Lilith stares at the veins of her wrists. She is not afraid to die, but she is afraid of the pain. Pain means noise, and noise could awaken Quenton.

She looks around for a towel or shirt, something to stuff in her mouth and bite down upon while she opens her veins.

She sits up, wincing at the sharp twinge shooting through her swollen rectum. She thinks about contacting Jacob, but feels too ashamed. He’ll think I’m a slut.

Her azure-blue eyes skirt the attic, pausing at an unrecognized cardboard box. She reaches over and opens it.

Curiosity captures her attention. It is her mother’s personal effects.

She removes the dusty photo album and opens the torn book flap, accidentally spilling half the unbound contents.

A yellowed black-and-white photo of her mother and father taking their wedding vows.

A legal document signifying Madelina Aurelia’s adoption by her foster parents, the Moreheads.

Madelina’s second-grade report card—all As.

A few disturbing watercolor paintings. Several more photos of her mother as a teen.

She fingers the sealed manila envelope. Tearing away the yellowed tape, she reaches inside, removing several old newspaper clippings and a black-and-white photo of a frightening old man.

On the back of the photo is scrawled: Uncle Don Rafelo.

She unfolds the aged newspaper clippings. Each story concerns her great-uncle, reputed to be a Nagual—a powerful Mexican witch.

Lilith reads, her schizophrenic mind absorbing the information like a sponge.

15

OCTOBER 31, 2027: BELLE GLADE HIGH SCHOOL, BELLE GLADE, FLORIDA

Students mill about the patched tarmac schoolyard, waiting for the sixth period bell to ring. Dozens hang in groups, smoking by the seven-foot-high chain-link fence. Others are preoccupied with palm-sized computer games. Shirtless boys play full-court pickup basketball.

Lilith kneels behind one of the basketball poles, then turns to Brandy. ‘Okay, we’re here. Now what?’

Do as I told you.

‘They’ll hurt me.’

Not this time. Get ready.

Lilith’s luminescent blue eyes follow the game.

Dante Adams dribbles between his legs, then launches a wild shot at the opposite basket. Ronny Ley grabs the defensive rebound and pushes the ball up court. Evading a defender with a crossover dribble, he pulls up in front of Brett Longley at the three-point arc and shoots.

Swish.

Lilith dashes onto the court and grabs the basketball before it hits the ground, then takes off running.

‘Hey! Crazy bitch, come back here!’

Lilith races for the seven-foot-high chain-link fence … and hurdles it.

Jaws drop. The boys swear out loud, watching helplessly as the teenaged girl dodges traffic and ducks behind a fast-food restaurant.

‘Come on!’ Ron, Dante, and Brett scale the fence. The three boys cross the street, then cut between a row of shrubs bordering the rear of the hamburger joint.

Lilith is waiting in back, seated atop an open steel trash bin that is surrounded by a rusty brown, eight-foot-high wooden fence.

‘There she is,’ whispers Dante, his rage tinged with lust.