In a tone more tired than worried, Jason said, “Luca left with you all, we haven’t seen him since.”
“Where would he go?” Sam said to her husband. “It’s freezing outside. He hates the cold.”
“He said he’d meet you on the trail,” I said, my body feeling weak. “It’s the reason I didn’t follow him. I was sure you would be on your way and you’d run into him.”
“We didn’t come from the trail,” Jason said.
“We drove,” Sam added.
Their Jeep was sitting in the driveway.
“Then, he’s at your hou—your homesite,” Dad said calmly.
“Yes,” Jason added. “I’ll go get him.”
Dad said, “He might need some time. He’ll come here when he’s ready.”
Sam shook her head. “He looks tough, but he’s very sensitive. He takes everything to heart. He’s probably too upset to come here. I’m sure he’s blaming himself for everything.” She started buttoning the coat she had been about to take off.
“I’ll go with you,” I said, pulling on my winter boots that stood by the door.
“There’s no reason for you to go,” Dad said, with a hint of concern as Avi continued to cling to him.
“He’s my friend and he’s hurting,” I said, taking my coat from the hook.
“Then I’ll go with you,” Dad said to me, attempting to sit Avi down.
Her tears increased and she held him tighter. She, like Luca, was not as tough as she appeared.
“Stay here,” I told him. “We’ll find Luca and be right back.”
Dad released his hold on Avi, it didn’t matter; she clung to him.
“Please stay with Sam and Jason,” Dad said to me. “The weather is going to get worse. And if you aren’t back in ten minutes, I’m going to look for you.”
“Me too,” Avi whimpered.
Dad sat, resigned to the fact that he wasn’t leaving without Avi. She squeezed her arms around him, her head buried in his chest.
“I’ll stay with them,” I promised as we went out the kitchen door.
Dad was right. The weather was getting worse every second. Already, the wind was stronger than it had been when we’d arrived at our house thirty minutes ago.
Outside, I pulled the collar of my coat up around my neck and found some glove liners in a pocket of my coat. I peered toward the side of the wall where the ashen handprint was, beside the melted one. Even if it was Thomas who had burned down Luca’s house and even if he did know about the melted print, why would he put an ashen print beside it?
The cold wind stung my eyes, making them water.
The only reason to put an ashen print anywhere was to flaunt what had been done. It was not like the arsonist accidentally left a print at the scene of the crime. This was deliberate; this was done to take credit for the crime. It didn’t matter if it was Thomas or someone else. Whoever burned down Luca’s house had been at our house and they knew about the ghost print. But why put the proof of their crime by that print? To be found—but if the arsonist wanted us to find the print, why put it in an obscure spot on the side of my house?
There were many other places where it would’ve been found easier and by everyone. The kitchen door or window were the most obvious. Instead, he chose a place only Luca or I would ever find it. Why?
That’s what he wanted, the quiet voice in my head whispered.
“You’re freezing. You should go back in,” Sam said, and I realized I was shaking. She thought it was from the cold; she had no idea it was from the terror overtaking me.
Whoever did this didn’t want everyone to find it. Only Luca and me. He only wanted us to know of his crime, he only wanted us to ….
“I have to go,” I said, my voice cracking.
Sam grabbed my arm before I could run from them. “Where?” she said, searching my eyes.
I could tell her. She’d believe me, but there was no time.
“To the beach. Luca’s there,” I said, trying to pull my wrist from her grasp.
“The beach? It’s freezing. He wouldn’t go to the beach,” Jason said through the wind.
“Please, there’s no time to explain,” I said, begging Sam to let go of my arm.
“I’ll come with you,” Sam said, releasing me.
I sprinted forward. Behind me, I heard her say, “Go to the house, make sure he isn’t there, then tell Paul and Gemma we’ve gone to the beach.”
The cold and fear burned my lungs as I pushed my body to go faster. Somewhere outside of myself, I realized it was raining a freezing rain, but my mind could not focus on that. I could think only of Luca and Thomas and the fear I felt.
He wanted to get me alone; he wanted to get me to the beach. No, I corrected myself, he wanted to get me to the inn. Now he’d have Luca. Luca wouldn’t be able to fight, not if he stood anywhere near the inn or near Thomas. The evil within Thomas was no longer something Luca imagined; it was real. I understood that now. All of this was real. The ghosts, the hauntings, the demons hunting me and my family. Every word Luca said was true.
I broke free of the trail, the freezing wind and rain hitting the raw skin of my face, making me want to turn back. I’d spent the last eight years terrified of even the simplest parts of life, and now I stood on a frozen beach, heart beating out of my chest, lungs burning, all to save a boy I barely knew—but a boy who was good. Really, truly good.
The tide was low, the rocks exposed. I held my right arm in front of my face, the wind strong, as if trying to push me away, to keep me far from the inn. I could not allow it to keep me away. Luca was there. I could not see him, I could see no one. Even the inn was nothing more than a blur to my stinging, watery eyes.
“Where are you going?” Sam called from beside me. She was panting, out of breath.
“He’s there. I know he is,” I said.
“The inn?” she called above the wind. “Luca would never go near there.”
“He went after Thomas. He’s the one who burned your house down. We found a handprint. It must be him,” I called back.
“Thomas?” she said. “Why would he do that? Why would he be here?”
“He’s the opposite of Luca,” I said, understanding at last what was going on. “He’s attracted to evil.”
Sam stopped moving for a moment and then started forward again. She was afraid, I could sense it. I would be, too, if I was not so worried about Luca. It was because of me he was in danger. He was right. Evil was doing everything it could to attack my family. Luca, when he moved to this place, became part of that family. But I wondered if there was something more, something more about Luca’s connection to my family. There was a goodness to him that was rare and wonderful. He was like my mother in that way, who had been created for my father, and evil had killed her.
A thought entered my mind, a thought that was too much for the moment. A thought that made me wonder if …. was Luca created for me? Was that the reason evil was trying to destroy him?
The smell of dead fish and sulfur assaulted my nostrils and made me cough. Sam was moving slower.
“It’s okay,” I shouted to her. “When Jason and my dad come, tell them where I’ve gone.”