Jason looked into the mirror. He gasped when swirls of black smoke appeared at the edges. There wasn’t any smoke in the room—none that he could see—but it was in the reflection, growing thicker and thicker, until the smoke was so dense and dark, it almost entirely obscured Connie’s image. He didn’t know if he should say something. It was possible that Connie was making this happen, but he didn’t think she was. The smoke reminded him of the creature.

Was she calling to the thing? Trying to bring it here? Or maybe she was fighting it?

Connie began to shake. Her face grew paler and looked damp, clammy, as if she were becoming ill. The glass was black now; the smoke had choked out all parts of the reflection. She bent forward slightly, looking like she might vomit.

“Connie,” he whispered. He was about to touch her arm when she jolted backward, straightening upright, drawing her mouth up into a painful grimace. Then she opened her eyes and turned to look at him, slumping and stumbling away from the blackened mirror. “What happened?”

Connie fought to catch her breath. “It was trying to stop me,” she said, her voice ragged.

“Stop you from doing what?”

“From retrieving the book.” She reached into the deep pocket at the front of her white pinafore apron, but then her face went blank. She removed her hand to find that it was empty. She patted at her apron.

Whatever she’d been trying to do hadn’t worked.

A soft voice spoke from near the bookshelf. “Were you trying to grab this?” They jolted and spun.

Marcus stood only a few feet away, watching them, holding a book.

CHAPTER 25

“MARCUS!” JASON CRIED out. “You can see us?”

“Of course I can see you,” Marcus answered. “And you can see me!”

Warmth rushed into Jason’s cheeks. “I’m so happy that you’re all right.”

Marcus smiled sadly. “But am I?”

“You’ve got to tell Lou that I’m here. That me and Connie will help her get out. But we need to flip through that book you’re holding, to see if there are any other clues about how to do it.”

“Don’t worry,” Marcus answered. “You keep yourselves safe. I’m going to help them.”

“But Marcus—” Before Jason could finish, his cousin rushed out of the room and closed the door, taking the book with him. Shocked, Jason and Connie stood in the center of the room. “What just happened?”

Connie swallowed. “Your cousin said he’s going to help them.”

“I heard him. But … he took our book! Why would he do that?”

“He didn’t think we needed it?” Connie closed her eyes and sighed.

“That’s weird, right?” asked Jason. “It’s just … Who exactly did he mean? Who is Marcus going to help?”