The Complete Burn for Burn Trilogy: Burn for Burn; Fire With Fire; Ashes to Ashes (90 page)

“Can I help you?”

“Yes. I’m here to see my aunt. Her name is Bette Zane.”

“You mean Elizabeth Zane?”

“Um, yes. Sorry.”

I sign in as Mary Zane, and then I’m pointed down a long hallway. It takes all my self-control not to run down there as fast as I can.

As beautiful and tony as this place looked from the outside, the inside looks exactly like a hospital. White walls, beeping machines, sterile.

The hallway ends at a large room with a glass ceiling. It could have been a greenhouse or something back in the day, and it’s filled with sunlight. It’s now a rec room, and patients here are quietly going about their business—a few are watching a television in the corner, one is working on a puzzle, three are playing cards. One lady is just staring off into space like she’s catatonic, but then she catches me looking at her, and she glares.

I see two nurses who are manning a pill cart look at me with suspicion and share a whisper. Probably thinking if I’m here to see someone, why am I just staring around, casing the joint? Shit.

And then, to my right, I see a woman painting at an easel.

A painting of a lighthouse.

It looks exactly like the ones in Mary’s house. Except it’s blurry. Unfocused.

I race over to her side. “Um, excuse me. Elizabeth?” She
doesn’t even blink. I lay a hand on her arm. “Bette?”

She turns and looks at me, confused. Not in the
Oh! Why, I wasn’t expecting company!
way. In the
I’m hopped up on so many drugs, I can’t see straight
way. Who even knows if she’ll be able to tell me what I need to know.

Her hair is almost entirely gray, and the ends zap out, fried and dead, like she hasn’t gotten a haircut in a long time. Years, I bet. She’s thin, almost sickly-looking. She’s got on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt that are two sizes too big. She’s got the same pale complexion as Mary, and the same little nose.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but can I ask you a couple of questions?” That’s all I say because I don’t know whether I should call her Mary or Elizabeth or Big Easy.

She turns back to the canvas and smacks the brush against it.

“I’m hoping you can tell me what happened to your niece.”

A shock of panic bolts through her. Her paintbrush tumbles handle over tip, until it hits the floor with a splat of red. Aunt Bette grabs me and tries desperately to make her eyes focus on mine. “Why? What happened to Mary? Did she hurt someone?”

I shrink back and try to wriggle my arm out of her grip, but she won’t let go. “No. I don’t know.” Panicked, I start looking around for help. What the hell was I thinking coming to a damn mental asylum? They don’t lock people up for nothing!

“She’s here because of that boy. She won’t let him go. She
won’t ever let him go.” The hairs stand up on the back of my neck. Reeve. “But you’ve seen her too?”

“Yes . . . I . . . We’re friends.”

The next thing I know, Aunt Bette is dragging me out of the room, her bony fingers digging into my skin. “You have to tell them! My sister, she made them think I was crazy! She didn’t believe me that Mary was back from the dead!” She’s making such a ruckus that everyone’s turning to stare.

My knees buckle. “Mary’s really dead?”

But before Aunt Bette can answer me, a voice calls out my name. “Kat! Kat, what the hell? How long are you going to make me wait out there?”

Aunt Bette turns her head. It takes a second for her to drop her hold on me and lunge at Reeve, snarling like a wild animal. Before she can get to him, a bunch of people restrain Aunt Bette. She’s not making any sense. She’s foaming at the mouth. And Reeve, he’s as white as a ghost.

I grab his hand, and together we run down the hallway.

“What the hell was that all about?” He’s still drunk. I can tell.

“Family business,” I pant.

*  *  *

After I drop Reeve off at his house, I walk Shep home then jump into my car and head over to the Jar Island cemetery. It’s dusk, and the groundskeeper will be locking the gates soon,
but I make zigzags down the lines of gravestones until I find it. The Zane obelisk.

I crouch down and touch the cold marble slab.

ELIZABETH MARY DONOVAN ZANE

I glance around. Is she here right now, watching me?

I take out my phone, snap a photo of the grave, and send it to Lillia along with a text.

I’ll be outside your house in ten minutes.

I
’M IN
R
EEVE’S ROOM WHEN
he comes stumbling home. I watch from behind a curtain as Kat parks his truck in the driveway, helps him up the stairs, and then runs down the street with her dog.

She knows my secret. I didn’t mean for her to see me. Even though it was only for a second, it made me feel . . . naked. Exposed.

But it doesn’t matter.

Reeve comes in and passes out cold on his bed. I put my hand to his forehead, enter his dream.

He’s already at the lighthouse. He’s there, ready to jump.

I see that, and then I lift my hand. I let him have a bad dream all on his own. And when he wakes up, that’s when it will happen. I can feel it.

W
E’RE OVER AT
A
LEX’S WATCHING
a movie—Ash, Derek, PJ, and the junior girl he’s been dating. We hang out here a lot lately. I don’t think any of us want to risk getting into it with Reeve somewhere in public. We’re all avoiding him. Alex fell asleep thirty minutes into the movie, his head on my shoulder. I’ve tried to hold as still for him as I can.

My phone buzzes with a text from Kat. Maybe I can convince her to come over. It’s an action movie that PJ picked, and it’s not like she needs to see the beginning to be able to follow along. I see the picture, and I feel my heart stop.

I write back,
I’ll be out front at Alex’s
.

I slide away from him. As I do, he opens his eyes and smiles up at me. “Where are you going?”

I whisper, “I’m going to the house to make popcorn,” and fluff up a pillow for him to put under his head.

“Mmm. Popcorn.” Alex closes his eyes and immediately falls back to sleep.

“Make enough for all of us!” Derek yells.

I grab my bag and my car keys and slip out the door.

I’m on the curb when Kat pulls up.

“Get in.” Kat glances around her. “We don’t have much time.”

There’s a stack of old books in the passenger seat. I climb inside and put the books on my lap.

“I saw her, Lillia. She was in Reeve’s car . . . haunting him. And then she fucking disappeared.” Kat forces a swallow. “You didn’t break up with Reeve because he cheated on you, did you? Mary made you do it. Just like before.” My mouth is dry. I want to tell her, but I’m afraid. “The secret’s out, Lil. And she knows that I know!”

For a split second I think about denying it, even now, even with all that Kat knows. That’s how scared I am of Mary, of what she can do. But then I look at Kat, and I can’t even try. “I’m sorry. I thought it would be safer for you if I left you out
of it. And . . . I couldn’t risk anybody else finding out, not with Reeve’s life at stake.”

“It still is. I saw Mary in his truck today, basically torturing him, trying to get into his head. I called her name, and she straight-up disappeared.”

I gasp. “Could Reeve see her?”

“No. But I think he could feel her next to him. Or hear her voice. I’m not sure, but she’s definitely getting to him. Think of how crazy he’s been acting lately, drinking twenty-four seven, not sleeping.” Kat fumbles in her pocket for cigarettes but comes up empty. “After that I went to the mental hospital where her aunt Bette’s been locked up. Yo, it was crazy. She kept asking me if Mary had hurt anybody. I had Reeve in the car because he’d passed out and I didn’t have time to drop him off. He came in looking for me, and she went ballistic.”

I feel my bottom lip quiver. “God, are we really talking about this? That ghosts are real?”

“I don’t know. I mean, yeah. This is insane, but . . .” Kat drags her fingers through her hair. “What’s that quote? Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever’s left, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. So it must be true.”

“Why can we see her?”

“I’ve been thinking about this, about the day we first met her. She came back for revenge, right? And you and I both wanted
revenge too, so maybe that’s the connection. Maybe she needed us to help her finish whatever it is she’s here to do. Whatever it is, it’s got to do with Reeve.” Kat lets out a long sigh. “Now that we both know her secret, I don’t think we have much time.”

My whole body starts to shake. “Is there a way that I could somehow convince Reeve to leave Jar Island and never come back? I can’t tell him the truth, because Mary will kill him for sure.”

“Kill? She said ‘kill’?” I nod, and Kat shakes her head. “That sounds batshit crazy. Did we know her at all? She was so sweet. She was like a little kid. I can’t even believe it.” Kat grabs one of the books from my lap. “I found these in the Dumpster outside Mary’s house. Her aunt used them on her. They have spells in them. Protection spells.”

I wipe my eyes with my sleeve. Kat flips the book to the page she’s looking for. In the margins there are notes written in pencil.

—Arrowhead root sold at Nature’s Bounty in Canobie Bluffs.

—First spell attempted October 1st, lasted 3 days.

—Second spell October 7th (doubled ginger powder), lasted 5 days.

—Research possible anger diluents?

Kat grabs another book and then bites her fingers on one hand while flipping with the other. Suddenly she stops on a page and thrusts the book into my hands. “Look at this! It’s a binding spell. We could use it to bind Mary to her house!”

“But what if she isn’t there?” I drag my finger across the page. “Wait. Okay. It says that she doesn’t have to be, so long as the spirit has an emotional connection to the place.” I shake my head. “This is crazy. I mean, do you really think this can work?”

“It has to. It’s our only shot.”

There’s a knock on my window. It’s Alex. He makes a motion for me to roll down my window. “Yo, Kat! Come inside.”

“Can’t,” she says. “Sorry.” With her eyes locked on mine, she says, “I need to run to the store and get some stuff for dinner. But, Lil, I’ll text you later, see if you’re still hanging out
tonight
.”

“Great,” I say, with all the fake enthusiasm I can muster. “I’ll see you later.”

R
EADING AND DRIVING IS SOME
dangerous shit, but so is a damn ghost, so it ain’t like I got a choice. I get my ass to the health food store as fast as I can, and I start grabbing whatever shit I see. I found a couple of other spells in the books, for protection. We have to take every precaution.

First thing I do is race home and put a chalk perimeter around my house. I grab Shep and throw him into my car, because he’s turned out to be a good guard dog, at least where Mary’s concerned. Thinking back, I realize that he always barked like crazy when Mary was around.

Then I go to Reeve’s. Thankfully, it’s pretty dark, so none of the neighbors can see me doing the outline around their place. Even the garage, just in case. I move fast, and a couple of times I think I hear a noise, and I jump, but it’s just the wind. I hope.

With Reeve, I want to do extra. I feel like I need to fortify his room, too.

Mrs. Tabatsky lets out a gasp when she sees me standing on her doorstep. “Kat!” She grabs me for a hug.
“What are you doing here, honey?”

“Hi, Mrs. T. I’m here to see Reeve. Is he home?” I’m talking so fast, the words run together.

“Yes, yes. Come in,” she says, pulling me through the front door. She pats me on the butt. “Go on upstairs. I’ll bring up a snack.”

“Thanks, Mrs. T!” I scramble up the carpeted stairs, two at a time, my book bag bouncing against my shoulders. It feels so familiar. Even his house smells the same, like potpourri and casserole.

I’m heading toward the attic stairwell when a hand reaches out and closes around my wrist. It’s Tommy Tabatsky, in basketball shorts and no shirt. His body looks pretty good, too. I think all the Tabatsky boys were born with six-packs. The last time I saw him, he was making out with some random skank at the Greasy Spoon.

“What are you doing in my house, DeBrassio? You here to see me?”

I shake him off me like he’s a gnat. “Tommy, I don’t have time for this.”

I turn to leave, and Tommy says, “You know I got my own place now. You should come by sometime.” He winks at me, and I flip him off, and he laughs. “Same old Kat.”

Reeve’s door is slightly ajar, so I just barge in. He’s in bed with his laptop in his lap, no shirt. Do he and his brothers just never wear shirts? “What the hell!” he yelps. He jumps up and grabs a T-shirt.

Shutting the door behind me, I say, “Nice boxers.” I walk over to his desk and start opening his drawers.

“Quit snooping around my stuff! What are you even doing here? You dropped me off hours ago.”

I find an almost empty bottle of vodka and a bottle of whiskey in the bottom drawer. “You look like hell. You need to eat something, get some sleep.”

He puts a pillow over his head. “So then leave so I can sleep.”

“I’m about to, so shut up!” As I’m running around his room, I almost trip over an empty bottle of whiskey. I pick it up and shake it at him. “What, are you an alcoholic now? Are you trying to drink yourself to death?”

“That’s none of your business.” Reeve gets up and snatches
the bottle out of my hand. His eyes are flat; there’s no light in them. He looks . . . hopeless. Who knows how long Mary’s been torturing him, but it has clearly taken a toll.

“Your mom said she was gonna make us a snack. Go get it.”

“God, you’re so bossy,” Reeve grumbles. But he goes.

As soon as he’s out the door, I unzip my book bag and grab the sea salt. Reeve has two windows, so I pour a stream along the sill of each one, and then I do his doorway. Next I get the sage bundle, light it up with my Zippo, and start waving it around. I hope I’m doing this right.