She popped up in front of me, so fast I blanched. I crossed my arms, willed my feet to stay still, and reminded myself she was just a ghost.
“Little Chloe Saunders, looking so fierce,” she said. “I suppose that’s what happens after you kill someone?”
I tried not to flinch, but I must have, because she laughed again. “Or not so fierce after all.”
“What do you want?”
She looked down at me, and she was still smiling, but it gave me goose bumps. “I think you know.”
I just stood there, staring up at her.
“You killed Dr. Davidoff, Chloe. You used me to do it. I’m sure you’re telling yourself you didn’t, that I fired the gun and you had nothing to do with that. A terrible misunderstanding.”
No, I’d told her to do it. I knew that. I accepted responsibility.
But did I completely believe it? Or was there part of me that wanted to pretend it was a misunderstanding? It wasn’t. Seeing Diane Enright again, I knew that. I remembered everything she’d done to us. Everything Davidoff did to us. In that moment, seeing her corpse, seeing Davidoff holding the gun to Aunt Lauren’s head, and I was back in the laboratory and I felt what I had then. Clarity. Resolution.
“It wasn’t a misunderstanding,” I said. “I told you to shoot him. You were a zombie. You had to obey me.”
The look she gave me then was even more chilling, because there was no anger in it. She was studying me, appraisingly, as if murdering someone was a sign of character.
“You blame me for everything that happened, don’t you?” I said. “I freed the demi-demon, which brought down the building, which killed you. Then I forced you to kill Dr. Davidoff. You want revenge. You were following me on the other side of the veil, so I couldn’t see you. When Tori fell, you lured me away. You left your daughter to die. Then you tried to kill me.”
“Please, Chloe, I know you love movies, but drama doesn’t suit you. Victoria wasn’t in mortal danger, and neither were you. It was simply”—she pursed her lips—“a lesson. A small show of what I can do, if I wish.”
“Again, what do you want?”
“Nothing. Yet.” She stepped forward, and I resisted the urge to back up. “I merely wish you to remain open to the possibility that we can help each other. I find you interesting, Chloe. You know that.”
“No, you find me useful, especially now, when your options are so limited that you’re willing to work with the person you blame for your death.” I looked up at her. “You told me before that we could help each other. That I was stronger than your daughter.”
“You are.”
“No, I’m not. It was never about who was smarter or stronger. It was about who you could control. You couldn’t control Tori. You thought you could control me. You still think you can. That’s what this was about. To show me what you can do—leave Tori alone and hurt, lead me into another hole, where I can lie, alone and hurt too, until I’m rescued. Then I’ll do whatever you say.” I met her gaze. “Only I won’t.”
I imagined giving her a mental shove. She staggered back.
“Don’t you dare, Chloe Saunders. If you banish me—”
“You’ll come back. I’m sure you will. But you won’t trick me again, and by then, I’ll have learned a way to get rid of you for good.” I stepped forward, right under her nose. “I’m not sorry you’re dead. I’m not sorry Dr. Davidoff is dead. I just feel sorry for myself because I had to kill him. But if I didn’t, someone else would have had to, and that would only have put the guilt on them. So I’m going to stop thinking of all the other ways we could have stopped you, because there weren’t any. And when I find a way to banish you for good, I won’t worry about where you might go. I’m just going to stop you.”
I closed my eyes and gave her a huge mental slam. She let out a howl of rage, cut short as she was knocked into another dimension. When I opened my eyes, she was gone.
I let out a shuddering sigh. Then arms went around me, solid and warm, and I leaned back against Derek.
r />
“She’s gone,” I whispered. “For a little while.”
“I know.” He kissed the top of my head.
I let myself enjoy the embrace for a moment, then remembered and pulled away. “Tori.”
“Your aunt and my dad are here. They came in the front. Tori might have a broken ankle and a concussion, but she’s okay.” He reached down, hand going under my chin. “I know how hard that was for you, confronting Tori’s mom.”
He bent, lips coming to mine and—
“Derek? Chloe?” It was Kit, opening the back door.