She shrugged. “I only know that it could be anyone.”

“That’s absurd! You’re saying it could be my mother? Or Rose? Or Sylous for that matter? Impossible!”

“Not impossible. It could be anyone. My job is to keep you safe. Trust no one or you’ll be in for a very rude awakening when the truth is finally revealed.”

A wave of panic chilled my bones. I couldn’t live this way!

“Ask me to leave, and I’ll go,” Bobbie said.

“Leave,” I said.

Bobbie nodded. “Very well. But if you need me, and you will, just think of me. I’ll be close.” She started toward the door and I gave her clear passage, never taking my eyes off her. She reached for the knob and pulled the door open. It made me wonder why she needed to use the door at all. She’d seemed to appear at will when making her entrance.

She looked at me. “Take care with what you say about me, Grace. There are forces beyond your control at work in Haven Valley. Don’t expose your only true lifeline or it may be taken from you.”

Then she stepped out past the threshold and out of my line of sight. I waited for a couple beats, listening for her footsteps on the stairs, but heard nothing. So I crossed to the door and carefully peered around into the hall. It was empty.

She’d simply vanished, leaving nothing behind but dread.

Chapter
Ten

BEN DROVE DOWN THE LONG, ISOLATED HIGHWAY while Eli slept soundly in the passenger seat beside him. The sun was climbing the sky, streaking the road ahead with early morning rays. He’d been driving all night. Motivated partially by wanting to get to their destination as quickly as possible, and partially because sleeping had become so difficult.

It was mostly the nausea that kept him up. And the aching of his body as the disease ate away at his muscles. Ben knew his time was running out. He’d known it before he’d finally managed to land on a diagnosis. His body had been losing the fight against human frailty for a while now.

He warred with moments of depression, when he lost sight of the truth he’d come to know well. The world had become obsessed with survival. Ben had as well, spending most of his energy avoiding death. He’d always attributed so much power to death, as if it were a god. And in doing so, he’d given the prospect of death all the power it held over him.

He was seeing things differently these days. It was a blessing to know his days were numbered. A blessing he wasn’t sure he would trade for more days. They said hitting rock bottom was required for one to let go. True in his experience.