Lou shivered, her nightgown feeling suddenly thin. “I thought we weren’t playing those kinds of games anymore.”

“We’re not,” he insisted. “It’s just … I didn’t want to scare you.”

“Scare me … how?”

Jason sighed. “I’ve seen her. In the mirrors around our house.” Lou blinked slowly. “She stands behind me and smiles. She tries to speak but I can’t hear what she’s saying. Earlier today, I saw her reach into the pocket of her apron and pull out that flower.” He pointed at his mattress where the dried, purple plant was lying. “Tonight, I found it here.”

“You think she wants to be our friend?”

“Maybe,” he said. “But I think it’s more than just that.”

Lou shook her head, waiting for him to continue.

“When we were together, Connie told me that she could have moved on a long time ago. But she decided to stick around. She promised to stop the house from claiming any more victims. She said that once the evil inside the house was dead, she’d go away, and try to find her mother so they could both be at peace.”

“But the house is dead,” said Lou. “We killed it when we smashed the dollhouse. My heirloom was the last of the marked objects. We broke the curse.”

“Did we?” Jason asked. He looked unsure, as if he wished that Lou would give him the answer.

Lou opened Jason’s closet door. His laundry bag toppled over and several dirty pairs of socks fell onto the floor.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

She swung the door further, so he could see his reflection in the mirror hanging just inside. “Is she there?”

Jason shook his head. “Not now.”

Lou sighed. “Maybe the flower was just her way of saying good-bye.”

Jason stared down at it, as if afraid to touch it. “Maybe.”

“I wouldn’t worry,” said Lou. “It’s over now. We’re safe. Let’s go back to bed.”

She turned toward his bedroom door. “Lou?” he called out, and she paused. “Would you mind staying here for a little while? Just until I get back to sleep?”

Lou couldn’t stop herself from smirking. “My, how things have changed,” she whispered.

“Oh, shut it,” he said, crossing his arms, frustrated.

Lou crawled across him and stretched out on the other side of his mattress. Jason sighed and lay down beside her.

They stayed that way until dawn, when the sun crept over the crest of Mount Diablo and spilled morning into the valley.

PREVIEW

The race for survival begins here! Turn the page for a peek at

Horizon, by Scott Westerfeld.

Next question,” Molly said. “How many miles of wire are in this airplane?”

“Um, a lot?”

“Put your brain to work, Perez. Estimate!”

Javier Perez sighed. “If I get close, will you stop bugging me with these questions?”