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Back The Fell of Dark
Chapters (46)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. CAST OF CHARACTERS
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. LITTLE WHITE PICKET FENCES
  44. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  45. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  46. Newsletter Sign-up

Hope shakes her head glumly. “All of this started with the Nexus—its power is what drew the Corrupter here, and they’ll need it to drive the Corrupter out.” Another faint smile pulls at her lips as she adds, “Secret information courtesy of my uncle’s private thoughts. He, Lydia, and Ximena need the boost from the overlapping energy fields to wield the magic that’ll be required. If Auggie leaves Fulton Heights, it won’t prevent the Ascension from happening, but it might keep them from being able to stop it.”

“Oh.” Adriana blanches a little. “I like here, then. Here is good.” There’s a brief silence as she looks around the apartment again, squirming like there’s something inside of her trying to get out. A tear rolls down her cheek, and finally, she blurts, “I’m so sorry, Auggie. I’m sorry this is happening, and I’m sorry I can’t help, and I’m just … sorry. None of this is fair.”

And that’s when I lose it again, because of course Adriana would be the one person to say what I’ve needed to hear. It takes me a long moment to steady my breathing and get to a place where I can speak, and I clear my throat. “Actually, I think maybe there is something you can do. I might have … kind of a plan, and I need someone I can actually trust to help me.”

“Anything.” Adriana reaches out and takes my hand, linking the three of us together, and I feel a rush of love—and a little bit of steel.

I’m going to save my parents if it’s literally the last thing I do.

32

After they leave, I look around, finding just enough food and supplies in the apartment to last me to Friday … and no longer. I also discover a trove of strange items under the sink that I don’t understand—candles, rocks, a seashell, and some other things—and I leave them where they are, because the last thing I need now is to get hexed by a bunch of undead sorceresses for playing with their stuff. I have peanut butter for lunch, then mac and cheese for dinner, and I sit in the empty living room while I watch the sky go from rose to navy to black over the water. Stretching my radar as far as it will go, I reach out for familiar signals—but the vampires who watched my house for weeks haven’t found me here, and I don’t think they will. Cars stream along Lake Shore Drive, the sounds of the city drifting up from fourteen stories below, and somehow, impossibly, I start to hope again.