Page 33 of Haunted Heart
“I can’t.” I brush his hair out of his face… he looks more like a little kid than any guy as tall as him has the right to. “When I’m done with him, I’ll come back, and we can make you forget all about Hell.”
He nods and glances toward Julia. “What about her?”
She still looks like her terrifying self, and I imagine she will haunt his dreams.
“He’ll see me and other ghosts for a while. When you’ve been to the other side, it lingers with you… that can’t be helped.”
“We’ll figure that out later.”
“No!”
I turn sharply to Julia, but she’s not arguing about when Jonas and I talk. She sinks through the floor, and the house shakes… with panic.
There’s only one thing below us that could induce that terror.
I run out the front door and by the time I round the corner, Dylan has already started to hack at the cellar entrance.
I don’t know where he found the axe and I don’t care.
I tackle him to the ground and it goes flying.
“I’m going to kill her. And then, I’m going to kill you.”
He grabs handfuls of dirt, shoving them at me as he throws me off him. But I grab the axe before he can and hold it tight.
I’m not going to swing it at him, but I’m not going to let him take it away from me either.
I can’t knock him out without touching him, and I don’t trust any of the other spells I’ve dabbled with to deal with this problem.
My educationislacking… I just never thought a friend would want me dead.
“Dylan, stop it.” Jonas sags against the corner of the house, holding himself up. He looks like he’s run a marathon.
“Don’t fucking start with me.” He points at Jonas and then his eyes narrow. “You know what… I’ll kill you too.”
“Listen,” I interrupt, still holding the axe between us. “You went through a lot tonight. I know that you’re probably confused?—”
“I’m not confused. My eyes arewideopen.” He smiles at me. My skin crawls. “I know what I have to do.”
Before I can even begin to guess what he means by that, he throws himself sideways, crashing through the splintered cellar door.
“Crap.” I throw the axe away and run after him.
But Dylan hasn’t gotten far.
I would bet he has only managed to stand up, not take a step.
Julia floats in the air between him and her heart. Her skirt and hair billow around her, fading to nothing at the edges.
Her eyes are massive black voids, her mouth more akin to something you would see in the deepest ocean.
She is a creature of the Hell we just escaped. Dylan stares up at her,finallyterrified.
He swallows audibly, and I see him look down at her heart. Blood drips from his arm, sizzling when it hits the ground.
I don’t think he realizes how much danger he’s in.
Wood from the floor joists creak and groan, and a hundred splinters burst from it, flying into his skin, peppering him like bullets.
