Page 74 of The Narrow

Predictably, they don’t believe us.

Thirty minutes later, we’ve come around to “I believe that you believe it’s real.” When we talked ahead of time, we agreed that’s probably as far as we would get without them actually seeing Maeve themselves, so this isn’t a surprise. Still, I think that Zoya is wavering. It’s one thing to dismiss phantom footsteps or episodes of sleep paralysis, but we were both awake when we saw Maeve, and we saw her together. That’s harder to dismiss.

Ruth is still trying. “Maybe it was a prank. Someone dressed up as a ghost,” she offers.

“Maybe,” I say, spreading my hands. I know there’s no point in trying to convince her. She’s just going to have to see it for herself. “Look, I don’t expect you to totally change your view of the world just because we told you a wild story. But we need your help.”

“We’re going to do a séance, and we need four people,” Veronica says.

“No. Nope. Nyet,” Zoya says, making anXwith her arms in front of her. “I have a Russian grandmother and a Black grandmother, and they would both kill me for even thinking about messing with spirits.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in ghosts,” Veronica says.

“I don’t. And I don’t mess with them, either,” Zoya says, as if this should be apparent.

“We can’t do this without you,” Veronica says.

I touch her arm. “It’s okay.” I turn to the others. “I can’t ask you to do this if you don’t want to, or if you think it’s too dangerous. But I don’t have a choice. Neither does Delphine. We don’t get to choose not to mess with ghosts—she’s already fixated on us. So you can find somewhere else to be, or you can help, but we’re going to do it.”

“Oh, I’m totally in,” Ruth says. “Sounds like fun. And since nothing’s actually going to happen, it’s not actually dangerous, so...”

Zoya chews her lip. She touches the delicate gold cross that hangs around her neck. A gift from one of her grandmothers, but I don’t know which. “I’ll help,” she says quietly.

And with that, we have a plan.

25

WE DECIDE ONSaturday for the séance, which means several days of class to get through. My grades are slipping. I know it, my teachers know it, Oster knows it. It’s getting harder to dodge requests for meetings after class.

As soon as this is over, I tell myself, I’ll focus.

There is one last thing to do before the séance. We need water from the Narrow. Veronica didn’t want me to be the one to get it, but I convinced her it would be safe enough in daylight, and it’s easiest for me to sneak away from Abigail House without being spotted. I’m standing up, a cheap plastic water bottle filled with river water in hand, when my phone rings.

I almost don’t answer it. It takes me a moment to recognize the number. It’s the same one that sent me those warning texts. Aubrey. I fumble to put the bottle down and answer before it goes to voicemail.

“Hello?”

For a moment there’s silence, and I think I’ve missed the call after all. Then Aubrey’s voice comes over the line. “Is this Eden White?”

“Yeah. Is this Aubrey?” I ask, my heart pounding. I don’t really need to ask.

“Yes,” Aubrey says. Another pause. “I got your number from Leah Stevens. I’m not sure I should be calling you.”

“It’s good to hear from you,” I tell her. “We’ve all been worried about you. Delphine especially. She’s been trying to get in touch.”

“I know. I’m sorry I haven’t talked to her. I haven’t been in a good place,” Aubrey says.

“Are you okay?” I ask her. “Are you recovering?”

“I’m healing,” Aubrey says. “I don’t know if I’ll ever really be better, though. After what happened.”

“It was the Drowning Girl, wasn’t it?” I ask.

She lets out a sigh. “You’ve seen her.”

“More than seen her,” I say. In front of me, the Narrow makes its sly way between the rocks. I can’t sense her here. She is deep below, I think. The night and the rain draw her out. Perhaps because it’s like the night she died.

“I got careless,” Aubrey says. “I let the water in. I woke up and she was standing over me. She was trying to say something, but I couldn’t understand her. She got angry. She... I don’t even know how I got away. I got outside. That’s all I remember. They said someone found me.” There’s a ragged relief in her voice, one I recognize. She knows that I believe her.

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