Page 84 of Our Lips Are Sealed
Her voice raked like shards of glass through the mind, identical to the way CeCe sounded. Rebecca turned away from the scene to point a long spindly finger at the knife resting under Evie’s hand.
On your mark.
The wooden handle warmed, and pushing through the fear, Evie’s hand closed around it to draw the blade from the bag. When it was secured at her side, she rolled slightly to get a look at Samuel and make sure he was alright, but ended up freezing in shock when her gaze connected to a set of brown eyes peeking out from behind his massive shoulders.
A mother come to protect her son, Miranda’s almost translucent hand rested on Samuel’s bicep, restraining him from acting on his rage. She inclined her head in greeting to Evie, and then raised her face to the sky, speaking to the swirl of silvery wind dancing through the rustling trees above.
We’re ready.
The wind answered Miranda’s call, billowing to the ground in a plume of fog to flow over the trail. A woman materialized, traveling out of the mist barefoot in a broom skirt.
As lovely as the day she left them, Laura Jean crossed under the high arch and through the stormy turmoil unfolding. She waved a hand in Jamison’s direction, brushing the hair back from her youngest daughter’s face with a gentle stream of wind.
Jamison frowned at the touch of pressured air, the lines in her forehead deepening. Laura Jean stopped to smile down at her princess.
She always looks like Ben when she does that.
Evie bit back a sob when she heard her mother’s voice ringing in her ears. It didn’t quite match Judy’s like she’d thought, but was clear and real, nothing at all like what she was used to hearing from the old home movies she and Simone watched now and then.
X marks the spot.
Laura Jean kneeled on the ground and drew an X in the dirt behind where Toby stood.
It’s time to get set, kitten.
Samuel and the others remained oblivious to what her broken mind was revealing, and Evie panicked. This was insane. Toby had a gun pointed at Annabeth’s head. There was no way she could overtake him and not risk hurting her friend.
Have a little faith in yourself.
Devon’s deep tone rumbled through her, its steady assurance obliterating the hesitation. He manifested next to his daughter, gesturing to a place on Toby’s lower back.
Biology 101. Strike here on go.
On your mark.
Get set.
Go.
Understanding, Evie squeezed the knife’s handle, the sweat on her palms making it slippery. Toby and Samuel were shouting at each other now, their words increasingly heated with each passing second. The haze continued to muffle their voices, and just as she started to make out what was being said, Annabeth released a screech, shoving at Toby.
He stumbled, but not far enough, his foot just shy of the mark.
Do it like I taught you, Devon.
Laura Jean nodded to her friend, and Devon leaned in to whisper in Annabeth’s ear, touching her back as he spoke.
Filled with a new strength, Annabeth fought harder, slamming her head into Toby’s face. The move worked this time. He staggered, his foot striking the waitingX.
The clamoring winds died off around them, and in the silence, a roar of voices long lost and forgotten filled the forests of Haven House.
Go.
Chapter 25
ThecrackofEvie’sskull against the headstone sealed Tobias Miller’s fate.
Liam watched in horror as she crumpled to the ground, landing on her side next to the row of instruments laid out by the far end of the graveyard’s fence.
