Jaysons car? He doesnt know anything about any of this.
No, but his trunk obviously made a convenient delivery system. Tod peered over the roof, and I followed his gaze to the shore, where Em and Jayson were two indistinct forms near the edge of thewater, enjoying their normal day, and their normal lives, with no idea how much macabre horror had hitched a ride in Jaysons normal car. Hes not looking. Im going to pop the trunk.
Tod disappeared, and an instant later he reappeared in Jaysons drivers seat.
My hands shook and my mind raced. Who was in the trunk? It had to be someone I knew. Someone close to me. The pattern was escalatingAvari had said that himself. A stranger. A classmate. A friend.
This time it was a relative. It had to be. Except that all of my relatives were alive and accounted for.
Except for Uncle Brendon.
No
My uncle had cared for me like a father when my own father hadnt been able to deal with my mothers death. Uncle Brendon had been there on every first day of school and every trip to the doctor. Hed turned on the bathroom light when I was scared of the dark and thrown away the steamed broccoli I hated, when Aunt Val wasnt looking.
But whatever hed been to me, he was more to Sophie. He was all she had left. And no matter what shed said and done to me in the past, she didnt deserve this.
Tod leaned forward in the drivers seat and something popped inside the car. The trunk lid rose a couple of inches, but I only stared at it. I couldnt look. I didnt want to see.
Kaylee? Luca said, but I shook my head.
I need a minute. How was I going to tell my dad that his brother was gone? How was I going to tell Sophie that her father was dead? And that it was my fault?
Kay? Tod appeared at my side and his arm wrapped around me from behind.
I cant do it. Its Uncle Brendon. Am I a total coward if I dont look?
He squeezed me, then let me go and lifted the trunk. I turned my head. I didnt want to see my uncle dead, and I especially didnt want to see him dead in the trunk of Emmas boyfriends car.
Luca made a sound, deep in his throat, and for a second, I thought hed choked on horror. Id come close myself, several times. What the hell? the necromancer said. I dont understand.
Kaylee, Tod said, and something in his voice set off alarms in my head. He seemed to be calling me forward and warning me back at the same time. Its not your uncle.
Chill bumps sprouted all over my arms, and finally I looked, because I had no other choice. But at first, I couldnt process what I was seeing.
Tod was right; it wasnt my uncle. This man was younger, thinner, with unruly brown hair and
My hands clenched around the edge of the trunk and I looked up at Tod, my eyes wide. He nodded in response to the question I couldnt voice. He said he brought you a gift.
You swear youll be right behind us?
I nodded. Youll probably be able to see us in the rearview mirror. When my father finally gave in, Tod and I helped Harmony get him into her car while Nash helped Sabine buckle her seat belt beneath her brokenand now swollenarm. Then Nash headed to the pavilion to pack up the lunch stuff. Tod and I were about to blink to opposite sides of the lake to gather the rest of the troops when Luca came running toward us from the shore.
Kaylee! he shouted, and all three of us turned. An instant later, and Tod and I would have been gone.
Whats wrong?
Dead guy. Or dead girl, Luca said. Either way, someone here is deader than either of you.
A jolt of fear shot up my spine, followed by an echoing bolt of anger. Not again
Its probably Tinas body, Tod said, while Nash filled Luca in on what had happened, and I was almost ashamed by how relieved that thought made me. As awful as it was to think that Sabines foster mother had been hauled around in her own car by the demon whod killed her and stolen her soul, that was better than the alternativeyet another death. Where? I asked.
Over there somewhere. Luca nodded toward the parking lot, and my relief swelled. If Tinas body had arrived with her car, that would explain why Luca hadnt sensed it before.
Show us, I said, and we followed him away from the covered eating area toward the parking lot, with spaces for just six vehicles. Four of the spaces were occupied by cars wed driven: mine, my dads, Tinas, and Jaysons.
Luca stopped in front of our row of cars, then veered to the right, past my car, like he was being physically tugged that way. Here. He started down the aisle between Tinas car and Jaysons, and my heart pounded so hard my chest ached. I didnt want to think about Sabines foster mother lying dead in her own car. I didnt want to think about anything. I wanted this moment to be over, before it had even begun.
At the end of the aisle, Luca turned to the rightaway from Tinas car. He stepped slowly, hesitantly toward Jaysons trunk, his eyes narrowed in concentration, and I could feel my own brow wrinkle in confusion. Its in there. Dead. Not rotting yet, so its very recent.
What? No, I said, frustrated by the fact that logic and the truth didnt seem to line up. Why would someone put a body in Jaysons car? He doesnt know anything about any of this.
No, but his trunk obviously made a convenient delivery system. Tod peered over the roof, and I followed his gaze to the shore, where Em and Jayson were two indistinct forms near the edge of thewater, enjoying their normal day, and their normal lives, with no idea how much macabre horror had hitched a ride in Jaysons normal car. Hes not looking. Im going to pop the trunk.
Tod disappeared, and an instant later he reappeared in Jaysons drivers seat.
My hands shook and my mind raced. Who was in the trunk? It had to be someone I knew. Someone close to me. The pattern was escalatingAvari had said that himself. A stranger. A classmate. A friend.
This time it was a relative. It had to be. Except that all of my relatives were alive and accounted for.
Except for Uncle Brendon.
No
My uncle had cared for me like a father when my own father hadnt been able to deal with my mothers death. Uncle Brendon had been there on every first day of school and every trip to the doctor. Hed turned on the bathroom light when I was scared of the dark and thrown away the steamed broccoli I hated, when Aunt Val wasnt looking.
But whatever hed been to me, he was more to Sophie. He was all she had left. And no matter what shed said and done to me in the past, she didnt deserve this.
Tod leaned forward in the drivers seat and something popped inside the car. The trunk lid rose a couple of inches, but I only stared at it. I couldnt look. I didnt want to see.
Kaylee? Luca said, but I shook my head.
I need a minute. How was I going to tell my dad that his brother was gone? How was I going to tell Sophie that her father was dead? And that it was my fault?
Kay? Tod appeared at my side and his arm wrapped around me from behind.
I cant do it. Its Uncle Brendon. Am I a total coward if I dont look?
He squeezed me, then let me go and lifted the trunk. I turned my head. I didnt want to see my uncle dead, and I especially didnt want to see him dead in the trunk of Emmas boyfriends car.
Luca made a sound, deep in his throat, and for a second, I thought hed choked on horror. Id come close myself, several times. What the hell? the necromancer said. I dont understand.
Kaylee, Tod said, and something in his voice set off alarms in my head. He seemed to be calling me forward and warning me back at the same time. Its not your uncle.
Chill bumps sprouted all over my arms, and finally I looked, because I had no other choice. But at first, I couldnt process what I was seeing.
Tod was right; it wasnt my uncle. This man was younger, thinner, with unruly brown hair and
My hands clenched around the edge of the trunk and I looked up at Tod, my eyes wide. He nodded in response to the question I couldnt voice. He said he brought you a gift.
