Page 6 of Hell Gate

The girls touch the heart-shaped piece sitting on the board. I don’t follow suit immediately, curling my fingers into my palms.

“Have you ever done this before?” Marie asks.

No. Do I admit that? Also no.

“Of course. Who hasn’t?” My voice is stiff and forced as I mirror them.

Nothing occurs for several moments. The knot of tension eases in my shoulders. My hands brush Marie and Violet’s, and absolutely nothing is happening. No one is getting hurt. No one is screaming.

I hold my breath, glancing up at them. “So…?”

Jessica closes her eyes. “Spirits, hear my call. If you’re listening, my sisters and I welcome you to communicate with us. We open ourselves as your vessels.”

“You’re moving it,” Marie hisses.

“No I’m not,” Violet swears.

Am I pushing the heart-shaped piece slightly? Maybe. I didn’t mean to nudge it. We stare—them in awe and me in skepticism—as the four of us track it across the board in a suspenseful drag. I focus on keeping the pressure of my fingers light while one of them probably moves it. They each lean in as their anticipation rises until the whole thing seems to end.

Violet gasps. “No way.”

“We’ve never had such direct activity with the board before.” Jessica lifts her eyes to meet mine. “Usually the spirits here are shy. I knew I caught vibes off you.”

“Okay?” I peer around the circle. “What do the deadbeats want? The Netflix password to cure eternal boredom?”

Marie grins. “Cute, but no. They spelledgo homeand started another word but stopped at L. They have to mean you. Your name is the only one that starts with an L.”

Oh. I see. They’re just messing with me. I play along. It’s better than ending this now and spending the next month with three pissed off housemates because I couldn’t take a joke.

“Cool,” I say belatedly.

“Ask them something,” Violet says. “Why do they want you to go home?”

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I turn my attention to the board. “You heard her, spirit dudes. What gives?”

Jessica clears her throat. “Spirits typically need you to be really specific with your questions. Communicating can be difficult for them. How would you feel if you were disembodied energy?”

Considering I feel like disembodied energy most days, I think these fake ghosts and I would get along great.

Letting out a small sigh, I try again to appease her. “I’ve lived in a lot of places. Which home should I go back to?”

The candles flicker, though no breeze moves through the stone ruins. Violet and Marie exchange a wide-eyed look. Again, the wooden piece we touch moves across the board. The girls hunch over to watch, spelling out the message as the heart tip points to each letter.

“O…r…i…g…i…n,” Marie finishes with a pinch in her brows. “Origin? Where are you originally from?”

Officially? No idea.

Licking my lips, I give them a smirk. “Technically Child Protective Services was called when I was found in the Pine Barrens.”

Jessica’s gaze sharpens with interest. “The Jersey Devil is in the Pine Barrens according to urban legend.”

I don’t need her knowing I was basically found on Bat Boy’s doorstep, so I play it off. “You know your cryptids.”

She taps her chin as she studies me. “Did you know Brim Hills has its own legend?” At my blank expression, she grins. “We’re sitting in the very spot where it was born. This chapel burned down because of it.”

“I get chills every time you point that out.” Violet hugs herself and shudders.

“Brim Hills is host to a gate to Hell,” Jessica announces.

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