She stepped out of the shower stall, the tile floor freezing under her bare feet, and scrambled onto the bath mat. Her breath hung in the air.

She should’ve known. Spirits always sucked the warmth out of a space.

“Hello?” Maria whispered. She turned on the sink faucets so Lily wouldn’t hear. The water that blasted out of them was hot. More steam poured out into the room.

Altagracia would help her. She’d always helped Maria when she was alive.

“Altagracia?” she whispered. “Is that you?”

The writing in the mirror faded. New lines began to appear. Maria shivered again.

It took her a minute to decipher the backward letters.

I’m worried for you, Maria.

She shivered again.

If it was Altagracia’s spirit, how could she have gotten here? Altagracia had died a hundred miles from Acheron.

Then Maria remembered. The Ouija board had spoken to her in Spanish too. And the chandelier had crushed the board before they could close the session. If they’d raised Altagracia’s spirit during their séance, she’d now be free to come and go as she pleased.

“Yo también estoy preocupada,” Maria said into the mirror. Her teeth chattered from the cold, but she answered in Spanish, the way Altagracia had always insisted, on Maria’s parents’ orders.

I’m worried too.

The letters in the mirror faded again. Just as quickly, a new set began to appear.

It was worse than the feel of the planchette sliding under her hands. That night, Maria could’ve stopped the session if she’d wanted to. Now she could only watch the letters form.

Maria’s shoulders stood tense. Shivers rocked her body.

She wished Altagracia would speak to her. She needed to hear her voice again.

“Altagracia?” Maria whispered, softer than before. “It is you, isn’t it?”

The new row of letters faded in.

What is your wish, Maria?

Her wish.

Did Maria really have to say it out loud?

“I’m worried about Brandon,” she said slowly. “About what he said he’d do to me.”

The letters on the mirror faded until there was nothing but steam.

Maria exhaled. It was over. She’d told Altagracia what was bothering her, and now Altagracia would take care of everything. The way she had when Maria was little.

Then a new set of letters appeared.

Do you understand what you’re asking, Maria?

Did she?

Maria hesitated. Spirits didn’t have to follow the same rules as the living.

But Maria needed to fix this thing with Brandon. Fix it for good. Altagracia was the only one who could help her.

“Yes.” Maria’s lip trembled. “I understand.”

The next set of writing appeared almost immediately.

Then it is done. Six thirty. At the oak tree on the lake. You will go there.