She sucks in a breath, and holds it. When she finally exhales, the air sounds shaky in her throat.

“That creature,” she says, “is an Emissary. A messenger.”

“A messenger of what?” I ask.

“Death.”

The word hangs there, taking up all the space.

“Wait,” says Jacob, pushing off the wall, “like, lowercase death, or uppercase Death?”

“Does it matter?” I hiss.

“Both,” says Lara. “Emissaries come from the place beyond the Veil. They’re sent out into the world to hunt for people who’ve crossed the line, and come back.”

“People like us,” I say.

People who’ve almost died.

For me, it was the river. I don’t know what happened to Lara, but I know it must have been bad, must have been close, one-foot-in-the-grave kind of close. That’s how you become an in-betweener.

She nods. “My uncle told me about them once. He said they’re like fishermen, casting out their lines. Watching for movement in the water. Waiting for something to snag on a hook.”

“Have you ever been hunted by an Emissary?” I ask, sinking onto one of the benches lining the hallway.

Lara purses her lips and shakes her head. “No. I’ve always been very careful. I go into the Veil, I send a spirit on, I get out. I don’t go for a swim, so to speak. I don’t make a splash.”

Lara doesn’t need to say that I do just that. I’ve always let my curiosity get the best of me; I can’t help exploring. It’s what attracted the Raven in Red to me in Scotland. It’s how the poltergeist found me in Paris. And now …

“Some people just make waves,” Lara goes on. “It doesn’t matter why, or how. What matters is, you snagged the line. But it hasn’t reeled you in just yet.”

“Is this the part where you tell us not to worry?” asks Jacob.

Lara shakes her head. “No, this is the part where I tell you to hide.”

I shudder as the Emissary’s words come back to me.

You cannot hide.

“How am I supposed to do that?” I ask.

“You need to stay with your parents, and the film crew. Don’t wander off. And if you can help it, don’t cross the Veil.”

I think of how I felt in Muriel’s. Of how hard it is to resist the pull of the other side.

“Because it’ll be able find me there?”

“It can find you anywhere. It can clearly move through the world of the living and the land of the dead. But you’ll stand out more beyond the Veil.”

“And if it catches me …”

But I already know.

It will take me back into the dark.

“No matter what happens,” Lara says, “just stick together.” Her eyes narrow on Jacob. “I mean it, ghost. Don’t let it find her alone.”

Lara’s attention shifts back to me. “Cassidy,” she says, and I’ve never heard her say my name like that, full of warning, and friendship, and fear.