Page 36 of Haunted Heart
“They’ll find his car if they look for it. But if they don’t, he could be there for days… months.”
“I hope he is.” Jonas glares at the flickering headlights. “Let the wild animals pick him apart.”
The full moon is still making its way across the sky, but the first hint of pre-dawn light has colored the horizon a different shade of blue.
I stand there for a few moments, waiting, just in case. He’s died twice tonight. And this time… he doesn’t get to come back.
Maybe The Book knew what it was doing.
I grimace. That would mean Jonas should have died too, and I don’t think they are the same.
Walking back down the gravel road, Jonas makes a strange noise.
“You okay?”
“I just had a really unsettling thought.”
“Do I want to hear it?”
“Probably not.” His mouth twists in a sort of disgust.
“Tell me anyway.”
“What if the woman in the barn wasn’t Minnie? What if it was you?” He winces like he’s just insulted me. “What if you were Dylan’s temptation to Wrath?”
Maybe I was, maybe I wasn’t. “I guess we’ll never know.”
“You said something about making me forget Hell.”
“I can wipe away the memories of tonight… it’ll be the same as if you had gotten blackout drunk, just… without the hangover.”
“Huh.” He considers it.
“It would mean you won’t have to lie if the cops come looking for a missing college kid.”
“That’s true, but… I don’t think I want to forget. I think… I think it’s better to know what’s waiting for me if I don’t make some changes.”
“We can talk about it, so you understand before you make any big decisions.”
“Like joining a cult?” He laughs, and I do too.
“Yeah. No cults, no churches. No big changes until we talk through things, okay?”
He nods. “So, um… you’re actually a witch. Like the spell stuff was real, and that’s how we got to Hell, right? That’s how you’d make me forget?”
“Yeah.”
“And Julia is your ghost girlfriend?”
“Yep.”
“Cool.” He nods, repeating the word a few times. “Hey, since I didn’t drive, could I stay here tonight? For what’s left of it, anyway?”
“We can figure something out.”
“In thenothaunted house?” he quickly adds.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make up the couch at my grandmothers’. You’ll be safe and sound there.”
