“Oh no,” Ada said. “I helped her do it. The girl told me she would use the video she’d collected to rid me of Amelie and Oliver, and I gave her access. I helped her place her cameras. But she was a liar. A cheat. A thief.” Ada’s image contorted, taking on a monster’s shape for a flicker, then smoothed back to her Victorian disguise. “She was going to cheat me out of my revenge and destroy Morganville altogether. I won’t have that. Unlike Morley and his rabble, I can’t simply leave. I am Morganville. I must survive.”

“You’re not Morganville,” Claire said. Kim, draped over Shane’s shoulder, had caught sight of Ada, and she was thrashing wildly, screaming. It was all Shane could do to hold on to her. “You’re just a science project. One that doesn’t work right.”

“I am the force that holds this lie of a town together,” Ada said, and glided closer, so close Claire could feel the cold chill generated by her image projection. “As far as Morganville is concerned, I am its goddess.”

“Word of advice,” Eve said. “It’s time for a change of religion.”

Ada’s image became distorted again, and she stretched out a hand. Claire controlled the natural impulse to flinch. She’s not real. She’s just a ghost—

Ada’s fingers touched her face. Not quite real, but almost.

Claire jumped back. “Outside!” she yelled. “Get outside!”

Ada smiled. “I’ll see you soon.”

They made it outside, into the faint hint of sunrise, without anyone jumping them again.

Claire flagged down a passing police cruiser and got them to take Kim, who shrieked and fought so hard they had to use a taser on her. Eve winced, and so did Shane.

Claire didn’t. She felt bad about it, but she just couldn’t bring herself to really feel sorry for Kim. Karma, she thought. They’d end up putting her in a padded cell, and eventually maybe Kim would recover enough to function as a normal person. Maybe even a better one. Claire didn’t even resent that, so long as she never, ever had to talk to her again.

Ever.

By ten a.m. they were back at the Glass House, and Michael was waiting. “Where were you?” he demanded as soon as they opened the door. Claire said nothing; he was focused on Eve, anyway. “I’ve been calling; it went straight to voice mail.”

“I turned it off,” Eve said. “We were kind of being stealthy.”

“Since when do you turn off a phone?” Michael put his arms around her, and Eve relaxed against him, and for just a moment, it looked like everything was the same again.

Then Eve pulled free and walked away down the hall, head down.

Michael looked awful. “What do I have to do—?”