“What?” I asked after a long time. Though my curiosity wanted to know, a large part of me just didn’t care. It was trying to convince me that if I didn’t learn what that monster’s name was, it wouldn’t come after me, as promised.

  Timothy turned away from me. He stared through the trees. I didn’t know if he was distracting himself or just gathering the gumption to say what he did next. “Pyro.”

  I couldn’t stop freezing. This time was worse. This time it honestly felt as if I had been thrown out into the depths of space. There was no heat left in me, and as a consequence, there was no movement. There was just this unending recognition that that word – and the man behind it – was destruction incarnate.

  Timothy turned back to me. He took a long time to stare at my expression. He finally nodded, clearly satisfied. “It’s good that you’re remembering a little. Pyro,” he said quietly and respectfully as if he thought that monster would appear over his shoulder, “is not someone to mess with.”

  “He said… once he got all the guards out of the way that the old gods would come.”

  Timothy’s lips jerked up. They moved hard. I could sense his strength behind it – it was the same strength I’d always been able to sense behind Timothy. But now I could see it. He looked larger-than-life. The way he held himself, the way he talked, and the way he felt were all different. They weren’t… human.

  I became cold at that recognition, but I no longer shivered.

  “They call themselves the old gods. They’re nothing more than monsters. They prey on humanity – on anything breathing – on anything alive. They take joy in destruction. And they cannot be allowed to feast on Earth. That’s why the guards exist.”

  “And you’re… you’re a guard?” I still didn’t know if I trusted Timothy. He knew who I was, but what did that mean? What if he was this Pyro in disguise? But I spoke nonetheless. Because I couldn’t stay quiet. I’d been ruminating over these facts all morning. This was the first time I’d been able to speak them out loud to anything that wasn’t a crow.

  “Yeah, I’m a guard. The third one.”

  “Does that mean we’re related?” It was an innocent enough question.

  He arched an eyebrow as he looked at me. “No, Penelope,” his voice shook, “we are not related.”

  “Then… what are you?”

  “The same thing as you.”

  “I have no clue what I am,” I admitted in a shaking voice. “The daughter of…” I couldn’t finish that. Every time I tried, I came up against that wall in my head. It was thicker and harder than it had been on Saturday night. I’d been able to push through it when I’d accessed my power momentarily, but it seemed as if the wall had rebuilt itself stronger than before.

  “You can’t even say it, ha? Death really did a good job trying to hide you.” Timothy rubbed his head.

  “Wait….” Again, I couldn’t formulate the question.

  “Why did your father,” he said pointedly, “try to hide you? To keep you safe. He didn’t want you to live the same life as him. It is irrelevant what he wants now. He’s gone.”

  He’d just revealed too much. My head began to ring.

  I clutched my forehead and let my fingers slide down it.

  Timothy watched me. “I thought you’d be stronger, you know? And you have to be stronger,” he added in a rumble.

  “Why… how… did my father die?” I finally vocalized that question. I’d been hiding from it all day, but it had been inside me, festering like a wound I would not look at.

  But now as I glanced at it, tears began to touch my cheeks. They came from a deep place – a place of sadness and yearning I’d only vaguely been aware of my entire life.

  “It’s generous to say he’s dead. What he is, is forever-gone.”

  Pyro had used that term on Saturday night. I looked up sharply. “Forever-gone?” I stuttered.

  He rubbed his face. “It’s a complex statement to someone who doesn’t really understand existence. Most people get reborn. They die, and they’re remade into something new as their soul goes on. Not when you’re forever-gone,” he added.

  Terror gripped me. I hadn’t even known I’d had a father until two days ago, but now it was like I was missing the most important part of my life.

  “Pyro has essentially banished Death.”

  “So will people not die anymore?”

  Timothy laughed. It was frustrated. He planted a hand on his head, then let his fingers slide down until he clutched the bridge of his nose. “I honestly thought you’d be smarter than this.” He spoke through clenched teeth. “Of course people will still die.”

  “Are they still… reborn?”

  “Yeah,” his voice dropped. “For now.”

  My back arched on the way he said for now. “What is Pyro going to do?”

  “Move through the guards until he kills us all. And when we’re dead—” he shook his head. He didn’t even trail off. He turned from me and stared at the trees.

  Now would be a good time to run. I didn’t have it in me. My fear was slowly turning into curiosity – curiosity tinged with grief.

  I continued to cry, and I made no effort to dry my tears.

  Timothy soon turned back to me. He glanced at me. It was a penetrating look. I didn’t know whether I should feel scared or not, but it ended quickly. “You have to keep your head down,” he said in a low, warning voice.

  “What do you mean? You said I’m one of these guards now—”

  “You have no power. You have to leave it up to my brother and me.”

  My nose scrunched. “Brother?”

  Timothy turned away from me. “The last guard.”

  “Who’s he—”

  “Never mind. You’ll never meet him.”

  I don’t know why, but I got the impression that Timothy was lying for whatever reason.

  I’d been down on my knees, weak and terrified. Now I pushed up – all at the prospect of who the final guard could be. “When I found Stephanie,” I admitted, my voice wavering, “I was….”

  “You were led here,” he said, cutting me to the chase.

  I’d been holding onto that secret so tightly for the last few days. The fact he already knew it was like having a rug pulled out from underneath my feet.

  He faced me quickly. “I don’t know exactly how your powers manifest, but the fact that you were led here is clear. As is the fact that you figured out Cindy was a victim.”

  Everything else started to slip into place. I’d forgotten about Stanley. I’d forgotten about the fact he was being framed.

  “Stanley’s no murderer,” I spluttered as quickly as I possibly could. “I was honest when I said that he was the one who suggested calling the police. He’s been framed. I saw who killed those two women. He was the wrong build.”

  Timothy brought up a hand. “Slow down. You don’t know everything.”

  “I saw it,” I spluttered. Now I’d started to admit this, I couldn’t hold on to the truth anymore. It bubbled up from within me. It wanted to be released before it tore a hole in my chest. “I saw that woman running on Friday night,” I spluttered. “Stephanie Rogers. I heard her screaming. She led me here.” I pointed to the spot where I’d fallen over that night. “I had a torch. I dropped it. And when the light cut across her body, I,” I covered my face with my hands, “I saw her being murdered in her own shadow. It was the same with Cindy. And the guy who murdered them – he’s so much bigger than Stanley.”

  “You don’t know everything, Penelope.”

  “Stanley wouldn’t kill anyone—”

  “Stanley was keeping thumbnails of not just the serial killer victims, but of everyone who went through the funeral home.”

  That stilled me. For a few seconds. My natural loyalty to Stanley won out. I shook my head wildly. “There’s no way that would be true. He’s been set up. I’m telling you, I saw—”

  “You saw the victims being murdered. But was it a human who was murdering them?” He looked at me with such a direct gaze, it felt like it was some kind of searchlight that had plastered me up against a wall.

  “Sorry?” I whispered.

  “Do you know it was a human who murdered the victims, Penelope? Because it wasn’t.”

  “It wasn’t… wasn’t a human?” I couldn’t control my tone. It wavered up and down like a flag fluttering in a gale.

  He continued to stare at me as if he was disappointed by my reaction. But there was at least a soft edge to his expression now. “Have you told me everything you saw?” He slipped right back into the role of the detective.

  I took a step back from him. I stupidly thought he could be suspicious of me again – that he honestly thought I was the killer here. That would have to ignore everything he’d said and done, but my old fear still rose. I looked down at my feet. “No,” I admitted.

  “The culprit tasted their blood, didn’t he?”

  I looked up at him sharply. “How—” I stopped. Timothy was the third guard. I didn’t know what that meant, but I guess it meant he had magic.

  “You might not appreciate this, but blood, hair, and fingernails can be used to create dark magic. Which is precisely what your boss was doing.”

  I shook my head one last time. “He was so kind,” I said in a tortured tone. “He let me work there. He never asked questions about my past—”

  His gaze became hard. “What do you mean?”

  I rubbed my hands up and down my arms. It became harder and harder. It was cold. It was also dark despite the fact it was early morning. “He let me work there. He never asked any questions,” I whispered. “He didn’t care where I was from.”

  Timothy clenched his jaw hard. He turned away. I didn’t know what he was thinking. But when he turned back, it was clear he’d made his mind up. “You’re going to head out of town.”

  “No, I’m not,” I spluttered.

  “Yeah, you are. You’re already too close to this. Pyro has already identified that you’re around these parts. You will head out of town.” The way he said that was as if he was laying down the law.

  “Won’t Pyro just come for me wherever I am?” My voice shook so badly, I could barely understand it myself.

  “No. When you found that gate point, he located you.”

  “Gate point?”

  “You really know nothing.” He sighed and grabbed his jaw. He pushed his fingers in until his short nails ran over his equally short stubble.

  “Then tell me,” I whispered in a pleading tone.

  “No. The less you know, the better. You will head out of town. I’ll give you a day to sort out your stuff. You’ve gotta go straight back to the funeral home and quit. You can cite whatever you want – from Stanley’s conviction to mental health to just wanting a fresh break. But you will quit. And you will leave.”

  I shook my head slowly. “This town is all I know.”

  “I’ll give you money. I’ll find you a house. You will go there. You’ll do as I say.”

  I shook my head harder now. “No, who are you to tell me—”

  His gaze flashed. “I’m the third guard, is who I am. You may not appreciate this, but we guards have a strict hierarchical order. I am above you. So I’m telling you exactly what to do.”

  I staggered back from him. It wasn’t like I thought he was going to kill me anymore. But in a way, this was worse. I was attached to this town. It felt like my very body was rooted in it. I knew nothing else. I’d never left it, for the love of God. And the thought that I would have to leave it now made me shudder. “I can’t leave—”

  “You have to. We can’t allow Pyro to find you. He has to go through we guards logically. First it was your father, then it will be you,” he said as his voice dropped with the slightest hint of regret.

  “And then it will be you and your brother,” I surmised.

  His jaw stiffened ever so slightly on the term brother.

  “You understand,” he managed. “So we’re finally on the same page. No more questions. You head back to the funeral home, and you quit.”

  I shook my head weakly one last time. “No. They did so much for me. Stanley—”

  “Stanley is a dark magical practitioner. He used the blood of his victims to buy himself a longer life. To reinvigorate himself and to make himself perpetually young.”

  “But he’s 60 something?”

  Timothy laughed. “Stanley is over 250 years old. He has been the head of that funeral home since its beginning.”

  I shook my head. “That makes no sense. His father died—”

  “Magic, Penelope. He never had a father, and he’s never had any sons. It’s just a continuation of him. And he gets that magic from his victims and the other poor corpses who go through Carlson’s.”

  “There is no way—”

  “You don’t understand this world. Which is why it’s so critical that you have to get out of here. Go back to Carlson’s, quit, and pack up your stuff, and I will pick you up. Actually,” he shook his head, “go back to Carlson’s and quit, and we’ll head back home to your house together. I’m not taking any chances that Pyro will show up.”

  “You said Pyro only found me because of that gate point. What was that—”

  He looked at me. I could tell he had no intention whatsoever of answering that question.

  “Won’t Pyro come and find me, though? He found out what I look like—”

  “He can’t see.”

  “What?”

  “He doesn’t have the same senses as you and I. As long as you don’t use your magic and as long as you never go near a gate point again,” he added, his voice dropping hard, “he will never find you. Now—” he began.

  I felt compelled to put my hands up. They shook, and all I wanted to do was shake my head with them, but I quickly realized there was going to be no winning against Timothy.

  “You’re finally understanding what’s happening here, are you? The whole world is on the line,” he said, regret filling his tone.

  “Fine. But… answer this.”

  He looked up at me.

  “Is my father really gone forever? Is there any way to bring him back?”

  He turned away from me. He started walking back toward the car. He motioned for me to follow.

  “Is there any way for me to bring him back?”

  “Yes.”

  “How?” My voice shook. I had not known my father. But something inside me did. And that something regretted his passing.

  “It’s too hard. You’ll never be able to do it. He is forever-gone. If you don’t want the old gods to spill over the Earth and absorb all life, you will keep your head down.”

  I had no option but to turn my head down now and stare at my shoes as I followed Timothy out of the forest and into the light.

  4

  We drove back to the funeral home in silence. My head was spinning.

  I’d learned so much. But what was worse was that I knew I couldn’t learn more. A few times I opened my mouth, but Timothy was staring resolutely ahead as if he couldn’t even see that I was beside him anymore.

  I longed to know what was going on in his mind, but I was well aware of the fact that he wouldn’t tell me.

  When we finally parked outside Carlson’s, he turned and looked at me pointedly. “Thank you for your assistance,” he said.

  I scrunched up my nose. I opened my lips to point out I’d hardly assisted him.

  He shot me this look. For whatever reason, it told me not to discuss anything now we were back at the funeral home.

  I got out of the car. He smoothed down his tie again. I stared at it. Was it important to him? Or was this just some kind of nervous habit?

  … And why the hell did that matter? I was about to leave the only town I’d ever known. For the rest of my life, I’d have to keep my head down. I’d have to—

  Timothy suddenly froze. He turned his head to the side quickly. It was just in time to see that omega car driving past. It turned back up toward the graveyard and parked there.

  From the way Timothy stared at it, I could tell it was important. And there was only one thing that could be important to the third guard of the dead, right?

  “What—” I began.

  “Get into your car and leave. Change of plans. Head home. Lock the door.” Without another word, he walked off toward the graveyard.

  “What?” I called after him.

  He strode across the road. I could hear some cars coming, but either he didn’t care about them, or he thought nothing would dare run him over.

  He walked with such strength and poise, he no longer looked human.

  I stared at him, my mouth agape. But then my gaze traced up to that omega car. I waited for that man to get out of it, but he didn’t.

  Timothy walked over and got in the front passenger seat.

  I remained there, staring, cold all over. That was until there was a tap on my shoulder.

  I jolted quickly and turned to see Stella. Her face was a picture of confusion and grief. She quickly crumpled forward and hugged me. She rocked back on the spot. “I can’t believe this is happening. Stanley wouldn’t do anything like that. This is a setup. I’m sure of that.” She broke free from me and stared at my face. “You understand that, don’t you?”

  I was a little surprised. The last time I’d seen Stella, she’d practically blurted that Stanley was guilty.

  “Stanley is…” I said.

  I turned back to stare up at that omega car, but Stella suddenly grabbed my chin. She turned me around and looked at me. There was an endearing quality to her gaze. Stella was usually flighty. She reminded me of a hyper chatting bird. But today she was grounded for whatever reason. “Stanley wouldn’t do something like that. There’s been a setup. Someone is trying to frame him.”

  My familiar loyalty for Stanley welled in my stomach. “Stella—”

  “I need your help,” Stella said as she grabbed my hand.

  I stiffened. “I was told by the police to head straight back home.”

  “You can after this. We can’t just let Stanley rot in jail. He’s being framed. And I think the police are involved,” Stella said as she shifted closer to me and whispered in my ear.

 

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